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Podbean comes at an affordable price and includes all the necessary features you need from a podcast host. So, we decided to put it to the test and explore its features, value for money, customer support, migration process, etc.
For this Podbean review, we tested its basic version and researched other people’s experiences with the platform.
Find out our results and how well Podbean performed in our real-time podcast hosting test below!
Advantages of Podbean (Pros)
1. Easy to Use & Set up
Podbean is beginner-friendly, and setting up everything will take you less than 5 minutes (if you have your audio files ready). Even if you’re a complete novice in podcasting, you will find Podbean quite easy to begin with and host your first podcast.
2. Unlimited storage and bandwidth
Except for the free plan, all Podbean plans come with unlimited storage and bandwidth, meaning they can host an unlimited number of podcasts. And it will even cope with thousands of downloads without hampering your podcasts’ performance.
3. Free podcast recording app
Available on the App Store and Google Play Store, you can download the podcast recording app Podbean, which lets you record, edit, and publish your podcast right from your mobile device. Through the app, you can also invite guest speakers without needing to use your laptop.
4. Excellent monetization tools
Podbean is packed with powerful monetization tools without putting you under restrictions. You can earn money through subscriptions, sponsorships, advertisements, fan clubs, etc., via Podbean.
5. Budget-friendly
Podbean stands as our top pick when we speak about podcast hosting providers due to its value for money. The free plan lets you test out its features, and once you’re enjoying it, you can upgrade to the paid plan, which starts at $9/month.
Who is Podbean Right For?
Podbean is great for people looking for a budget podcast host and video podcasters.
The plan starts at $9/month and includes all the essential features you need from a podcast host. Within a fair price, you get AI-powered features, unlimited storage and bandwidth, advanced statistics, a blog to podcast, video to podcast, etc.
Similarly, certain plans are tailored for video podcasters, and you can easily record or convert your existing video to a podcast with a few clicks. You can also record a new video podcast and upload it on YouTube directly through Podbean.
Using Podbean (Interface)
Podbean has a clean and easy-to-understand user interface, making it easier to publish your episodes.
One-click import audio makes it easier to upload your audio without any learning curve.
Setting up your account and publishing your first episodes took us less than 2 minutes. Similarly, the dashboard comes with all the options to view your podcast, distribute, monetize, etc., at the sidebar.
Upon publishing your episode, you get a free custom landing page that you can share with your audience and even customize as per your branding colors.
Lastly, you can directly manage (install or deactivate) plugins at the click of a button through your dashboard.
Overall, we’d rate Podbean’s interface as beginner-friendly, packed with all the necessary features that are easy to access.
Features Breakdown
Podbean AI
The Podbean AI turns your bad-quality audio into the highest quality automatically, but that’s not all it does. The AI-driven solution allows you to optimize, edit, and generate within a few clicks. Podbean AI will cut extra noise, remove filler words, and take care of the filtering.
On the other hand, it can automatically generate titles, notes, transcripts, etc.
Livestreaming & Live Podcasts
Start live streaming and conducting live podcasts where you control everything. Through this feature, you can directly interact with your audience by answering them live. Moreover, your audience can send you virtual gifts that you can monetize and also allow you to create a fan club for recurring revenue.
Convert blog posts into a podcast
Podbean lets you repurpose your blog posts into podcasts easily with the support of 150+ languages and 500+ different accents. You can choose the AI voice, and Podbean will automatically convert it into an audio format, boosting accessibility and repurposing. Note that you get a limited number of credits to use this feature, depending on the plan you pick.
YouTube Video To Podcast
If you already have YouTube videos, you can convert them into podcasts and upload them directly. This is actually great if you want to repurpose your videos for your listeners to hear on the go and diversify your revenue streams through podcasts.
How to Get Started With Podbean?
Once you’ve signed up with Podbean, you can use the following steps to make your episode live.
Step 1: Go to episodes and click on “Publish Episode.” Now, import your audio file or simply generate one from AI with Podbean.
Step 2: Once you import the audio file, add your title and description of the episode.
Step 3: Once you’re done, click on publish now.
Podcast Distribution With Podbean
Podbean helps you submit your episodes/podcasts to multiple directories, but the process isn’t entirely automatic. Whether you’re on the free plan or the paid one, your podcast will be automatically submitted to Podbean’s own directory. However, for other directories, such as Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, etc., you need to manually submit them.
