Occasionally I dip into Reddit forums on podcasting and try and answer some questions. By far the most common question in /r/podcasting is some variation on “where should I host my podcast?” I’ve reposted my most recent answer below:
As a podcast editor and producer for a bunch of podcasts, primarily in the web dev and tech community, who’s clients use a variety of podcast hosts (Libsyn, Simplecast, Anchor, etc.) I can honestly say I enjoy using Transistor.fm the most. It’s the easiest interface to get around in and just simply get a new episode of a podcast published.
A few points to consider when picking a podcast host:
- They should charge money for hosting so you know they’ll be around in a year. Transistor charges a monthly fee, regardless of how many podcasts you start. That works great for being able to try out ideas, have a show with a single 10 episode run, or a private podcast you use to test ideas on before publishing it to the world.
- You own your content. Every show on Transistor has a industry standard RSS feed you can pipe out to anywhere else if you decide to move. Nothing locked in.
- They’ll never advertise in your feed. Again, because Transistor charges money each month they’re not interested in messing with your podcast. They do have a dynamic ad spot feature (DAI) that you can use if you want to, but it’s completely in your control, not theirs.
- As with any good podcast host in 2022, Transistor can take care of (where possible) hooking up your podcast to all the major and many of the lesser known podcast directories. Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, etc.
- As I said in my intro, having used many different podcast hosting platforms for my clients, plus my own hobby podcasts, if I could go back in time I’d have a requirement that my clients must use Transistor.fm. Other podcast hosts have so many extra clicks just to get a new episode published.
I’m a unabashed fan of what Justin and Jon are building with Transistor – so much so that I use Transistor to host my own podcast network with friends over at Goodstuff.network.
Got any questions about podcast hosting I haven’t answered here? Drop a comment below, hit me up on Twitter, or contact me directly.
