Castopod vs Podfan
Castopod
castopod.org
Podfan
pod.fanSide by side
| Figure | Castopod | Podfan |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | €9.96/mo | $12/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 6 | 4 |
| Spec score · Podcast hosting platforms | 8.6 (#12) | 7.9 (#32) |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Monetization options include funding links, listen-to-click ads, value4value or WebMonetization, and premium podcasts. | Creators can offer monthly or annual memberships, recurring or one-time donations, and gift memberships. |
| Purpose | Castopod is a free, open-source podcast hosting platform for podcasters who want to engage and interact with their audience. | Podfan helps creators monetize podcasts through donations and premium memberships. |
| 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. | Podfan properties use HTTPS encryption in transit, avoid storing unnecessary data, and send payment-card information directly to Stripe rather than storing it on Podfan servers. |
| Support | The documentation directs users to Discord for help and the issue tracker for feature requests and bug reports. | Podfan offers friendly support by email and lets users schedule a call with founder Ivan Homola. |
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
In their own words
Podfan
Podfan helps podcast creators earn from public or private content through memberships and donations. It includes a free podcast website with customizable colors, featured episodes, subscribe links, host profiles, social links, updates, and episode discussions. Private member-only feeds provide unlimited downloads and a unique feed URL for each subscriber. Creators can offer monthly or annual memberships, recurring or one-time donations, gift memberships, and optional seven-day trials. Stripe handles payments, sending member funds to the creator’s connected account. Podfan charges $0.30 per active member per month; Stripe charges 1.4% plus $0.30 per transaction, and annual memberships add a 5% Podfan fee. One-click private-feed subscriptions work with Apple Podcasts, Breaker, Castbox, Castro, Downcast, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Player.fm, Podcast Addict, Podcast Republic, and Podhero. Acast, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Podbean do not support these feeds. Plans are Free at free, Essential at $12 a month plus $0.30 per member, and Premium at $19 a month plus $0.30 per member.