Starting a church podcast requires choosing the best podcast hosting for churches that has all the features for podcasting. It’s one of the reasons every church should host their sermons online to serve existing congregation and reach new members.
There are many hosting providers for Christian podcasting. And you can find free Church podcast hosting to store your sermons. It’s possible to use your web hosting where your website is running to upload your audio recording and content files.
But anything free always comes with technical knowledge requirement.
That’s why I recommend the best paid platform for your media ministry. No technical knowledge is required.
Further Reading: Best Podcast Hosting for Beginners
You can easily start a podcast for your ministry, offer sermons online, and publish your church episodes on iTunes using simple and intuitive interface. Professional podcasters always look for reviews first and then research what options are available for the best podcast hosting for churches.
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What Is The Best Podcast Hosting for Churches
As a church, it’s a great feeling to start producing high quality valuable content and turn them into new podcast each week.
You get to record your sermons and upload online for people to listen to.
You have to start by choosing a private podcast hosting platform with the best options to save you money and time.
Different churches and ministries will require a one-size-fits-all hosting services, but it’s hard to find.
This guide will provide you with the various podcast hosting costs and their best options to help you focus on recording sermons for podcast.
But then…
Further Reading:
Best Podcast Hosting for WordPress Plugins
What is Podcast Hosting?
Podcast hosting is a file hosting platform for your audio content and RSS feed for your podcast.
It consists of a web server that accepts .mp3 files upload, allow file downloads as well as an RSS feed that describes your audio file.
The best providers offer advanced analytics, various podcast plans to choose from marketing tools, social sharing options, 24/7 support with tutorial on how to record sermons for podcast & your first episodes and more.
Additionally, podcast hosting sites may include features like limited bandwidth, file storage system, streaming and distribution compliant, a free website and domain, WordPress plugins, and podcast apps.
Because your podcast needs a reliable host, it’s important to review all the host features before starting your church podcast.
Don’t miss: Best Podcast Hosting
Top Picks for the Best Podcast Hosting for Churches in 2019
Here are my top recommended podcast platforms for your ministry and every Christian podcaster ready to put their sermons online.
1. PodBean
PodBean provides a range of great tools to help Christian podcasters and churches grow and monetize their shows.
The Best Platform for Your Media Ministry ($29/Month + 1 Month Free)
PodBean is a podcast hosting powering over 225,000 podcasters globally since 2006.
PodBean currently hosts 120,000+ individual, 2500+ business and Christian podcasts. Their users range from churches, real estate agents, educational institutions, sports to ministries, musicians, travel agents and municipalities.
See Also: Best Wireless Earbuds for Podcasts
With PodBean, you can get up and running in 5 minutes after sign up. Their newbie proof technology platform comes with intuitive & simple interface that helps churches to easily start a podcast for their ministry, offer sermons online, publish and distribute their church episodes on iTunes and other networks.
PodBean provides unlimited hosting services, promotion and distribution on Google Play, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Alexa and major apps with 24/7 support.
PodBean podcast app easily integrate and sync with YouTube channel during publishing.
On their free plan, you are allowed 100GB of bandwidth and 5 hours of content upload per month.
Their $9/month plan gives you detailed analytics reporting on your listeners.
I recommend churches; Christian podcasters and ministries serious about spreading their messages and sermons online get their $29/month PodBean Unlimited Plus Plan.
This plan gives you mobile app, unlimited video storage and audio hosting, ability to dynamically add your own sponsored ad campaigns to monetize new episode, patron program to accept recurring revenue from sermons listeners, free YouTube version channel sync, analytics reports, auto-posting to Twitter and Facebook.
PodBean is my #1 choice best podcast hosting for churches and their unlimited plus plan is the best way to start your church podcasting journey.
Get one month free on paid plans. City Hope Youth is the best podcast on PodBean for Church category.
2. Buzzsprout
Buzzsprout hosts your Christian podcasts so that your church members can download them quickly. Your church gets access to powerful tools to promote and track the growth of your church podcast.
