Audacy Creator Lab vs RedCircle Comparison 2026
Audacy Creator Lab is a sponsorship marketplace with free hosting attached, taking a 10 percent fee only when a brand's campaign actually pays a podcaster. RedCircle hosts the show outright and sells the advertising itself through dynamic insertion, with a free Core plan that includes unlimited episodes and downloads, uncommon at that price. Creator Lab is a marketplace you join for free and wait inside. RedCircle is a full host with advertising layered on top, also free to start.
Podcast sponsorships on a stated fee
Podcast hosting that sells your ad slots
At a glance
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Audacy Creator Lab | RedCircle | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | From $14.99 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Not stated | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | 7 days |
| API | Not stated |
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.
RedCircle
Podcast hosting that sells your ad slots
RedCircle hosts the show and runs the advertising against it, with dynamic insertion so a sponsor read can be swapped out of the back catalogue later. Cross promotions trade audience with other shows on the network. The free Core plan carries unlimited episodes and downloads, which is unusual, and the paid tiers are about analytics and ad control rather than storage.
Why people weigh these two
- RedCircle instead of Audacy Creator Lab
- Podcast hosting that sells your ad slots, free tier plus plans from $14.99; the ads come with the host rather than through pitched campaigns.
- Audacy Creator Lab instead of RedCircle
- Audacy Creator Lab only places sponsorships on a stated fee, with no hosting, storage or cross-promotion attached the way RedCircle bundles them.
Which one should you pick
Audacy Creator Lab is for a podcaster who wants to pitch brands directly and keep hosting simple, with no sign-up fee and nothing owed until a campaign pays its 10 percent. It suits a show already hosted somewhere else that just wants sponsorship leads, since hosting here is a free extra rather than the main event. Anybody who wants storage, distribution and ad tooling from a single dashboard should look at RedCircle instead.
RedCircle is for a podcaster who wants hosting and advertising handled by the same company, with dynamic insertion keeping the back catalogue earning and cross-promotions trading audience with other shows. The free Core plan hosts unlimited episodes and downloads at no charge, and Growth at $14.99 a month adds instant payouts and unlimited insertion. A show that already has its own sponsors and just wants a host that stays out of the way may prefer something plainer than either of these.
Common questions
- Do both of these include hosting for free?
- Yes. RedCircle's free Core plan hosts unlimited shows, episodes and downloads. Audacy Creator Lab also hosts at no charge, built around its sponsorship marketplace rather than around storage limits.
- How do their fees compare?
- Audacy Creator Lab takes 10 percent of a campaign, charged to both the podcaster and the brand, only when a deal pays. RedCircle's free plan charges nothing, and its paid tiers from $14.99 a month charge a flat fee for cross promotions, unlimited dynamic insertion and instant payouts rather than a percentage.
- Which one finds advertisers for you?
- Audacy Creator Lab is built for exactly that: brands post campaigns and a podcaster pitches a rate. RedCircle sells ads through its own marketplace too, layered onto the paid tiers alongside dynamic insertion into the back catalogue.
- Which one has a free trial on its paid tiers?
- RedCircle does, seven days on every paid plan. Audacy Creator Lab has no paid tier to trial, since joining and hosting are free and the only charge is the 10 percent fee on a campaign that pays.
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.