Buzzsprout vs Zencastr Comparison 2026
Both cover audio & podcasting. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
Podcast hosting that publishes the video too
Remote recording with a local track each side
At a glance
- Buzzsprout starts cheaper, at $15.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Buzzsprout | Zencastr | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $15 | From $24 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Not stated | Not stated |
| Free trial | Not stated | 14 days |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export |
Shaded rows are where the two answers disagree and both listings have answered. A row where one side has not stated a fact is left plain, because silence is not a difference.
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.
Only on this side
- Works with YouTube
Zencastr
Remote recording with a local track each side
Zencastr records each guest on their own machine and uploads the file afterwards, so a bad connection ruins the live monitor rather than the recording. That is the whole reason to use a tool like this instead of a call recorder. Video is recorded the same way. Editing, transcription and distribution sit on top, which means a short interview show can start and finish in one place rather than moving files between four tools.
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.