Pocket Casts vs Podbean

Pocket Casts is a podcast listening and discovery service from Pocket Casts, a maker founded in 2010. Listeners can search for shows, play episodes and browse recommendations curated by experts. The service supports offline downloads, video podcasts, episode transcripts, private feeds and cross-device sync. It is available on Android, iOS, macOS, web and Windows, as well as Apple TV, Apple Watch, Wear OS, CarPlay, Android Auto, Android Automotive, Sonos, Alexa and Chromecast. The free plan includes podcast listening and discovery with web and desktop access; no limits for the free offering are specified. Pocket Casts Plus adds folders, Up Next Shuffle, bookmarks, wearable apps, themes and icons. For new subscribers, Plus costs USD 3.99 per month or USD 39.99 per year. Taxes and fees may apply based on location. Support is available through the help center, forums and direct contact.

Podbean is a podcast hosting and publishing service with tools for distribution, audience statistics, monetization, and private or video podcasts. It supports RSS feeds and distribution to major directories. Its iPhone and Android apps cover recording, publishing, statistics, and listening, and episodes can be automatically shared to Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Tumblr, and WordPress. The Basic Free Plan provides 5 hours or 500MB of storage, 100GB of monthly bandwidth, up to three published episodes per day, a 100MB single-file limit, and up to 20 episodes in its RSS feed. Free hosting supports MP3 and M4A files, includes basic statistics, and does not require a credit card to sign up. Paid plans add options such as audio or video publishing, private podcasts, team access, and AI tools for audio optimization, content assistance, transcripts, and podcast creation. The listed Unlimited Audio plan costs $17 a month when billed yearly. Podbean also offers advanced, IAB-certified analytics and monetization features including an Ads Marketplace, dynamic ad insertion, and Apple Podcasts Subscriptions.