Castopod vs Pinecast
Castopod
castopod.org
Pinecast
pinecast.comSide by side
| Figure | Castopod | Pinecast |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | €9.96/mo | $10/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 6 | 7 |
| Spec score · Podcast hosting platforms | 8.6 (#12) | 8.5 (#17) |
| Analytics | Built-in analytics use IABv2 audience measurement, run on premises without a third party, and are described as GDPR, CCPA, and LGPD compliant. | Its analytics provide near-realtime data, adjustable time ranges and granularity, chart explanations, and CSV downloads. |
| Directory distribution | major directories | major directories |
| Distribution | Castopod publishes episodes through RSS to listening apps and indexes including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Deezer, Podcast Addict, and Podfriend. | Pinecast supports show submission to podcast apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Pandora, and Pocket Casts. |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Headquarters | Paris, France | Raleigh, United States |
| Monetization | Monetization options include funding links, listen-to-click ads, value4value or WebMonetization, and premium podcasts. | The Tip Jar supports recurring or one-month subscriptions, private premium episodes, subscriber messages, and payouts to a bank or debit card. |
| Monetization tools | Yes | Yes |
| Private podcasts | Yes | Yes |
| RSS feed | Yes | Yes |
| Security | The security guidance recommends making only the writable and public/media folders readable and writable after installation or updates, and setting other files to read-only. | Pinecast says all its properties use HTTPS to encrypt data in transit and that its infrastructure follows industry best practices for securing sensitive information. |
| Support | The documentation directs users to Discord for help and the issue tracker for feature requests and bug reports. | Pinecast directs users to email support, a message form in the signed-in dashboard, or its help center. |
Plans
Castopod
- Starter€9.96 a month
- Podcaster€24 a month
- Network€96 a month
- Starter€119.52 a year
- Podcaster€288 a year
- Network€1,152 a year
Pinecast
- Free planFree
- Starter plan$10 a month
- Pro Analytics add-on$10 a month
- Crew add-on$10 a month
- Growth add-on$10 a month
- Hi-Fi add-on$15 a month
- Free planPrice not published
In their own words
Pinecast
Pinecast is a web-based podcast hosting platform with RSS distribution, monetization tools and private podcasts. It supports submitting shows to apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Pandora and Pocket Casts. Analytics offer near-real-time data, adjustable time ranges and detail, chart explanations and CSV downloads. The Tip Jar supports recurring or one-month subscriptions, private premium episodes, subscriber messages and payouts to a bank or debit card. A customizable podcast website can be created without coding, and a WordPress Sync plugin creates posts for podcast episodes. Notifications can go by email, Slack, Discord or webhooks. The free plan is free, with no time limit, and includes 2 shows, 10 episodes and 48MB file sizes. Starter is $10 a month, billed $110 / Year, with unlimited shows, no episode limit, 80MB file sizes plus a bonus, premium analytics, free transcripts and a podcast website. Add-ons are listed separately, including Pro Analytics, Crew and Growth at $10 a month each, and Hi-Fi at $15 a month.