Castos Review – Is It the Best Podcast Hosting Platform in 2024 ?

Should you’ve determined to start out a podcast, chances are you’ll be questioning what Castos affords and if it is value utilizing. On this Castos assessment, I’ll reply all of your questions so you may make an knowledgeable determination.

I’ll element:

• How Castos works
• The important thing options
• Who it is proper for
• Pricing
• Does it have buyer help
• What persons are saying
• Tips on how to arrange your first podcast
• One of the best alternate options

Let’s dive in!

Should you’re new to podcasting, try our information on how to start a podcast and make money.

In a rush?

Take a better have a look at Castos right here.

Castos Overview

Castos is an all-in-one podcast internet hosting platform that additionally permits customers to create, monetize, distribute, and develop their podcasts.

It has a user-friendly dashboard and an wonderful array of options in order that even full newbies can create podcasts shortly and simply.

Utilizing Castos, you’ll be able to publish as many podcasts as you need for a hard and fast month-to-month payment and even check out recording longer episodes in numerous kinds with out hitting a storage cap.

After you have your podcast episodes prepared, they are going to be mechanically distributed to all main listening directories, corresponding to:

And I used to be actually impressed with the beneficiant Castos options and inexpensive pricing, which might make this podcast internet hosting platform excellent for these simply beginning out.

Let’s take a better have a look at these standout options under.

Castos Evaluation: Key Options

Check out Casto’s distinctive options, which can assist you to create, handle, monetize, and distribute your podcast like a professional.

Customized Castos Web site

Each podcast you create in Castos will get a professionally designed, mobile-responsive podcast web site.

This may be simply personalized to match the appear and feel of your present, and you’ll:

• Choose a major model shade to make it distinctive
• Select fonts that align along with your branding
• Import your podcast cowl picture mechanically

Not solely that, however you’ll be able to add host profiles into Castos to point out in your web site and have a subscriber web page so that you regularly increase your follower listing.

Podcast Monetization

I liked how Castos affords a number of choices to monetize a podcast, and so they do NOT take a reduce of your income, apart from a Stripe processing payment.

You possibly can determine on a donation schedule, together with when and the way a lot listeners can pledge to help you.

Choices embody a ‘‘one-off” donation or a ”scheduled” donation.

One other good contact is that you would be able to simply monitor supporter donations in a devoted ”Subscriber Dashboard”.

Podcast Transcriptions

You spend time creating your podcast episode, and Castos will mechanically transcribe the episode right into a word-for-word account.

It is a smart way to make sure your content material is accessible to a wider viewers, like those that communicate a international language or those that are laborious of listening to or deaf.

Not solely that, however your podcast web site may additionally take pleasure in an website positioning increase and higher rating in search engines like google for key phrases, so it will get seen by a bigger viewers and makes you extra money!

Casto’s automated transcriptions are free, and every plan provides you an allotted quantity of credit to make use of.

YouTube Republishing

Castos makes it straightforward to mechanically republish your podcast episodes into stunning-looking movies for YouTube.

The advantages of YouTube republishing embody:

• Attain a wider viewers
• Improve your website positioning outcomes
• Make more cash out of your podcast episodes

It is free and simple to get began with YouTube republishing. Simply join your Castos account along with your YouTube channel and each time you create a podcast will probably be transformed to a video file, with a thumbnail, and printed to YouTube for you.

Nonetheless, you will need to level out that this characteristic is simply out there to Castos Progress and Professional plans.

Dynamic Adverts in Your Podcast

Castos allows you to monetize all of your podcast episodes with a single click on and nil technical data.

You do not have to chase sponsors or edit your episodes – Castos does all of it for you, so you’ll be able to take pleasure in additional income shortly and simply.

Dynamic advertisements may even be added to your previous podcast episodes which can be nonetheless getting visitors.

I additionally thought it was a pleasant contact that Castos means that you can place advertisements, regardless of what number of listeners you’ve got.

You usually have to attend till you’ve got tens of 1000’s of listeners a month with some platforms, which is usually a laborious aim to succeed in for a lot of.

Detailed Podcast Analytics

Castos internet hosting provides customers entry to an in depth analytics dashboard to watch our podcast’s efficiency.

Just a few issues you’ll be able to monitor embody:

• Whole listens by podcast
• Greatest performing episodes
• Which browsers and apps your viewers pay attention on

Test our information on see how many listeners a podcast has.

• Simply obtain studies to share with sponsors or companions
• The ‘‘follower” metric reveals who your true followers are
• See the place your podcast listeners are positioned

By getting data in your finest podcast episodes, you may give followers extra of what they need.

And receiving details about the place listeners are positioned means you’ll be able to discover content material that can resonate with them and even create meetups for loyal followers in that space.

WordPress Website Podcast Plugin

The Castos embeddable participant permits customers to embed their podcast onto any web site or platform exterior of the Castos platform.

By embedding the podcast participant onto your web site, your viewers can hearken to it with out having to navigate away out of your website.

WordPress customers could make their lives even simpler by downloading the Castos WordPress plugin onto their website and managing all their podcast work in WordPress.

This plugin means that you can:

• Handle a number of podcasts in your WordPress web site.
• Import all podcast content material in a single click on.
• Add episodes, view analytics, design a number of feeds, and edit your embeddable participant.
• Select between gentle or darkish mode relying on what seems finest in your website.
• Create personalized subscribe and call-to-action buttons for shares on social media.

Seamless Integrations with Different Instruments

Simply combine your Castos podcast straight with third-party instruments corresponding to:

• Zapier
• Shopify
• ConvertKit
• Elementor
• Stripe
• PayPal
• MemberPress
• Descript
• Many extra…

By linking totally different instruments, you’ll be able to improve your Castos capabilities, provide your listeners one of the best expertise, and take advantage of cash out of your efforts.

