Blubrry vs Captivate Comparison 2026
Blubrry hosts a podcast from inside WordPress and prices hosting by monthly upload allowance, from $7 a month, with IAB certified statistics sold separately and a free statistics-only tier. Captivate prices by downloads instead: $17 a month paid yearly, $19 month to month, for up to 30,000 downloads, rising to $44 for 150,000 and $90 for 300,000, with every feature, including dynamic ad insertion, on every band and no free tier at all. Blubrry is the cheaper way in. Captivate is built to scale with an audience rather than an upload schedule.
At a glance
- Blubrry starts cheaper, at $7.
- Only Blubrry has a free tier.
Side by side
Blubrry | Captivate | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $7 | From $17 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free plan, paid tiers | Free trial, then paid |
| Free tier (they differ) | Yes | No |
| Billing | Not stated | Not stated |
| Free trial | Not stated | 30 days |
| API |
Blubrry
Hosting that lives inside your WordPress site
Blubrry is podcast hosting for people who already run a WordPress site and want the show to live on it rather than on somebody else's domain. The PowerPress plugin publishes episodes from the same admin that runs the blog, so the archive earns search traffic under your own name. Statistics are IAB certified and sold separately from hosting, which is worth knowing if you only need one of the two. Plans are set by monthly upload allowance.
Captivate
Podcast hosting priced by downloads
Captivate hosts shows on download bands rather than storage or episode counts, so a back catalogue costs nothing to keep and a viral episode is the thing that moves you up a tier. Every plan carries the full feature set, which is unusual here: analytics, a website, dynamic ad insertion and a listener signup tool are not held back for the dearest band. Unlimited podcasts sit on one account, so a second show does not mean a second bill.
Our note
The thing to check before signing up is your actual monthly download number rather than your subscriber count, because that is the only number the pricing responds to. If a single old episode still pulls traffic, the dynamic ad insertion is what makes this pay for itself.
Why people weigh these two
- Captivate instead of Blubrry
- Hosting priced by downloads from $17 on a trial, against Blubrry's plans set by monthly upload allowance.
- Blubrry instead of Captivate
- Blubrry starts at $7 and lives inside your WordPress site, a cheaper home when the podcast hangs off an existing blog.
Which one should you pick
Choose Blubrry when the show lives on WordPress and a small download count does not need Captivate's growth-priced bands. Hosting starts at $7 a month, well under Captivate's $17, and statistics can be tried free before any hosting is bought at all.
Choose Captivate when the show is growing and every feature should be available from the first band rather than gated by price. All 3 bands, $17, $44 and $90 a month paid yearly, include analytics, a website, dynamic ad insertion and unlimited podcasts on one account, so a second show costs nothing extra. There is no free tier, only a 30-day trial, and pricing follows monthly downloads rather than storage, so a back catalogue that keeps getting listened to is what moves you up a band, not how much you upload.
Common questions
- Which is cheaper for a small, new podcast?
- Blubrry: hosting starts at $7 a month against Captivate's $17 paid yearly, or $19 month to month. Blubrry also lets you start with its free statistics tier and no hosting at all, while Captivate has no free tier, only a 30-day trial.
- How does Captivate's pricing actually work?
- By downloads a month, not storage or episode count: $17 a month paid yearly for up to 30,000, $44 for up to 150,000, $90 for up to 300,000, and a custom quote above that. Blubrry instead prices by how much you upload each month, from $7 to $100 across 6 bands.
- Does Blubrry hold back features on its cheaper plans the way some hosts do?
- Blubrry's hosting bands are set by upload allowance, with statistics offered separately: a free tier, a $5 Standard tier, or an Advanced tier bundled into hosting. Captivate is explicit that every plan carries the same full feature set, including dynamic ad insertion, so only the monthly download band changes what you pay.
- Can I run more than one podcast on either plan?
- Captivate explicitly includes unlimited podcasts on one account at every band, so a second show adds no bill. Blubrry prices by monthly upload allowance for the archive you host, with no separate allowance for multiple shows mentioned on its pricing page.
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.