Presently, there are many podcast hosting platforms that you can use to host, track, and promote your podcast. For this reason, it’s easy to get confused as to which best suits you based on your needs and expectations.
One of these popular podcast hosting sites is Buzzsprout and it’s our main focus in this review. If you have been considering it as a platform to host your podcast, then you’ll want to read this whole Buzzsprout review to find out everything you need to know about it.
I will be looking at the most significant aspects of the platform such as how it works, its main features, what people who have used the platform are saying about it (user reviews), its pros and cons, how to use it as well as how it compares to other similar platforms.
So, let’s dig in.
Name: Buzzsprout
Website: www.buzzsprout.com
Price: Varies with each plan
Rating: 89/100
Table of Contents
What Buzzsprout Really is
This is a podcast hosting platform through which you can host and manage your podcast.
It majorly works to provide you with an effortless way through which you can host, build, track and promote your podcast channel so that you are able to have a smooth podcasting journey as you begin and grow your podcast business.
It is a platform that provides an easy to use interface and lots of wonderful features that are going to help you not only build your podcast fast and easy but also get to make it become popular and even earn you good money.
Buzzsprout offers great podcast creation, promotion, performance tracking, quality improvement, and monetization tools and resources (that I will be showing you in a few) that are really going to add value to your podcasts.
The platform has been around for more than 11 years and has helped over 100,000 people start their podcasts.
Operations for the platform began around 2009 and from there it has slowly grown into one of the best podcast services on the web that aims to provide the best podcasting services to upcoming and established podcasters.
Buzzsprout Podcasting Features
Here are the tools and resources you get within Buzzsprout that will help you with your podcasting needs:
~ Ability to get your podcast channel listed on many of the most famous podcast directories including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Castbox, and many more.
~ The Magic Mastering tool that refines your audios so that they are clearer and of high quality for your listeners
~ Podcast performance tracking that shows you useful statistics such as which platform most of your listeners are coming from, the total number of downloads over time, the apps most of your listeners are using to access your podcasts, and more
~ Access to automatic optimization immediately you upload without having to worry about the technical aspects such as filetypes (file formats that are good for your episodes), ID3 (the meta-information attached to the media file of each of your episodes), and others
~ Ability to get your episodes transcribed so that people with hearing problems, speed readers, and search engines can find and make use of your podcast show
~ Access to a well-designed podcast player that you can add to your website by copy and pasting the player’s code that is provided by Buzzsprout
~ Ability to monetize your podcast through affiliate marketing with the help of their affiliate partners
~ Ability to easily add chapter markers to your episodes so that your audience easily navigate through the episodes and choose the sections they are more interested in, and skip the ones they don’t want to listen to
~ Ability to create limitless podcasts in your account and add your team, as many as they may be, to your account for them to collaborate on the management of the podcasts
~ Access to their WordPress plugin that allows you to add your Buzzsprout episodes to different posts of your WordPress website
~ Access to a variety of podcasting guides that help you with better understanding and using Buzzsprout features
~ Ability to use the Buzzsprout API to integrate with other apps and provisions for people to easily work with the platform on other apps and websites
~ Ability to create visual soundbite or audiogram that helps you create short clips of your episodes on social media sites like Instagram or Facebook and make them interactive
~ Access to a well-designed website for your podcast that you can fully customize to fit your podcast needs and goals
~ Acess to podcast updates on the performance of your podcast and the milestones you hit as you grow it
~ Your website can function as a mobile application and your users can add it to their home screen and it will show up as an app they can access anytime. And no setup or maintenance will be required on your end.
Buzzsprout Customer Reviews
Generally, many Buzzsprout users seemed to love and appreciate what the platform offers. The things that they loved the most is the good customer support, ease of use and the free 90 days access as you join so that you can test out how good the platform is for you.
Nonetheless, there were a few things that people complained about.
To be honest, there is no perfect platform out there and complaints are bound to be there. The biggest complaint is about it not being able to support video podcasting.
Let’s look at exactly what the customers are saying about it.
The Positive User Reviews
“Buzzsprout allows you to schedule your podcasts and plan in advance. As an administrator, it helps me get content in order and I’m able to keep up with multiple platforms and posting schedules. It’s extremely affordable and reliable too.”(1)
“I like that you can personalize your podcast landing page and upload episodes directly into their directory and it will show up in apple, google, Spotify, etc without too much hard work. You can also embed your player into your webpage and get statistics on listeners.”
