Blubrry vs Podbean Comparison 2026
Blubrry hosts a podcast from your own WordPress site and prices hosting by monthly upload allowance from $7 a month; its only free option is a statistics-only tier, with no free hosting at all. Podbean gives free hosting to publish a first episode with no card, then charges $12, $29, $79 or $99 a month for more storage and its own monetisation tools: a patron programme, an ad marketplace and premium episodes sold per episode or by subscription. Podbean lets you publish for nothing while you decide; Blubrry does not. Blubrry keeps the show on your own domain with certified numbers; Podbean does not.
Hosting that lives inside your WordPress site
Podcast hosting with the money side built in
At a glance
- Blubrry starts cheaper, at $7.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Blubrry | Podbean | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $7 | From $12 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Not stated | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
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.
Only on this side
- Covers analytics
Podbean
Podcast hosting with the money side built in
Podbean hosts a show and then tries to pay for it: a patron programme, dynamic ad insertion against its own advertiser marketplace, and premium episodes sold per episode or by subscription. That is a different shape from hosts that stop at the RSS feed, and it suits a show whose audience is small enough that a network will not call back. The free account exists to get a first episode published; the paid bands lift storage and open the monetization tools.
Our note
Why people weigh these two
- Podbean instead of Blubrry
- Hosting with the money side built in from $12 with a free tier; a platform home rather than an episode archive on your own domain.
- Blubrry instead of Podbean
- Blubrry hosts the show from inside an existing WordPress site rather than a separate dashboard, and leans on its own analytics rather than a monetization suite.
Which one should you pick
Choose Blubrry when the show already runs on WordPress and should stay there, earning search traffic under your own domain through the PowerPress plugin. Hosting starts at $7 a month by upload allowance, and its statistics are IAB certified, sold separately with a genuine free tier if hosting is not the immediate need.
Choose Podbean when you want to try monetising the show directly: a patron programme, an ad marketplace matched to your audience and premium episodes, all bundled from $12 a month, with a free account that publishes a first episode without a card, something Blubrry does not offer at all. Neither the patron cut nor the ad marketplace's cut is published on the pricing page, so ask before counting on either as income. As plain hosting, Blubrry is the cheaper way in; Podbean is worth it only if the monetisation tools get switched on.
Common questions
- Can I publish a podcast for free with either one?
- Podbean, yes: a free account publishes a first episode with no card needed, with limited storage. Blubrry has no free hosting at all; its free tier covers statistics only, and any actual hosting starts at $7 a month.
- Which one helps make money from the show directly?
- Podbean does, with a patron programme, an ad marketplace matched to your show and premium episodes sold per episode or by subscription, from $12 a month. Blubrry's plans cover hosting and IAB certified statistics, with no monetisation tools mentioned.
- Is Podbean cheaper than Blubrry?
- No, at the entry paid tier: Podbean starts at $12 a month against Blubrry's $7. Podbean's free account does include some hosting for a first episode, though, which Blubrry's free tier does not, since Blubrry's free option is statistics only.
- Which is better for a show that already lives on WordPress?
- Blubrry, directly: the PowerPress plugin publishes episodes from the same admin as the blog, so the archive earns search traffic under your own domain. Podbean hosts independently of any site you already run and adds its own monetisation layer 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.