Buzzsprout vs RedCircle Comparison 2026
Buzzsprout hosts a podcast and reports back with statistics that read plainly, with video publishing to YouTube one tier up. RedCircle hosts a show too, then sells advertising against it: dynamic ad insertion, plus a cross-promotion marketplace that trades audience with other shows. RedCircle's free Core plan holds unlimited episodes and downloads at no cost, which is unusual among hosts. Buzzsprout is the plainer choice: hosting, distribution and video, with no ad marketplace attached.
Podcast hosting that publishes the video too
Podcast hosting that sells your ad slots
At a glance
- RedCircle starts cheaper, at $14.99.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Buzzsprout | RedCircle | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $15 | From $14.99 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Not stated | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | 7 days |
| API | Not stated |
Buzzsprout
Podcast hosting that publishes the video too
Buzzsprout hosts a podcast, submits it to the directories and reports back with statistics that are actually readable, which is the reason it keeps being the recommendation for a first show. Upload time is the meter rather than episode count, and the plans are sold as hours a year. One tier up, the same episode is published as video to Apple, Spotify and YouTube from the same upload. Anybody who wants a subscription paywall around episodes will need something else beside it.
Our note
Seventy-two hours a year is about ninety minutes a week, which is more headroom than a new show needs and worth checking against an interview format that runs long. Take the video tier only if you will actually post to YouTube, since the audio plan does everything a podcast strictly requires.
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 Buzzsprout
- RedCircle covers the same hosting with a free tier and paid plans from $14.99, and it sells your ad slots for you.
- Buzzsprout instead of RedCircle
- Buzzsprout adds a video cut of every episode automatically, a production feature RedCircle's own pitch leaves aside for selling ad slots directly.
Which one should you pick
Take Buzzsprout for a show that just wants hosting and, eventually, a video version of the same episode. The free plan gets a first episode out, and Audio at $15 a month billed annually covers 72 hours of upload a year with directory submission and advanced statistics. There is no ad marketplace and no cross-promotion tool here, so pair it with something else if selling ads is the plan.
Take RedCircle if selling ads against the show is part of the plan from day one. The free Core plan hosts unlimited shows, episodes and downloads, which no other free tier in this pair matches, and Growth at $14.99 a month adds cross promotions, unlimited dynamic insertion and instant payouts. A show with sponsors of its own may prefer a host that stays out of the way instead, since RedCircle's whole pitch is getting involved in the money.
Common questions
- Which free plan holds more?
- RedCircle's Core plan is unlimited: shows, episodes and downloads all cost nothing to host. Buzzsprout also has a free plan, but what it includes is not spelled out on the pricing page and sits behind an accordion instead.
- Does Buzzsprout sell advertising against my show?
- No. Buzzsprout hosts, distributes and reports statistics, and stops there. RedCircle runs dynamic ad insertion and a cross-promotion marketplace that trades audience with other shows on its network, on top of hosting.
- Which one publishes video?
- Buzzsprout does, one tier up: the $25 Audio plus Video plan publishes the same upload as 1080p video to Apple, Spotify and YouTube. RedCircle generates transcripts and episode video too, with one-click YouTube distribution on its Pro plan at $29.99 a month.
- What does RedCircle's paid tier add over the free Core plan?
- Growth, at $14.99 a month, adds cross promotions, unlimited dynamic ad insertion, instant payouts and ad-free show pages. The free Core plan already covers unlimited hosting, so Growth is about the advertising and promotion tools rather than raising a storage cap.
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.