Buzzsprout Review (Updated Jan 2020)

Buzzsprout has been hosting podcasts since 2009 and has helped hundreds of thousands of podcasters get started.

They have excellent support, one of the easiest interfaces to use, fair pricing, and have been constantly adding new features as the podcast landscape has evolved.

Let’s start by taking a closer look at Buzzsprout’s features:

Buzzsprout Features

Buzzsprout includes everything you need to host and distribute your podcast.

What I really like is how they organize the dashboard – it just makes sense.

They also provide detailed instructions or tips where things may be confusing.

The main thing any podcast provides is a place to host your audio files and a compliant RSS feed to submit to Apple Podcasts and other podcast directories.

In order to get started, you’ll need to fill out some basic info in the Podcast Settings page:

Once that’s done, upload an episode. To start just hit “Upload a New Episode” on the Episodes page and choose your audio file:

Buzzsprout will automatically process your audio file into 96k mono, the recommended setting for podcasts. While that’s happening you can enter the episode title, description, summary, update artwork if needed, and add some additional settings like episode numbers.

If you already have a show, you can simply find your existing show and import it in from Apple Podcasts or an RSS feed:

Then you can decide if you want to leave it unpublished, publish immediately, or schedule it to go live at a specific date and time:

After the episode is saved, you have a number of options:

• Email or Embed
• Add Chapter Markers
• Get A Transcript (on paid plans)
• Create a Video Soundbite

You’ll also get an email with relevant links such as your episode embed code and the amount of time remaining in your account. These little touches make the experience feel so much better than other platforms.

Let’s take a look at the Chapter Markers screen (this is a feature that many podcast apps, including Apple have started to support).

The episode embed player is right above so you can listen and add markers easily. Once you add chapter markers, your embed player will have a new button:

Speaking of embed players, you’ll want to make sure you select the new Wave player. It’s on the clearly-labeled Players page.

Then you can customize the colors, whether you want to display artwork, sharing options, and more. Here’s a preview:

You also get a nice website that you can customize with different colors, background image, and social media links.

It’s a good idea to change your URL to something more brandable (check out Namecheap for a domain).

The last thing I want to highlight is the Stats page. When you first get started, you’ll see this “Collecting data” message:

But once data starts coming in, you’ll be able to see an overview, devices and apps listened on, and locations listened on.

Buzzsprout Pricing

Paid plans start at $12/month for 3 hours of uploaded audio per month.

There is also a 6-hour plan for $18/month and a 12-hour plan for $24/month.

On all the paid plans you get unlimited storage and plenty of bandwidth.

There is also a free plan that will remove shows after 90 days. You can use this as long as you want, either as an extended trial or as full-featured podcast host assuming you don’t need episodes to live longer than 90 days.

Here’s a recap of the “Pros” and “Cons” of Buzzsprout:

Buzzsprout Pros

• Easy to use
• Fair pricing (free to start)
• Customer support
• Website player

Buzzsprout Cons

• Advanced features like dynamic ad insertion
• Advanced analytics

Do we recommend Buzzsprout?

Absolutely! They are our #1 podcast hosting pick.

As a bonus you’ll get a free $20 Amazon gift card when you sign up for a paid plan!

Buzzsprout FAQs

What Is Buzzsprout?

Buzzsprout is a podcast hosting platform that makes it easy to publish and distribute a podcast.

Is Buzzsprout Free?

You can use Buzzsprout for free with limitations. Your episodes are removed after 90 days and you are limited to uploading 2 hours of audio every month.

Many people use this option if they don’t need episodes to stay live for a long time.

How Much Is Buzzsprout?

Buzzsprout’s pricing plans start at $12/month for 3 hours of uploaded audio per month. They also have an $18/month plan with 6 hours of upload and a $24/month plan with 12 hours.

They also offer add-ons should you need them:

• 192k Stereo Optimization for $6/month
• Episode Transcription for $.10/minute