Buzzsprout for Christian Podcasting & Best Chruch Podcast for Beginners ($12/month + $20 Amazon Gift Card)
Buzzsprout is revolutionizing the way churches and Christians worldwide can hear the word of God.
Here are a few of the podcast hosting features Buzzsprout has built to help churches get their sermons to listeners on the web.
Easy setup for iTunes, Stitches, and Google Play Music
Get listed in major podcast directories that update automatically each time your church publish new episodes for your congregation.
Your Own Mobile Friendly Podcast Website
Don’t have a website? Buzzsprout podcast hosting gives you basic podcast website automatically. You can customize your URL, images, and colors and link to iTunes in minutes.
Customizable Podcast Players for your Church Website
Buzzsprout provides embed players that are customizable on any device. Copy and paste a line of code into your church website and your members can listen to sermon episodes right from your website.
24/7 Personal Support
Their customer support team is just an email away to walk you through on how to record sermons for podcast if you’ve any issues.
Statistics to track your Podcast
A powerful analytics showing you how your congregation; is listening to your podcast. These include geo-location for listeners, view play counts for each episode and how each episode is listened to, and more.
How Does Buzzsprout Help?
They’ve been in podcast host business since 2009. They also offer free podcast hosting for churches for 90 days. This free plan gives you 2 hours of content upload only.
Their other plans range from $12 – $24 per month. You get unlimited storage, 250GB of bandwidth that covers 20,000 to 40,000 episode plays per month.
How to Record Sermons for Podcast on Buzzsprout
With Buzzsprout, it is super easy to upload and schedule your podcast.
Once you upgrade to 128k stereo optimization for better sound, simple upload your audio .mp3 file, change the episode title and description, and submit your podcast to all major podcast directories for churches.
Buzzsprout is my #2 choice for church podcast host platform for 2019.
I recommend their $24/month plan that gives additional hours of content upload and a free $20 Amazon gift card.
Get Started with Buzzsprout
3. Blubrry
Blubrry gives churches bunches of options to make money on their podcasts.
Blubrry is the best hosting platform that lets you bypass the time-consuming activities for distributing your podcast to major directories.
They are the first and only IAB certified podcast stats platform that fully supports Apple podcasts (previously iTunes podcasts) which is required for podcasting.
Blubrry and Libsyn are two veterans of the podcast hosting world with top competitors like Acast and PodBean.
Best WordPress Podcast Hostng for Online Church Media & Christian Podcasts ($12-$80/month)
Blubrry is a great podcast hosting service that offers managed WordPress hosting with PowerPress for Christian podcasters and churches. Countries like India, Us, Uk and Europe, Asia are their major active users. They provide great tools, podcasting manual, tips and advice to support churches with their new podcast.
Blubrry currently hosts over 75,000+ active WordPress PowerPress installs that is free to use, regularly maintained, and offers MP3 tagging & SEO options.
Their lowest podcast hosting costs and plans start at $12 per month with a 100MB storage.
Their professional plan and four other paid plans with custom pricing range from $12 to $80. These come with 100MB to 1000MB/month of storage space.
Blubrry has become a top-rated choice for churches and Christian podcasters because of their customer first approach.
Try Blubrry
4. Captivate
Captivate is the world’s only growth-oriented podcast hosting for churches in india, UK, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, US and other countries where Christianity and Muslim dominate religion activities.
The next step in the evolution of podcast hosting is the elevation of Captivate built by podcasters, for humans, with intelligence that actively helps you to grow your show within minutes.
Best Podcast Hosting for Growing Your Church Audience ($19/month)
Captivate is an automatic podcast website and built-in calls to action enabled hosting platform focused in growing podcast audiences.
With a ton of great podcasting features, Captivate plans come with customizable, mobile-friendly website with built-in donation support for churches to receive online donations.
Additionally, you get unlimited number of podcasts, a new podcast player, unlimited team members, marketing tools and advanced analytics.
