MatchMaker.fm

MatchMaker.fm is a marketplace and community that connects podcast hosts with guests, structured a bit like a dating app where both sides build profiles and swipe or search for matches. The free tier lets you create a profile and browse plus send a limited number of messages; the Pro plan at around $129/yr unlocks unlimited messaging and access to the full 38,000-plus database of hosts and prospective guests, filterable by topic, industry, expertise, and prior podcast appearances.

For shows that interview a steady stream of new people each week, the discovery experience is genuinely useful — searching for a guest who's been on at least three other business podcasts in the past year with specific niche expertise takes seconds. The community side also runs in your favor, with platform-generated suggestions and matchmaking nudges that surface relevant fits over time.

Where MatchMaker.fm is weakest is genre fit. The community tilts heavily toward entrepreneurship, business coaching, marketing, and self-improvement — great if that's your show, frustrating if you run investigative journalism or an arts show or anything niche.

Guest quality also varies, since anyone can create a profile, and a meaningful percentage are aspiring guests looking for any mic rather than experts in a specific field. For business-podcast hosts, it's one of the better deals in the category. For specialized shows, the signal-to-noise ratio gets rough fast.