Libsyn: Podcast Hosting Review

Libsyn was founded in 2004. Their mission is to create a platform that puts the needs of hosting, distribution, monetization, and the podcaster brand first. As there is no free plan, you have access to creative freedom from the quality of tools and available support that’s worth your coin. 

Free plans often come with limits to how you can monetize and grow your platform. You can trust Libsyn will do its job right. They are the most experienced and trusted platform for quality audio and video – as they host over 75,000 podcasts worldwide.

Equipped with destination distribution to more than 25 platforms to 130 million monthly audiences in 2019.

Libsyn hosts some of the biggest shows, including 28.2% Apple Podcast downloads that landed in the top 400 US podcasts.

Table of Contents

Best for Beginner or New Podcasters

Libsyn is best for a beginner or new podcasters just starting.  Everyone from a hobby podcaster to enterprise-level corporations utilizes the platform with the support they need through Libsyn or LibsynPro.

Integrated Plugin

Libsyn Publisher Hub allows for an effective process of publishing podcast episodes straight from WordPress and into your Libsyn show.

Features such as episode creation, Apple Podcasts optimization tags, creating ID3 tags, automated feed or show migrations, and advanced scheduling gives you some of the best tools of Libsyn’s publishing options for your WordPress website.

Storage Limits

The amount of storage you need is included in each plan. The more money a plan is, the higher the storage you can have. However, you can buy more storage with Libsyn Pro.

Bandwidth Limits

Libsyn doesn’t have upload or bandwidth limits for any plan, so you can podcast as much or as little as you want per month. However, every Libsyn plan includes limits on the number of MBs you can upload per month. Their most expensive plan at $40/month only allows you to upload 800 MBs per month.

Is video supported too?

Video is supported with audio. You can start hosting your individual audio or video files.

If you decide to deliver your audience this content as time goes on, you have the option to publish a podcast, get your own mobile app, or have your own Wizzard Player, including helpful stats. 

Statistics

  • IAB v2.0 certified statistics. In-depth audience analytics to better understand what your audience likes from your content to make better-informed decisions.
  • Advanced Podcast Hosting Plans. Includes advanced tracking tools and storage to upload more content every month.

Listing/Integration into Podcast Directories

Designed with a 100% compliant optimized RSS feed to connect to audiences on your favorite platforms. Grow your podcast audience with a listing in the following directories:

  • Apple Podcasts
  • Spotify
  • Google Podcasts
  • Pandora

Other podcast directories of your choice include Deezer, RP, and RADIO.com.

Libsyn has been an official podcast launch partner for some of the most popular media platforms, including Spotify, Pandora, and RADIO.com.

Advanced Features

On publish: This allows you to distribute your podcast onto the most popular listening apps easily. Distribution features include:

  • Remove or add new content quickly with bulk editing tools.
  • Advanced stats for every OnPublish destination to understand your audience better
  • Customize destination delivery
  • Episode scheduling. Control where and when you publish your podcast episodes. Better yet, you have the option to publish exclusive episodes to your listener’s favorite platforms.

Podcast Advertising: Chooses relevant ads and picks ad slots, stitching, and targeting for the best interests of your business needs. Monetization features include:

  • Live-read advertisements give you the option to record an ad using your own voice.
  • Stitched advertisements are audio commercials hand-picked by Libsyn employees for the needs of your podcast.
  • Geographic targeting. Custom-made ad slots to target listeners located in specific campaigns episode.

Mobile-Friendly Player: Publish to your website with a mobile-friendly player. Types of custom players designs include:

  •  Super mamas
  • The story behind
  • Ben Greenfield fitness

User Impression/Reviews

When looking at a solution like Libsyn, reviews on this platform want these top three features: Podcast RSS Feed, Audio Hosting, High performance.

This user likes that Libsyn gives detailed and insightful statistics about downloads – including the ability to download a spreadsheet of the data.

Another user stated that the only thing they dislike about Libsyn is that there is no option to join the sponsorship program unless you have 20k downloads per month.

One review said it’s easy to use and extremely reliable. No issues uploading or using the software. Their weekly podcast contains only uploading 4 episodes (30 minutes on average) per week. After that, past episodes are archived to access whenever. Great service.

However, others say the metrics reports used to be better, moved to new reports that are harder to read. They miss the bar chart of monthly totals.

Lastly, one user dislikes that they lost all the previous data before November 2017. There are metrics about where downloads are by geography – this user doesn’t care about that. All they want are professional reports to share with potential sponsors.

Current Pricing

All plans are either paid annually or with a priced monthly fee. For more storage or an enterprise-level, upgrade to LibsynPro. Additionally, with every plan, you have access to an unlimited audience.

What is an unlimited audience? Libsyn hosting plans are not based on how many downloads a podcast gets per month but rather how much content is uploaded to your account every month. Additionally, there are no surprise rate increases with the number of downloads your audience partakes in.

  • Classic 50 starts at $5 per month with limited storage (50MB)
  • Classic 250 is $15 per month with limited storage (250MB)
  • Advanced 400 is $20 per month with 400MB of storage and advanced tools.
  • Advanced 800 is $40 per month with 800MB storage and advanced tools.

Podcast Hosting Plans include all Advanced features but with more storage.

  • Advanced 1500 includes 1500MB for $75 a month.
  • Advanced 3000 includes 3000MB for $150 a month.

There is no free trial, as purchasing one of these plans will ensure you get value for your podcasting needs out of your investment.