Also, you can build your email list and generate new members for your church with podcast player calls to action.
Captivate provides three plans starting from $19/month to $99/month based on the download numbers per month.
- Podcaster $19/month plan offers 10,000 downloads maximum.
- Audio Influencer plan $49/month provides you with up to 50,000 downloads.
- Podcast Brand at $99 per month allows you up to 120,000 downloads.
Captivate is already making waves as the most popular podcast hosting company for Christian podcasters and church ministries.
If you’re looking for a podcast host that support growing your audience, give captivate a try.
Try Captivate
5. Transistor
Transistor provides all the tools to help Christian podcasters and churches get more listeners with unlimited shows, podcast analytics, multiple users and distribution on popular directories and networks.
Best Professional Podcast Hosting & Analytics for Churches ($19 – $99 per month)
Transistor.fm hosting, analytics, and distruction is great for churches and podcasters who are using podcasts to build their brand and grow their audience.
They host popular church podcasts and big companies including Cards Against Humanity, Honeybadger, Drift and smaller companies, like Joe Workman’s Weaver’s Space, and brady sheaver shows.
Additionally, you can generate branded websites with your own domain name and you can easily import your existing feed from Anchor or Libsyn to Transistor in minutes.
Transistor starter plan is $19/month and allows you access to unlimited podcasts and episodes, 2 users and 10,000 downloads monthly.
Their next plan is Professional at $49/month that gives up to 5 team members and 50,000 downloads per month.
Business Plan is $99/month and you get up to 10 team members and 50,000 downloads per month.
If you are a dedicated Christian podcaster or a church starting a podcast show, I recommend going with the Transistor Professional Plan. It’ll help you grow your audience without limits as you scale your podcast.
Get started with a 14-day free trial and get 2 months free when you pay annually.
Try Transistor
Podcast Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are a couple of questions you might have to help you decide on what’s the best podcast hosting for sermons.
Can I Host my Church Podcast on my Existing Website?
The answer depends on what you want. If you’ve the technical skill, yes you can host, otherwise the answer is no.
Podcast consists of audio files and an average size of episode is 30MB. So it all about bandwidth and the number of downloads of your episodes monthly. This can get your self-hosting running out of bandwidth and auto-suspended by your web hosting provider.
I’ll recommend you upload your audio files to a podcast host, and then embed podcast player on your own site.
How Do I Choose the Right Podcast Host for my Church?
There isn’t an all-in-one solution podcast platform. You need to go through the features and choose the one that best meets your budget and requirement.
Our top picks can help you streamline your search and go for our recommendations.
Other Podcast Hosting Services
1. Castos
Castos is great for WordPress integration allowing you to set up Castos podcast hosting on your own church website.
Just install the popular seriously simple podcasting WordPress plugin, upload and publish episodes directly from your website WordPress dashboard.
How Much Does Castos Cost?
There are three tiers at $19, $34 and $49 per month plans.
The $34 a month plan allows you to republish your show to YouTube while the $49 plan supports video podcast hosting.
2. Spreaker
Spreaker is a podcasting platform that offers live broadcasting, offline recording and distribution platform to major directories without logging out from spreaker platform.
How Much Does Spreaker Cost?
The lowest plan is $7 a month and gives you 100 hours of audio and basic starts. The higher tier is $20 per month with 500 hours, more storage and advanced stats and analytics.
3. Libsyn
Libsyn is a podcast hosting space serving tens of thousands of customers with reliable, quality and knowledgeable service.
How Much Does Libsyn Cost?
Libsyn podcast plans range from $5 a month for 50MB of uploads to $15 a month for 250MB of uploads.
Libsyn also offers custom pricing for its Enterprise plan which is great for celebrities, Government agencies, professional media companies & podcast networks.
4. Podcast Websites
Podcast Websites is a customizable podcast hosting platform that support self-hosted WordPress website with a range of plugins to engage your listeners and grow your show.
How Much Does Podcast Websites Cost?
Podcast Websites has a single priced unlimited premium plan at $99 per month.