Castos Evaluation: Who’s it Proper For?

Castos is the fitting podcast internet hosting platform for small and medium podcast publishers who’re both beginning out or mid-way via their progress journey.

New podcasters will take pleasure in having limitless podcasts, downloads, and episodes with out restrictions and the one-on-one onboarding name with an knowledgeable is a pleasant contact.

Nonetheless, bigger podcast publishers could also be annoyed with the restrict on the variety of non-public subscribers they’re allowed to have and will need to look elsewhere if they’ve an even bigger viewers.

The primary methods Castos is used embody:

• Basic podcasting. Create, develop, handle, and monetize a podcast on your viewers.
• Non-public podcasting. Simply create non-public podcasts on your membership website, neighborhood, or on-line course.
• Inner firm podcasts. Create a podcast simply on your workers to move on data in a method that does not require a display.

Castos Evaluation: Pricing

Castos has a pricing plan for podcasters at each stage of their journey.

• Necessities – $19/month. Perfect for podcasters simply beginning out.
• Progress plan – $49/month. Greatest for these wanting extra promotional options.
• Professional plan – $99/month. Nice for podcasters who produce video content material.
• Castos Premium from $499/month. Made for big organizations and large-volume publishers who need one of the best options and superior analytics.

Does it Have Buyer Help?

One other factor I believed was nice about Castos was that they provided a one-on-one onboarding name for all plans from Necessities to Premium.

It is a good private contact and reveals that the Castos crew is there to assist all podcasters at each stage, it doesn’t matter what they’re paying.

Should you want additional assist, there are a number of different choices:

• Contact Castos help by filling out the web kind.
• Go to the Data Hub that is crammed with detailed data on each facet of Castos easy podcasting platform.
• Take a look at the WordPress.org discussion board to ask questions and obtain solutions to all of your Castos questions.

Castos Evaluation: What Are Folks Saying?

Whereas Castos does have some wonderful evaluations of its product by itself web site, I at all times wish to examine third-party assessment websites to search out evaluations that shouldn’t be biased.

Trustpilot had largely 5-star reviews for Castos, praising its ease of use, nice buyer help, and monetization options.

Nonetheless, a number of unhealthy evaluations talked about wishing Castos was extra customizable and the way they discovered it laborious to add new podcast episodes.

Tips on how to Create a New Podcast with Castos?

Once you’re able to create a brand new podcast, signal into your Castos account.

From right here, you may be provided three choices to select from:

• Create a brand new podcast
• Import an current podcast
• Hook up with WordPress

Click on on ”Create a New Podcast” and fill out the details about your podcast, such because the title and outline.

Add your podcast cowl artwork or choose from a pre-designed cowl offered without cost in Castos.

Declare your customized podcast web site, full with its personal URL.

Choose a class on your podcast and assessment the submitted data.

As soon as you might be blissful, click on ”Create My Podcast”. Now, you’ll be able to select so as to add your first episode or go to your dashboard.

Be taught extra about making a memorable podcast intro in our information.

Greatest Castos Alternate options

Whereas Castos has so much to supply, there are numerous nice alternate options, corresponding to:

Podbean

Podbean is without doubt one of the finest podcast internet hosting platforms that gives wonderful monetization options.

Become profitable out of your podcast with patron and paid content material, PodAds, sponsorship offers, and the Apple Podcasts Subscription Integration.

Different nice options of Podbean you should utilize embody straightforward scheduling publishing, cowl artwork creator, professional podcast web sites, promotional and distribution instruments, Podbean AI, analytics, and extra.

Podbean has every thing it’s worthwhile to construct and handle your podcasts, and with inexpensive pricing, it is an amazing platform for newbies.

Be taught extra in our detailed Podbean review.

Acast

Acast is one other stable possibility for podcast internet hosting. It means that you can create and publish to each podcast app available on the market.

Customers can host and distribute their podcasts, discover and develop an viewers, and analyze outcomes.

You may also reap the benefits of a number of monetization strategies like dynamic advert insertion, month-to-month memberships, and one-time purchases.

I additionally appreciated the distinctive monetization choices that will be useful, corresponding to paid early listening, ad-free listening, and prolonged episodes.

Buzzsprout

Buzzsprout is a beginner-friendly podcast internet hosting platform with a variety of highly effective options and wonderful buyer help.

It affords every thing it’s worthwhile to begin a profitable podcast corresponding to publishing, reporting, and analytics, and a large listing to get your podcast listed in every single place.

Monetization can be easy and you’ll select to obtain donations out of your listeners and run commercials in your episodes.

Plus, in the event you’re new to the podcast world, you’ll be able to reap the benefits of Buzzsprout’s free studying supplies. There are guides, tutorials, podcasting programs, and an intensive neighborhood of consultants.

Be taught extra on this Buzzsprout Vs Podbean review.

Castos Evaluation: Remaining Verdict

As you’ll be able to see on this Castos assessment, this podcast internet hosting platform is an wonderful alternative for small and medium-sized podcast hosts.

With the liberty for limitless podcasts, downloads, and episodes and automated distribution, you’ll be able to develop your podcast viewers shortly and simply.

Plus, you’ll be able to take pleasure in good automation options and respectable monetization choices, corresponding to accepting donations and inserting dynamic advertisements in your content material, regardless of what number of listeners you’ve got.

Nonetheless, in the event you’re a bigger model that desires additional monetization options and entry to larger subscriber counts, Castos might not be best for you.

Need extra concepts for the place to create and handle podcasts?

Test our information on 30 of one of the best podcast hosting platforms.