Acast vs Megaphone Comparison 2026
Both cover audio & podcasting and ad networks. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
Podcast hosting with an ad marketplace attached
Spotify's podcast host with an ad marketplace
At a glance
- Acast starts cheaper, at $14.99.
- Only Acast has a free tier.
Side by side
Acast | Megaphone | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $14.99 | From $99 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free plan, paid tiers | Paid subscription |
| Free tier (they differ) | Yes | No |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | None | Not stated |
| API | Yes | Not stated |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on | Web | Web |
Shaded rows are where the two answers disagree and both listings have answered. A row where one side has not stated a fact is left plain, because silence is not a difference.
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
Megaphone
Spotify's podcast host with an ad marketplace
Megaphone is where Spotify puts podcasters who want to sell advertising against a back catalogue rather than only against new episodes. Hosting and distribution come with a campaign manager, so an ad sold today can be inserted into an episode published two years ago and swapped out when the campaign ends. The Spotify Audience Network is the demand side of it. It is priced for somebody whose show already earns, not for a first episode.
Our note
Compare this against what your current host charges plus what you currently earn from ads, rather than against hosting alone. Megaphone is priced as an advertising business with hosting attached, so if the ad side stays empty you are paying a premium for a file server.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.