If you pay annually, you get a discount and save $240 over the year at $77 per month.
5. SimpleCast
Simplecast is the modern independent podcast hosting and analytics platform.
They offer powerful tools including sharing options and stats to help you grow your podcast show and track your growth progress.
How Much Does Simplecast Cost?
Starting at $15/month with a 20,000 downloads monthly limit. They also have a $35 a month and $85 per month packages that support 50,000 and 125,000 downloads respectively.
However, huge discounts are available when paying annually.
6. Anchor
There are a couple of podcast hosts like Anchor that offer free hosting as part of their podcasting service.
Anchor lets you submit your show to iTunes/Apple podcasts though you won’t have access to connect stats from Apple Podcasts.
If you’re using podcast hosting service for free, you are the product, not the customer.
Free services come with trade-offs to worry about and limited features that hinders your audience growth.
7. SoundCloud
SoundCloud is a popular music hosting platform that you can use to host your podcast.
You’re getting limited tools and you won’t be able to monetize your show through sponsorship.
8. Alitu – The Podcast Maker
Alitu is an extra tool and a podcast maker app that edit and automatically publish your podcasts to your host including Libsyn, PodBean, Spreaker and Blubrry.
With Alitu, you can automate your entire podcast post-production like adding music, volume leveling and mixing, exporting and publishing.
Alitu is an editor that publishes direct to your hosting automatically.
PodPoint Powers – Christian Podcasts & online church media
Here are some examples of successful, Free Church podcasts that you can listen to:
Featured Podcast
- The woodland first
- CityHope Youth
- Saskatoon Christian Centre Service Podcast
- People’s Church Indianapolis
Recent Episodes
- By Jesus’ Stripes Pt 3
- We live our new life
- DAB October 20 – 2019
Top Episodes
- The Pillow is my pillar by Banie Victory
- Catch The Vision Part 4 by The Vision
- Abstain from Sexual Immorality – The Vision
- The Obedient Leader – Sublbury Victory Centre
- God’s Standard for Love – NCC Valdosta Podcast
- DAB March 6 – 2015 by 1 Year Daily Audio Bible
You can start a podcast channel for free and get hosted. Podpoint is an example of Free Church podcast hosting but with very limited features.
Features to Look for in a Church Podcast Hosting Platform
Christian podcasting is revolutionizing the way people can hear the word of God. These are some of the basic features that very podcast hosting platform should have for churches and Christian podcasters.
Unlimited Podcasting
There should be no limit for the number of sermon episodes to upload. Unlimited storage and bandwidth with no surprises in budgeting are required for churches to run a successful Christian podcasting.
Audio & Video Podcasting
You should be able to start broadcasting your prayer meetings, special events, sermons and biblical lectures in no time to the world.
Mobile Podcasting
The best podcast hosting for churches lets you record and publish from Android or iPhone via apps, with an easy to do on-site without expensive equipment that comes with podcasting costs.
Fundraising Support
They should also offer built-in crowd funding to make it easy for people to support your organization with monthly donations.
With premium plugin, you should raise funds with membership fees or paid content such as special classes.
Automatic Distribution to Podcast Networks
Helps you spread the good words everywhere. Church members and listeners around the world can easily access your audio content via Apple/iTunes podcasts and on mobile with iPhone and Android apps.
Christian Podcast hosting services are easy, powerful and fully customizable with these basic features:
- Click & Go – get up & running in 2 minutes.
- Easy & Powerful Interface – simple & intuitive.
- Newbie Proof Technology – no technical knowledge is required.
- Apple Friendly – ability to upload podcast store on iTunes & Apple devices.
- Fully Customizable – social media networks integration & multiple languages support.
- Focus on what matters – focus on creating your content while apps take care of the rest.
Church Podcast Hosting Services
A church and sermon podcast hosting services allows spiritual and religious institutions, priests, pastors, and people to publish new podcast episodes. You should upload them via their web browser.
