Podbean vs Spreaker Comparison 2026
Both cover audio & podcasting. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
Podcast hosting with the money side built in
Hosting with programmatic ads on the free plan
At a glance
- Podbean starts cheaper, at $12.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Podbean | Spreaker | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $12 | From $20 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Not stated |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | None |
| Runs on | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android |
| Covers | Audio & Podcasting, Monetization & Payments |
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.
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.
Only on this side
- Covers monetization & payments
Spreaker
Hosting with programmatic ads on the free plan
Spreaker hosts a show and sells advertising against it, which is the reason to pick it over a host that only stores files. Dynamic ad insertion means a slot can be filled and refilled after an episode is published, so a back catalogue keeps earning. The free plan carries a storage cap and takes a fifth of anything a supporters club brings in. Paid plans drop that fee to nothing and raise the limits.
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.