A CLEAR VIEW OF THE COMPARISON
Our method
Budget Podcast compares audio hosting plans from Buzzsprout, Transistor and Captivate. This selection is not exhaustive. It includes services useful for independent creators and small networks.
How the price is calculated
For each host, we select the first plan in the catalog that meets your criteria without extra upload hours. We compare the number of shows, hours published, downloads and listeners on a private feed. We then rank the results by increasing annual base cost.
Annual billing: the monthly price shown is the annual payment divided by 12. Monthly billing: the annual cost is 12 equal monthly payments. Temporary promotions, taxes and currency conversions do not affect the ranking.
The limits that matter
- Buzzsprout includes 1 TB of bandwidth per month. This cannot be converted into an exact number of downloads without knowing the file sizes. Traffic overage costs are excluded: the result is a base cost, not an all-inclusive price.
- The calculation does not look for the cheapest combination of a lower plan and paid extra hours. That combination could cost less than the selected plan, so annual billing does not always give the lowest budget for your usage.
- For Buzzsprout annual billing, the monthly volume entered is multiplied by 12 to compare it with the annual allowance: 72, 180 or 420 hours depending on the plan, averaging 6, 15 or 35 hours per month. This monthly reference is not a separate quota from the annual allowance. A regular publishing schedule is assumed.
- Private podcast calculations cover a single feed. Captivate quotas come from its premium podcast guide and must be confirmed again when signing up.
- Video add-ons, services provided by people, additional tools and negotiated plans are not simulated.
Sources and verification date
Pricing was checked on 1 October 2026. A manual update follows any verified change. The final amount is the one shown by the host when you subscribe.
- Buzzsprout : official pricing
- Transistor : official pricing
- Captivate : official pricing
- Buzzsprout: current monthly billing
- Buzzsprout: bandwidth and extra charges
- Captivate: monthly and annual details
- Captivate: private feed quotas
Some older Buzzsprout articles still mention US$19, US$39 and US$79 per month. We use its current pricing page, which lists US$18, US$36 and US$78 for the corresponding monthly audio plans.
Affiliate links and independence
Some links are affiliate links. An eligible subscription may earn Budget Podcast a commission, with no extra charge added by us. No host pays for its position. Commissions never enter into the ranking calculation.
Free options
A free plan may be enough to try out a project. Also compare episode retention, RSS feed portability and included features. We do not claim that our selection of paid services is necessary for every beginner.