Captivate vs Castos

Captivate is a UK-based podcast hosting platform built around growth and monetization rather than storage alone. It hosts audio and distributes episodes to Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other directories, but its pitch is the set of marketing tools around the feed: every plan includes unlimited podcasts and unlimited team members, with tiers based on monthly downloads.

Growth features include smart links that route listeners to their preferred app, calls to action on episode pages and an auto-generated podcast website. Private and premium podcasts support paid or internal shows, and dynamic ad insertion lets you swap ads in back-catalog episodes. IAB-certified analytics give advertisers download numbers they can trust. There is no free plan, but a free trial lets you test the workflow before importing a show.

Captivate fits independent podcasters and small networks that are serious about growing an audience and earning from it, and agencies running several client shows under one account. Hobbyists who publish occasionally will find download-based tiers expensive compared with free options such as Spotify for Creators. Buzzsprout is simpler and very beginner-friendly but charges by upload hours; Transistor also offers unlimited shows and is strong for private podcasts; RSS.com and Podbean are cheaper entry points.

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.