Podcast hosting automatically generates and updates your RSS podcast feed and gives you a dynamic website. You’ll have a list of your most recent podcasts, a podcast achieve and a streaming media player automatically integrated on your website.
Top 5 Reasons Churches Put Their Sermons Online
Here are the top reasons churches should host their sermons on podcast hosting to spread the gospel messages.
1. To Create Accessible Achieve of Church Sermons
Storing your sermons on a podcast host makes them accessible and permanent at any time. Older messages from 5 years ago remain permanent and easily accessible to your congregation.
2. For Members to Share with Friends and Family
A podcast gives your church members the ability to share interesting sermons moment by moment on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Church members who are touched by a message can share it with friends by sending them a link to download and listen to your podcast episodes.
3. Make Your Message Global
A Podcast helps your sermons easily available to anyone with internet access at any time worldwide. Members who relocate to other cities can subscribe to your church podcast to receive update when new sermons are uploaded.
4. For Visiting and New Members
A podcast provides new and visiting members to hear and listen to past sermons. It creates conducive environment to visit in person listening to your message, your mission and calling.
5. Members who like to listen again or couldn’t make the service.
When you upload your sermons as a podcast your members who missed the sermon on Sunday can listen to them wherever and whenever (or even a month later).
What You Need to Launch a Podcast for Your Church Sermons
Over 5000 podcasts hosted on Buzzsprout are churches. Starting a church podcasting is not expensive and does not require any tech media team. These are the basic things you need to get your sermons online.
1. Record Your Sermons
The first step is to record your sermon to enable you publish them online and into iTunes. Here are the easiest ways to record your sermons.
1. Use a Computer
The simplest solution is to install Audacity or GarageBand software on your computer. Run a cable from your mixer into your computer, optimize the audio to make it simple to publish the file online.
2. Use a Digital Recorder
Run a cable from your mixer to the recording device and with a digital recorder you can record the sermons. Remember to optimize your audio levels for improvement in sound quality.
3. Use Your Sermons CDs
If your church is recording sermons on CD, you can import the audio files directly into iTunes.
4. Use Smartphone App
From the podium (even without a sound-board), you can use a smartphone app to record the sermon and publish it online to your podcast hosting platform in minutes.
2. Move the Recording to Your Computer
You’ll need to get the audio content into your computer if you recorded the sermon with a smartphone app, CD, or digital recorder.
3. Optimize the Audio
To get the perfect audio levels your church need to spend time to optimize the audio. But it isn’t required. However, you want to keep the sound from getting too quiet, loud, pops, hisses, or have ear-piercing hums. You should be fine if members listen to your sermons because the message resonates with them.
4. Host Your Audio Content Online
It is expensive and difficult to host the audio files on your own server that runs your church website. That’s why I recommend the best podcast hosting for churches to get their sermons online quickly without technical knowledge.
With the best podcast hosting sites, your church can upload the sermon and it gets automatically updated everywhere including iTunes, on your church website and podcast directories.
5. Promoting
You need to promote your church podcast and spread the word so that people in your congregation can listen and share them with friends.
- Try and list your church podcast in iTunes and major podcast directories.
- Embed an audio player on your church website.
- Post a link to download the podcast on Twitter and Facebook.
Instant Takeaways
- Edit your podcast
- Enhance your podcast
- Share your podcast
Now that you’ve learn how to edit your podcast, where to host it online, how to make your audio levels and voice sound like a radio host.
Now, What’s Next?
Best Practices for Creating a Church Podcast
There are millions of podcasts from churches, true crime, politics, entertainers, storytellers, gamers, comedians and more.
There are basically two kinds of church podcasts.
- Interview/conversational podcast.
- Sermons/messages podcast.
In this guide I’ll give you the best practices for podcasting for churches that make reaching out to your congregation quick and easy.
Message Podcast Best Practices
- Record sermons using soundboard connected to your computer or capture device.
- Don’t use a room mic. Extract podcast audio in Adobe premiere video editing software if you video your sermons.