“Compared to most other podcast platforms, this was the easiest to use. They have a ton of extra bells and whistles you can add to make the podcast sound better, get it distributed, etc.”
“Easy to use for beginner podcasters. This program makes it easy to automatically post podcast content to a variety of distribution channels. It also tracks stats for you. You can easily update or edit episodes.”
The Negative User Reviews
“You have to apply to each platform you want the podcast distributed to which is a pain, it’s not a one-button doe it all type of thing.”
“I wish that buzzsprout worked for video podcasts. I’ve heard rumors that it used to but I can’t seem to find any proof of that. If it was able to do the same thing with video that it does with audio, it would be perfect.”
“No downsides as far as I can tell. They are not optimized for capitalizing on commercials and marketing. This is not something I was looking for in a podcast hosting company.”
You can read more user reviews here.
Buzzsprout Pros and Cons
The Pros
~ The platform is super easy to use hence ideal for beginners
~ The pricing plans are quite affordable
~ They offer a 90-day free trial
~ Awesome and extensive features that handle the bulk of the whole podcast venture
~ Great customer support
The Cons
~ There are several additional fees that users have to pay to access other features
~ Upload hours are few
~ The customization options are somewhat limited
How to Use Buzzsprout
To get started with your podcasting journey with Buzzsprout, here are the steps you take:
Step 1. Go to buzzsprout.com
Step 2. Click on the “Get started for free” button on the top right corner so that you create an account for free that will give you time to analyze the platform to find out if it will meet your needs.
Step 3. Give your personal details for your account, that is, your first name and your email. And then click “Create my podcast”.
Step 4. Choose a password that cannot be easily guessed that you can easily remember.
Step 5. Choose which type of podcaster you are in terms of beginner or established. If you are just starting out, choose “I’m a new podcaster” and if you have been doing it for a while on other platforms, choose “I already have a podcast”.
Step 6. Add your podcast details. You will need to give a name for your podcast, and a description. If you need to add other details like Artwork, timezone, and others, you can do it on the settings page. When you have added these details, click “All done, let’s start podcasting”.
Step 7. And you are done. You can now add your podcasts to your Buzzsprout account and manage them there.
Remember, you have 90 days of free access, so you can really explore how good Buzzsprout is good for you before you decide your next step. The free trial is more like a provision to see if the platform is your right fit.
If it meets your needs, you can then upgrade to a paid plan, and get into serious business with it.
To further help you run your podcast well, try out the following tips;
~ Try to cover your topics in the podcast episodes as best as you can and in the most interesting way possible so that you keep your listeners anticipating more and satisfied with the knowledge and insights you share with them each time.
~ Avoid staying for long periods without uploading because your listeners might lose interest. Ensure that you are as consistent as possible so that you are even able to grow the podcast to become huge and popular.
~ Fully utilize the tools provided on Buzzsprout to ensure that you save time when creating your episodes and that they are of the best quality. This means taking your time to understand the resources offered there, by reading the features’ guides and playing around with them.
~ Contact the customer support team when you need help with various resources to get more guidance.
~ Ask feedback from your listeners so that you know what to improve moving forward because that’s how you ensure your growth
Buzzsprout Pricing
To start with, the platform has quite an easy pricing. plan because with it you can cancel anytime, and also credit card information is not a requirement as you begin.
With all the paid plans you get the following;
~ Your own podcast website
~ Custom embed players
~ Access to podcast directories
~ Podcast statistics
Other than that, here are the pricing plans for Buzzsprout and the extra features you get with each plan:
√The Free plan
You don’t pay anything and it extends for a period of 90 days. With this plan, you get:
~ To upload 2hrs every month
~ Access to advanced stats
~ The option of removing ads
~ Free Amazon gift cards worth $20 once you start using their platform
~ No ads on your podcast website which help with good user experience
√The $12/month Plan
This is what you get with this plan:
~ You upload for 3hrs each month, however, you can extend this by paying $4 every additional hour
~ You get access to advanced stats
~ You get to import podcasts for free
~ You get access to unlimited team members and storage
~ You also pay an extra $6 to access the magic mastering feature
√The $18/month Plan
In this plan, you get:
~ To upload for 6hrs every month and can extend this time by paying $3 per additional hour
~ Access to all the features of the previous plans
~ To pay an extra $9 to get the magic mastering feature
√The $24/month plan
In this plan, you get:
~ To upload for 12 hours every month and extend that by paying $2 per additional hour
~ All features of the previous plan
~ Pay an extra $12 to access Magic Mastering
Other fees include $0.25/minute for episode transcription
Competitor Comparison
Let us now see how Buzzsprout compares to Podbean, Captivate, Libsyn, Castos, and SimpleCast.
