Acast vs Castos

Acast is a podcast hosting and monetization company founded in Stockholm, Sweden, and listed on Nasdaq First North. Its core job is to host shows, distribute them to Apple Podcasts, Spotify and every other directory, and then turn listens into revenue through one of the largest podcast advertising marketplaces in the world.

The free Starter plan covers hosting and distribution. Paid tiers (Essential, Pro and Video) add multiple shows, unlimited episodes, team management, a publishing API and video publishing to Apple Podcasts. Acast inserts dynamic ads sold by its own sales teams and programmatic partners into back catalog episodes, so older episodes keep earning. Acast+ lets creators sell premium subscriptions with bonus or ad-free episodes, and sponsorship tools connect shows with brands directly.

Acast fits independent and network podcasters for whom advertising is the business model and who want access to advertisers they could not reach alone. The trade-off is a revenue share on ads and less control over which ads appear. Transistor is a better choice for companies running private or branded shows, Buzzsprout is simpler for hobbyists, and Spotify for Creators offers free hosting tied closely to Spotify. For shows with real audiences that want to be paid, Acast remains one of the strongest options.

Castos is a podcast hosting platform for creators, businesses and organizations, founded in 2017 by Craig Hewitt. It grew out of Seriously Simple Podcasting, a free WordPress plugin Hewitt acquired at the end of 2016, which is still active on more than 30,000 sites. Castos hosts audio, distributes shows to podcast apps and is best known for private podcasts used for internal communications and paid content.

Every plan includes unlimited podcasts, episodes and downloads, one-click submission to directories such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music, a podcast website, IAB-compliant analytics and dynamic ad insertion. Public, private and hybrid feeds are available on all plans, with private subscriber caps of 100, 250 and 500. Higher tiers add YouTube republishing, video file hosting, a branded mobile app for private listeners, team seats and SSO. There is no free plan, only a 14-day trial.

It suits companies that want internal or members-only podcasts and WordPress publishers who want episodes managed from their dashboard. Transistor offers similar private podcasting with plans based on downloads; Buzzsprout is friendlier for beginners; Captivate leans into marketing and growth tools.

Castos reports more than 42,000 hosted podcasts. Monetization now includes Castos Ads with no minimum audience, Campaigns for inserting sponsor reads into back catalogs and Castos Commerce for paid subscriptions through Stripe. Annual billing gives two months free, and extra private subscribers cost 50 dollars a month per 500.