Podbean vs RedCircle Comparison 2026
Podbean's free account has limited storage, then $12 to $99 a month across four bands that lift storage and open three monetization routes at once: a patron programme, an ad marketplace and premium episodes. RedCircle's free Core plan hosts unlimited shows, episodes and downloads outright, something no other host in this catalog matches, then $14.99 a month for Growth adds cross promotions and instant payouts. RedCircle separates storage, which is free and uncapped, from features, which you pay for; Podbean bundles both into the same paid bands. Neither publishes what percentage it actually takes from the money each monetization tool generates.
Podcast hosting with the money side built in
Podcast hosting that sells your ad slots
At a glance
- Podbean starts cheaper, at $12.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Podbean | RedCircle | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $12 | From $14.99 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | 7 days |
| API | Not stated |
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
Read the terms on the ad marketplace and the patron programme before treating the quoted monthly fee as the whole cost, since neither cut is published beside the plans. As hosting alone this is mid-priced; the reason to pick it is wanting the monetization side switched on.
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 Podbean
- RedCircle hosts the show and sells the ad slots directly to sponsors, a narrower bet than Podbean's patron-plus-ads-plus-premium-episodes mix, with its own free tier.
- Podbean instead of RedCircle
- Podbean spreads monetization across a patron programme, ad insertion and premium episode sales, a wider bet than RedCircle's focus on selling ad slots directly.
Which one should you pick
Pick Podbean if you want three monetization routes, a patron programme, an ad marketplace and premium episodes, tried from one account rather than wired together from three tools. Paid bands start at $12 a month, but read the terms on each monetization route before treating the quoted fee as the whole cost, since none of the cuts are published beside the plans.
Pick RedCircle if unlimited hosting for nothing matters more than a mature ad marketplace: the free Core plan has no storage or download cap at all. Growth at $14.99 a month adds cross promotions with other shows and instant payouts, and its own comparison against a similar combined host calls its ad marketplace the less established side of the trade.
Common questions
- Which has the better free plan, Podbean or RedCircle?
- RedCircle, clearly: its free Core plan hosts unlimited shows, episodes and downloads, which no other host in this catalog matches. Podbean's free account has limited storage instead.
- Do either publish what cut they take from ad or patron revenue?
- No, neither states the percentage on its pricing page. Podbean's ad marketplace and patron programme terms are not published beside the plans, and RedCircle's ad revenue share is similarly not stated in the plan comparison.
- Which is better for cross-promoting with other shows?
- RedCircle, which includes a cross promotions marketplace on its Growth plan at $14.99 a month, trading audience with other shows on the network. Podbean's listing does not describe an equivalent cross-promotion feature.
- Which is cheaper for basic hosting alone?
- RedCircle, since its free Core plan already includes unlimited storage and downloads. Podbean's free account caps storage, so basic hosting alone tends to require a paid Podbean band sooner.
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.