Captivate vs Megaphone Comparison 2026
Both cover audio & podcasting. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
Podcast hosting priced by downloads
Spotify's podcast host with an ad marketplace
At a glance
- Captivate starts cheaper, at $17.
- Neither has a free tier.
Side by side
Captivate | Megaphone | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $17 | From $99 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free trial, then paid | Paid subscription |
| Free tier | No | No |
| Billing | Not stated | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | 30 days | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on | Web | Web |
| Covers | Audio & Podcasting, Analytics | Ad Networks, Audio & Podcasting |
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.
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.
Only on this side
- Covers analytics
Megaphone
Spotify's podcast host with an ad marketplace
Megaphone is where Spotify puts podcasters who want to sell advertising against a back catalogue rather than only against new episodes. Hosting and distribution come with a campaign manager, so an ad sold today can be inserted into an episode published two years ago and swapped out when the campaign ends. The Spotify Audience Network is the demand side of it. It is priced for somebody whose show already earns, not for a first episode.
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.