Libsyn

Libsyn is the publishing step: you upload the edited episode and Libsyn delivers it to the apps. It does not make the episode or promote it. To see how big Libsyn is next to other hosts, and how many of its shows are still publishing, see our podcast census.

Libsyn (Liberated Syndication) is one of the original podcast hosting companies and has been continuously operating since the medium's earliest days. That legacy is both its biggest asset and its biggest liability.

On the positive side, the platform has long-established relationships with all the major directories, IAB-certified analytics, monetization tools including automatic ad placement and a creator promotion network called Podroll, custom-branded players, and a wide range of plans letting you pick storage and feature combinations matched to your show size. They also recently rolled out direct Spotify Video distribution on Advanced plans and above, which is a genuinely useful addition for shows pivoting to video.

Multi-user collaboration up to five team members per show and bulk episode editing show the company is still investing. On the negative side, the interface feels noticeably older than competitors like Transistor or Captivate, plans are set by hours of audio uploaded each month (3, 10 or 55 hours on Basic, Advanced and Max), so a high-volume show moves up the ladder quickly.

The company also went through several leadership changes in recent years that affected pace. For an established show that has been on Libsyn for years and doesn't want to risk a migration, staying put is reasonable. For a new podcast evaluating fresh, Buzzsprout, Transistor, or Captivate generally offer a better modern experience for similar money.