Podbean offers a centralized dashboard to simplify submissions to major podcast directories. So, with one click, you can manually submit them.
Note that if you’re on the free plan, you won’t be able to submit your podcast to any directory (except Podbean’s own) unless you upgrade to the paid one.
While submission is one-click, the distribution feature could have been improved with automatic submissions, even for the free plan users. For example, BuzzSprout, its competitor, offers automatic submissions to all major directories, even for free users. In the same way, Podbean could use some fine-tuning here.
Migration from Other Podcast Hosting to Podbean
Step 1: Click on Import Existing Project
Step 2: Tap on Import Existing Podcast and enter your RSS feed URL.
Step 3: Now, select your import option. Note that this process may take some time, depending on your existing podcast size.
Step 4: Once your import is completed, set 301 redirect. You can also customize the URL to fit your requirements.
Step 5: Wait for the email, as RSS will update you as soon as the final import is done.
Note here: If you only have a couple of episodes, it’s faster to migrate to Podbean. For instance, we had one episode up, and it took us less than 5 minutes to migrate.
Monetization Options
Podbean has multiple monetization options to make podcasting an active revenue stream, such as:
- Podcast Advertising
- Apple Podcasts Subscriptions Integration
- Dynamic Ad Insertion
You can list your podcast on the Podbean marketplace and allow potential advertisers to find you. Further, you can also charge subscriptions to your readers to access your podcast through Apple podcasts subscription integration, making it easier to make extra money from your podcast directly.
Analytics & Data
Podbean offers quite detailed analytics into how your podcast is performing and also gives detailed insights into your listeners. You can find your analytics under the “statistics” tab on the left side of the dashboard.
Through analytics, you can also track your downloads up to the last 24 months. Other than that, you can get:
- Where Your Audience Comes From
- Downloads by Time of Day (GMT)
- Download Sources
- Most downloaded episodes
- User Retention
- Listeners data
Further, you can review the performance of episodes and compare performances from a set period. However, complete insight is only available to paid users. The free version can only have a small overview of their overall analytics.
Podbean Pricing & Plans
|
Plan |
Price |
Best For |
|---|---|---|
|
Basic |
Free |
Absolute Beginners |
|
Unlimited Audio |
$9/month |
Audio podcasters |
|
Unlimited Plus |
$ 29/month |
Video podcasters |
|
Network |
$ 79/month |
Hosting multiple podcasts |
Podbean offers a range of pricing plans catering to different types of podcasters, from beginners to large networks.
The free plan offers basic features to test the podcast hosting service, but it comes with limited features. You only get 5 hours of total storage and 100GB monthly bandwidth with the free plan. You also don’t get access to directory submissions. So, if you’re serious about podcasting, you’ll have to upgrade to its paid plan.
Coming to its paid plan, they start at $9/month, offering unlimited storage and unmetered bandwidth. It’s affordable and offers amazing features, including Podbean AI, blog posts to audio, videos to podcasts, etc.
If you’re working with both audio and video, the Unlimited Plus (at $29/month) is a great option that adds 20GB of monthly uploads, though it might feel a bit pricey for those who don’t need video.
Lastly, the Network plan, priced at $79/month, is great for large podcasters and packed with essential scaling features.
Overall, Podbean offers competitive pricing plans with unlimited storage. It’s great for anyone looking for an affordable yet robust podcast hosting provider.
Customer Support & Resources
Podbean has excellent customer support and resources and has positive feedback from people. One of its users also shared their experience (screenshot below), highlighting their prompt response, and we had a similar experience.
Whether you’re stuck somewhere and need a DIY solution or are starting your first podcast, you can join its dedicated Podcast Academy. This academy contains:
- 24 tutorials
- 8 webinars
- 57 events
- 18 interviews
And all of these are free to check out. You can also check out their separate 70+ articles for help.
Lastly, if DIY doesn’t work, you can raise a ticket with the customer support team, and the average turnaround time is 2-3 business days.
Verdict: Is Podbean Worth It?
Overall, Podbean is worth paying for people looking for an affordable yet feature-loaded podcast hosting provider. It’s especially an excellent option if you want to do video podcasts since it comes with a dedicated plan that offers the same.
You can try its free version to see if it aligns with your requirements before upgrading to the paid version.
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