- Invest in a great podcast host like Buzzsprout, Podbean, Soundcloud or Libsyn to host your church podcast.
- Invest in a good mic for your pastor to speak into during sermon recording.
- Create a templates project file to help streamline post-production and speedup recording.
- Create short intro/outro music with a great voice over. Make a blank Audacity or Garageband project.
- Make sure to fill out the title, description and other details to help listeners understand the message.
- Create a show notes page and links to resources & messages you mention that are helpful.
- Balance the voice levels with a mic through a compressor that has a limiter to ensure your pastor doesn’t get loud and soft during recording.
Conversational Podcast Best Practices with All Guests in the same room
- Invest in high-quality microphones with pop filters to keep guests’ p’s at perfect audio levels.
- Use a quiet room during recording.
- Don’t mouth-breath into the Mic when you’re not talking during recording. If you do, edit it out during post-production with audacity software.
- Share with your guests, your plan, show questions and direction before the show start.
- Use a timer to ensure you hit a target time during recording. This will help you know how long you’re been talking.
- Let your guests talk and you only offer clarity or add to a point but not every time.
- Edit and cut off discussions that are out of plan.
- Make a show notes page and link out to resources you mentioned for your church members to find later.
General Best Practices for Church Podcasts
- Create and have fun while being yourself.
- Find a consistent rhythm and theme for releasing podcast episodes.
- Let people know where to find your website and show notes in the episodes.
- Create an artwork with size 1400px X 1400px for iTunes to accept it.
- Use a high-quality and reliable host for your podcast like Libsyn or Podbean for analytics, embed features and distribution to podcast directories.
- Create a church iCloud account and set up your podcast in Apple podcast connect.
- Tell everyone about your podcast in all your other channels. Use social media bulletin, newletters, website homepage, app to do this.
These are the best practices that help your church to record a show, make an mp3 audio content, upload it to your podcast host, connect your host to iTunes, Spotify or Google Play and promote your podcast to attract subscribers.
Podcast Hosting for Church – 5 Podcast Hosting Myths
You’ve chosen the best podcast hosting for your church to host the media for your podcast. There are myths that are not true and you should know about them.
Church podcasting has been in existence for over 10 years and so are some myths.
5 Podcast Hosting Myths to Avoid
1. There are free podcast media hosting options you should use.
The free podcast hosting sites that claim to be free tend to have technical problems. This can shut down your podcast forever without notice during storage and bandwidth issues. Remember, they can’t make money in order to offer free services.
2. You should host your church media with your web host.
By hosting on your own web server is a big mistake as your web hosting provider can shut down your site and ask you to migrate, or give you a huge bill. Podcast media hosting isn’t expensive starting at $5 per month and comes with added extra features to help grow your show.
3. All podcast hosts are created equal.
Some podcast hosts change things without notice and disable some features because they don’t have business models. Do your homework to learn which is the best podcast hosting site for churches that meets your needs and within budget?
4. You podcast by uploading to YouTube.
Unfortunately, YouTube is not a podcast host and doesn’t allow listeners to download your show videos. You don’t podcast by uploading to YouTube.
5. It’s okay to delete old episodes after a month.
Podcast host is like achieve that stores all of your episodes in a catalog. You want new subscribers to have easy access to past podcast shows to download and listen to.
If you’ve 90 shows or 999, you are seen as an authority in your niche and you’ve got satisfied listeners.
Forget the myths and never delete old episodes.
Conclusion
You’ve learned about the best hosting plans for church podcasts, and the companies that offer the best podcast hosting for churches.
I’ve shown you the best podcasting advice for churches and tips to grow your audience.
DO your homework on the list of best podcast hosting for churches and decide on the best options and features you need.
My #1 and #2 recommendation for best podcast hosting sites for churches and Christian podcasters are PodBean and Buzzsprout because they have excellent features to help grow your podcast show.
Let me know in the comment section, what is your favoriate best podcast hosting for churches and which sites offer the best customer support you would want to use for your church media?
