Libsyn and Blubrry are two popular podcast hosting services among others. In this article, I’ll compare some of the similarities and differences between the two, and help answer which you should choose if you’re launching a new podcast.
If you have any questions, be sure to leave a comment on this article! I’d also love to hear which podcast hosting service is your favorite.
Libsyn
Libsyn is one of the longest running hosting providers out there. The company was started in 2004 and hosts many large podcasts, like The Tim Ferriss Show.
Although the user interface is a little outdated, it’s very easy to set up a podcast and generate an RSS link for the iTunes store. You can also pre-schedule podcasts and customize all of the basic information for the iTunes store like the description of your podcast, the title, and sub-title.
The pricing for Libsyn starts at $5/month and goes upwards of $75/month. At the $20/month tier you will gain access to advanced statistics, like where people are listening to your podcasts from and on what devices.
On the pro side, Libsyn is dependable and has a long history of hosting podcasts. On the con side, the user interface and podcast player is a little outdated.
Blubrry
Blubrry was founded in 2006 and is a “podcast community and directory that provides media statistics, hosting, and the PowerPress podcasting WordPress plugin.”
In contrast to Libsyn, Blubrry has a flat $5/month add-on for podcasting statistics. Hosting starts at $12/month and goes upwards of $80/month. Blubrry also offers podcast consulting and web development services ranging from $100-$150/hr.
I think that one of the major selling points of the Blubrry podcast hosting services is the PowerPress podcasting plugin, which makes it easy to embed a media player onto your website or blog. You can also “sasily add, modify and remove podcasts from blog posts and pages.”
Which should you choose?
I personally have had no difficulties using Libsyn, though I do wish they would upgrade their user interface and podcast player (this con is making me consider switching to SoundCloud, with better pricing and a more modern podcast player/ecosystem).
Although I have not used Blubrry, it has been spoken highly of on School of Podcasting for it’s ease of use with wordpress. “Blubrry is slightly easier to use as everything is done within WordPress (for the record this does not mean Libsyn is ‘hard’ it requires you to copy and paste some info), but its more expensive.”
Ultimately, the choice comes down to your budget, your preferred user interface, and which company you’d like to work with in the coming years.
