Acast vs Simplecast Comparison 2026
Acast hosts a podcast and sells the ad slots against it, free for one show and five episodes until the show joins its ad marketplace and the cap lifts, then €14.99 a month for unlimited episodes. Simplecast skips ad sales and instead measures downloads to the IAB standard for a show that answers to a sponsor or a network, from $15 a month, or $13.50 prepaid annually, with no free plan and a 14-day trial instead. The choice is whether advertising gets sold for you or you need numbers precise enough to defend to somebody else.
Podcast hosting with an ad marketplace attached
Podcast hosting with analytics worth reading
At a glance
- Acast starts cheaper, at $14.99.
- Only Acast has a free tier.
Side by side
Acast | Simplecast | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $14.99 | From $15 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free plan, paid tiers | Free trial, then paid |
| Free tier (they differ) | Yes | No |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial (they differ) | None | 14 days |
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 ad networks
- Covers monetization & payments
Simplecast
Podcast hosting with analytics worth reading
Simplecast is hosting for shows that answer to somebody, whether that is a network, a sponsor or a client. Downloads are measured to the IAB standard, listener numbers are broken out by episode and market, and the embeddable player is one of the few that does not look borrowed. Distribution to the directories is handled once at setup. Plans are sold by monthly download allowance rather than by episode count, so a show that publishes often is not penalised for it.
Only on this side
Why people weigh these two
- Simplecast instead of Acast
- Simplecast hosts at $15 with analytics worth reading, for a show that wants the numbers rather than an ad marketplace attached to them.
- Acast instead of Simplecast
- Acast attaches its own ad marketplace to the hosting, with a free tier before a $14.99 plan, for a show hunting for a sponsor rather than reporting to one already signed.
Which one should you pick
Pick Acast if selling the ads yourself is not something you want to do, and you are fine with the host taking a share of that relationship. The free tier covers one show and five episodes before the cap lifts, and marketplace revenue depends on advertisers picking the show up, so a small show may earn nothing for a while.
Pick Simplecast if a sponsor or network needs numbers they can trust rather than ad sales handled for you. There is no free tier, only a 14-day trial before $15 a month, or $13.50 prepaid annually, for 20,000 downloads, and IAB-certified measurement is the whole reason a bigger show pays for hosting at all.
Common questions
- Does Simplecast sell ads like Acast does?
- No. Simplecast measures downloads to the IAB standard and leaves selling the ads to you or your network. Acast's marketplace sells the ad slots itself, and joining it is also what lifts the five-episode cap on its free tier.
- Which one has a free plan?
- Acast does: one show and five episodes at no cost, with unlimited episodes once the show is in its ad marketplace. Simplecast has no free tier, only a 14-day trial before its $15-a-month Basic plan begins.
- How is Simplecast priced if not by episode count?
- By monthly downloads instead, so a show that publishes often is not penalized. Basic is $15 a month, or $13.50 prepaid annually, for 20,000 downloads, and the next tier up at $35 a month covers 50,000.
- Is Acast's free tier usable for a real show?
- For five episodes, yes, and ads can run on it. Past that the cap only lifts by joining Acast's advertising marketplace, which trades editorial control of ad sales for the episode count Simplecast never restricts, since it counts downloads instead.
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.