Podcast Hosting Reviews: Simplecast vs. Transistor

Starting your own podcast can feel like an gigantic task. You’re planning content, building an audience, securing guests, setting up your recording equipment… The last thing you probably want to be doing is comparing hosting services–so we’ll get to the point. There are a lot of them out there, including us and Transistor. Here’s how Simplecast stacks up.

Transistor offers three different tiers: The Starter ($19), the Professional ($49), and the Business ($99). Each includes an unlimited number of podcasts with an unlimited number of shows. The difference in cost becomes important when it comes to listeners and the number of team members.

The Starter package gives you 10,000 downloads (basically anytime your podcast is streamed, downloaded, or otherwise listened to) and 2 team members. Simplecast’s Basic tier is $15/month, or $13.50/month if billed annually. That includes 20,000 downloads and 2 team members. So, for $3 less, you’re getting 10,000 more downloads, the same number of team member, and Simplecast’s industry-leading analytics and support.

Beyond the download number and dollar signs, it’s important to consider the type of podcaster you’d like to be. At Simplecast, we aim to help thoughtful, serious podcasters find success–whatever that means to them. Very often, that means by growing your download numbers! It’s why we’re constantly innovating by building out new analytic reports, social sharing tools, and beautiful websites to help you find your audience. It’s also why we structure our pricing plans to be priced per show.

Yes, on Transistor you can have multiple shows per plan. However, let’s say you have 3 shows. On Transistor, that means you’re looking at ~1,666 downloads per show before you get bumped to a higher tier. So, the average show on Simplecast, gets 10k monthly downloads. Moving three of the average Simplecast shows to Transistor would mean three of their mid-level plans at $150/mo, versus $45 on Simplecast. The unfortunate side effect of Transistor’s pricing is that it isn’t really built for podcasters to succeed with. If the main appeal of Transistor is that you can bring in as many shows as you want, those download caps become very punitive very quickly. Which would you rather be–the podcaster with five shows, each with less than one thousand downloads on Transistor, or the podcaster with one show with ten thousand downloads, on Simplecast?

At Simplecast, we’re incredibly proud of our support team. Addy, Mike, and Aaron are full-time Team Simplecast members dedicated to making sure your experience on the platform, and as a podcast creator as a whole, goes smoothly. Each of them is a professional podcaster in their own time, too. Whether in our support chat, over email, or on our educational weekly webinars, they’re there to support you.

While quantity of support staff doesn’t necessarily equal quality, we’d suggest doing a LinkedIn search for how many support team members your prospective podcast host currently employs. Companies without a dedicated support team are a recipe for long ticket times and frustrated customers–something we strive to avoid! The average Simplecast ticket gets answered in under six minutes, and resolved in under an hour.  

We know you take your show seriously, and so do we. That’s why podcasts, and the creators who make them, have been our primary focus since 2013, when Simplecast started. Our team and our energy are always aimed at creating more podcasters, and more podcast success stories–we hope you’ll join us!

Looking to make a switch? Start your two-week free trial today! When you’re ready to go steady, use code TRANSISTOR to get a month free when you start a yearly plan.