√Podbean vs Buzzsprout
Podbean is a New York-based podcast hosting website that helps both businesses and individuals put out their podcasts.
Compared to Buzzsprout, this one is a bit expensive with its cheapest plan going for $12/month for individuals and the highest one for $99 which is meant for businesses.
Unlike Buzzsprout, Podbean offers a completely free plan that you can work with and earn from without having to spend a dime.
Looking at features, Podbean’s are much better because for example you are offered a wide range of monetization options, live streaming capabilities and generally have features that cater to both businesses and individuals.
As much as this is the case, Buzzsprout is best placed for use by beginners than Podbean because it has the best features for that level and even the website is very easy to work with.
So if you are looking to get started as an individual, Buzzsprout is a good place to start. However, if you are looking for live streaming, more monetization options, and more advanced podcast business features, then Podbean would be your best match.
To know more about Podbean, I recommend reading this detailed Podbean review
√Buzzsprout vs Libsyn
Libsyn is another great podcast hosting, monetization, and distribution platform.
Compared to Buzzsprout, this one has been there for a longer time (since 2004). It also offers a variety of pricing plans with the lowest one at $5 and the highest one at $150.
Looking at its features, Libsyn offers more advanced features, for example, offering the “Enterprise Level Tools” which are specifically for professionals, corporations, and networks.
The platform is great for podcasting but good for professionals because it offers complex features that may be overwhelming for beginners.
Also, most of the great features for Libsyn are found in the higher plans where you pay $20 or more, which might prove to be a bit expensive for beginners.
So Buzzsprout is better here as far as beginners are concerned and Libsyn is the best for advanced podcasters who are more business structured.
√Buzzsprout vs Captivate
This is a UK-based podcast hosting site and compared to Buzzsprout it has a 7 day free trial period and its plans can be paid both monthly and annually.
Its prices are slightly higher than those of Buzzsprout but with both platforms, their stats are IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) certified and hence reliable.
Looking at features, these platforms offer almost the same features but Captivate is more superior because it offers unlimited shows and uploads whilst with Buzzsprout, you are limited on uploads based on your plan.
Also, for storage with Captivate it’s unlimited but for Buzzsprout, with the free plan that option is not available.
So here, Captivate is the winner.
√Buzzsprout vs Castos
This is another podcast hosting software that makes podcasting both accessible and easy.
Putting it up against Buzzsprout, it offers a 14 free trial period while offers a 90 day free trial period.
Its price plans are on an annual basis with the starter plan at $190/year and the highest plan at $990/year.
In terms of features, Castos offers far better features including unlimited episode uploads, WordPress, and Youtube republishing, among others.
Also, it offers the ability to host both video and audio files on it whilst Buzzsprout only supports audio files.
So Castos takes the trophy here.
√Buzzsprout vs SimpleCast
SimpleCast is yet another podcast hosting service that provides all podcasting resources.
Battling it out to Buzzsprout, it offers a 14 day free trial period, has three monthly price plans of $15/month, $35/month and $85/month, which is a bit expensive than Buzzsprout.
On the features side, the two platforms are more or less the same in terms of ease of use hence suitable for beginners.
However, in terms of the value the resources of each adds to your podcasting experience, Buzzsprout is way better in my opinion.
My Final Thoughts on Buzzsprout
Buzzsprout is a great platform to work with because it provides good features you can take advantage of, is easy to use, and affordable.
For this reason, I recommend it.
Nonetheless, as much as I recommend it, beginners are best placed to work with it majorly because it provides features basic enough for their level.
Therefore, if you already are an experienced podcaster, this might not be the best platform to use and hence recommend a platform like Podbean which offers you much more advanced functionalities.
I hope this review has shed more light for you about Buzzsprout.
If you any questions or suggestions feel free to share them with me in the comments, and I will be happy to chat with you.
Also, if you have used the platform, share with us how your experience with it.
Till then, cheers to great podcast episodes! 🙂
