{"question": "best podcast hosting platforms for small businesses", "category": "podcast-hosting-platforms", "category_name": "podcast hosting platforms", "audience": "small-businesses", "audience_name": "small businesses", "engine": "Claude (Anthropic) with web search", "model": "claude-opus-5", "asked_at": "2026-10-23T21:39:32Z", "permalink": "https://bikoosh.com/answers/s/podcast-hosting-platforms-small-businesses-2026-10-23", "question_page": "https://bikoosh.com/answers/q/podcast-hosting-platforms/small-businesses", "brands_named": [{"position": 1, "brand": "Buzzsprout", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 2, "brand": "Spotify", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 3, "brand": "Transistor", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 4, "brand": "Captivate", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 5, "brand": "Podbean", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 6, "brand": "Libsyn", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 7, "brand": "Castos", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 8, "brand": "WordPress", "label": "recommended"}], "sources_cited": [{"url": "https://www.unilink.us/blog/best-podcast-platforms-2026", "domain": "unilink.us", "source_type": "other"}, {"url": "https://costbench.com/stats/podcast-hosting-pricing-2026/", "domain": "costbench.com", "source_type": "other"}, {"url": "https://dupple.com/learn/best-podcast-hosting", "domain": "dupple.com", "source_type": "other"}, {"url": "https://learn.g2.com/best-podcast-hosting-platforms", "domain": "learn.g2.com", "source_type": "review"}, {"url": "https://findstack.com/software/podcast-hosting-platforms/small-business", "domain": "findstack.com", "source_type": "other"}], "answer_text": "Here's what I'd actually recommend, in order:\n\n**1. Buzzsprout - the default for most small businesses.** ~$12-$18/mo depending on upload hours. Dead simple to use, the best onboarding in the category, reliable distribution to Apple/Spotify/YouTube, and a free hosted episode page per episode (useful if your website is thin). Magic Mastery auto-levels your audio, which matters if nobody on your team is an audio person. The catch is the pricing model: you pay for *upload hours per month*, and episodes expire off the free tier after 90 days. For a weekly 30-minute business show, the $18 tier is plenty.\n\n**2. Transistor - the pick if you'll run more than one show, or want it on your own domain.** From $19/mo, and every paid plan includes **unlimited podcasts**. That's the real differentiator: if you want a customer-facing show plus an internal/recruiting feed plus a client's show, it's one bill instead of three. Private/subscriber-only feeds are built in (good for paid communities or internal comms), the website builder maps to a custom domain cleanly, and the analytics are IAB-certified, which you'll want the day you talk to a sponsor. Slightly more \"tool\" and less \"wizard\" than Buzzs", "answer_truncated": true, "measurement": "One answer from one engine on one date. Not a ranking and not a claim about the world; brands the engine did not name are not recorded.", "limitation": "Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included.", "alerts": {"name": "Answer Watch Pro", "price_usd": 79, "period": "month", "gets": "daily change alerts for up to 5 brands in what one AI answer engine says, history, CSV export. Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included", "url": "https://bikoosh.com/answers"}}