Download-based vs flat-rate podcast hosting
Captivate and Transistor charge by monthly downloads. Castos and RSS.com charge a flat price with unlimited downloads and add features as you move up. Neither model is better in general. It depends on where your audience is heading.
| Captivate | Transistor | Castos | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price (yearly) | $17/mo · 30k dl | $15.83/mo · 20k dl | $15.83/mo · unlimited |
| Middle tier | $44/mo · 150k | $40.83/mo · 100k | $40.83/mo · unlimited |
| Top listed tier | $90/mo · 300k | $82.50/mo · 250k | $82.50/mo · unlimited |
| Shows | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Team | unverified | Unlimited | 1 / 5 / 10 |
| Free trial | 30 days | 14 days | 14 days |
| Feature gating | None: all features on all plans | Dynamic ads, YouTube from Professional | Custom domain, YouTube from Growth; video files on Pro |
Key observation
At the time of checking, Transistor and Castos had identical prices ($19 / $49 / $99 monthly). The difference is what each tier unlocks: Transistor raises download caps and keeps seats unlimited; Castos keeps downloads unlimited and raises seats and features. A solo show past 100k downloads pays less on Castos Essentials than on Transistor Business. A team of six under 20k downloads pays less on Transistor Starter than on Castos Pro.
RSS.com (no affiliate relationship) also offers unlimited downloads, from $15/mo yearly on Plus. It caps the number of shows rather than downloads.