Acast vs Audacy Creator Lab Comparison 2026
Acast hosts a podcast and sells the advertising against it, free for one show and five episodes before the marketplace lifts the cap. Audacy Creator Lab is a sponsorship marketplace only: hosting is free, brands post campaigns, and a podcaster pitches a rate they set themselves, with a 10 percent service fee charged on both sides when a campaign pays. The question is whether you want hosting and ad sales from one company, or free hosting plus a marketplace that costs nothing while it is quiet.
Podcast hosting with an ad marketplace attached
Podcast sponsorships on a stated fee
At a glance
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Acast | Audacy Creator Lab | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $14.99 | Free |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free plan, paid tiers | Free |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Not stated |
| Free trial | None | Not stated |
| API | Yes |
Acast
Podcast hosting with an ad marketplace attached
Acast hosts the show and sells the ads against it, which is the combination a podcaster otherwise assembles from two companies. Putting a show into its marketplace lifts the episode cap on the free plan, so monetizing and hosting are the same decision. Ad revenue depends on being picked up by advertisers, and a small show may see nothing for a while.
Only on this side
- Covers monetization & payments
Audacy Creator Lab
Podcast sponsorships on a stated fee
Creator Lab is a marketplace where brands post campaigns and podcasters pitch for them, with the hosting thrown in free. A creator sets their own rate, talks to the brand directly and gets paid through the platform rather than invoicing anybody. The service fee is published rather than negotiated, which is rarer in podcast advertising than it should be. Shows too small for a network to call back are the ones this exists for.
Our note
This is Podcorn under Audacy's name, and the pricing survived the change intact, which is more than most acquisitions manage. Take it for the free hosting and treat any campaign that lands as upside, because the marketplace costs nothing while it is quiet.
Why people weigh these two
- Audacy Creator Lab instead of Acast
- Audacy Creator Lab states its sponsorship fee up front and is free to join, though it covers sponsorships only, not hosting the show itself.
- Acast instead of Audacy Creator Lab
- Hosting with an ad marketplace attached, free tier and plans from $14.99; a host-first route to the same sponsorship money.
Which one should you pick
Pick Acast when you want a single company hosting the show and filling the ad slots, and you are comfortable with the marketplace deciding what gets picked up. Free covers one show and five episodes, and joining the ad marketplace lifts that cap. Ad revenue depends on being picked up by advertisers, so a small show may see nothing for a while.
Pick Audacy Creator Lab when your download numbers are too small for a network to return the call but your audience is defined enough that a brand would still care. There is no sign-up fee and hosting is free, so a show can sit and wait for the right campaign at no cost. The only bill is a 10 percent service fee, charged when a campaign actually pays, so the cost of waiting is nothing.
Common questions
- Does Audacy Creator Lab host the podcast too?
- Yes, hosting is included at no charge alongside the sponsorship marketplace. Acast also hosts and sells ads from one account, but its free plan caps a show at five episodes until it joins the marketplace.
- Who sets the price on Audacy Creator Lab?
- The podcaster does. You pitch your own rate rather than accept a rate card, and the platform takes a 10 percent service fee from both the podcaster and the brand when a campaign pays.
- Which one suits a small show better?
- Audacy Creator Lab, because there is no sign-up fee and hosting is free, so a small show can wait for the right campaign without paying anything. Acast's free tier caps episodes at five until the show joins its own marketplace, and ad revenue there depends on being picked up.
- What does either one cost if no advertiser ever books?
- Nothing on Audacy Creator Lab, since the only fee is 10 percent of a campaign that actually pays. Acast's free plan is capped at five episodes rather than charged a fee, and it still asks for a card at signup that the page states will not be charged.
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