RedCircle and Spreaker are the real head-to-head here: both are standalone hosting platforms built around monetization, with free tiers and paid plans that…
Freemium tiered subscription (free Core plan plus paid Growth, Pro, and Enterprise tiers), billed monthly or annually, with a 7-day free trial on paid plans. · From Free (Core plan); paid plans start at $19.99/month (Growth plan), or $180/year (about $14.99/month) billed annually
Best for: Independent podcasters who want a free-forever hosting tier with an ad marketplace and cross-promotion built in.
Free WordPress plugin; optional paid podcast hosting available separately · From Free (optional Castos hosting from $19/month)
Best for: Podcasters who already run a WordPress site and want a free plugin to manage and distribute an RSS feed without leaving WordPress.
freemium subscription · From Free (paid plans from EUR20/month)
Best for: Creators who want an iHeartMedia-backed platform combining hosting, distribution, and monetization tools in one dashboard.
| RedCircle | Seriously Simple Podcasting | Spreaker | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary category | Podcast Hosting | Podcast Hosting | Podcast Hosting |
| Rating | Not documented | Not documented | Not documented |
| Pricing model | Freemium tiered subscription (free Core plan plus paid Growth, Pro, and Enterprise tiers), billed monthly or annually, with a 7-day free trial on paid plans. | Free WordPress plugin; optional paid podcast hosting available separately | freemium subscription |
| Starting price | Free (Core plan); paid plans start at $19.99/month (Growth plan), or $180/year (about $14.99/month) billed annually | Free (optional Castos hosting from $19/month) | Free (paid plans from EUR20/month) |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Not documented | Not documented |
| Platforms | Web | Not documented | Web |
| Team collaboration | Not documented | Not documented | Not documented |
| AI features | Not documented | Not documented | Not documented |
| Public API | Not documented | Not documented | Not documented |
Not really three hosts
Seriously Simple Podcasting is a WordPress plugin for feed management, not a standalone monetization-focused host like RedCircle or Spreaker. Buyers should first decide whether they want a WordPress-native workflow or a dedicated hosting dashboard before comparing features.
Seriously Simple Podcasting
Monetization built into the free tier
Both RedCircle and Spreaker bake monetization tooling into their platforms and offer free entry points, letting small podcasters test ad revenue before paying. Seriously Simple Podcasting itself has no monetization layer — that would come from pairing it with separately paid Castos hosting.
RedCircle, Spreaker
Ownership differs sharply
Spreaker is backed by iHeartMedia, a major radio conglomerate, while RedCircle operates as an independent monetization-first platform and Seriously Simple Podcasting is a free plugin maintained by Castos.
RedCircle, Seriously Simple Podcasting, Spreaker
Pricing structures diverge
RedCircle's paid tiers start at $19.99/month (about $14.99/month billed annually), and Spreaker's paid plans start around EUR20/month. Seriously Simple Podcasting itself stays free indefinitely, with optional Castos hosting starting at $19/month for those who want a paid host attached.
RedCircle, Spreaker, Seriously Simple Podcasting
| Feature | RedCircle | Seriously Simple Podcasting | Spreaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standalone audio hosting + RSS generation | Available | Limited | Available |
| Free forever tier | Available | Available | Available |
| WordPress-native workflow | Not documented | Available | Not documented |
| Feature | RedCircle | Seriously Simple Podcasting | Spreaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ad marketplace | Available | Unavailable | Limited |
| Dynamic ad insertion | Available | Unavailable | Not documented |
| Cross-promotion tools | Available | Unavailable | Not documented |
| Feature | RedCircle | Seriously Simple Podcasting | Spreaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Published paid starting price | Available | Available | Available |
| Free trial on paid plans | Available | Not documented | Not documented |
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
Pros
Cons
Pros
Cons
Pros
Cons
Not exactly. Seriously Simple Podcasting is a free WordPress plugin by Castos that publishes, manages, and distributes an Apple- and Spotify-compliant RSS feed from a WordPress site. RedCircle and Spreaker are standalone hosting platforms with their own monetization and analytics dashboards; Seriously Simple Podcasting's monetization path runs through optional paid Castos hosting rather than being built in.
All three have free options, but they aren't equivalent. RedCircle's free Core plan includes unlimited storage, Spreaker offers a free plan alongside paid tiers from EUR20/month, and Seriously Simple Podcasting is free indefinitely as a WordPress plugin, though full monetization there depends on adding paid Castos hosting from $19/month.
RedCircle explicitly offers an ad marketplace alongside dynamic ad insertion and cross-promotion tools. Spreaker is described more generally as a monetization platform without a documented marketplace feature specifically, so podcasters prioritizing a marketplace should lean toward RedCircle based on the available information.
The plugin is designed to work with WordPress-based publishing and optional Castos hosting rather than with RedCircle or Spreaker specifically, and no integration between them is documented. Most podcasters will pick one lane: a WordPress-plus-Castos setup via Seriously Simple Podcasting, or a standalone dashboard via RedCircle or Spreaker.
Spreaker, since it's owned by iHeartMedia, a major radio and audio conglomerate. RedCircle operates independently and Seriously Simple Podcasting is a Castos-maintained open plugin, so Spreaker is the only one of the three with a large traditional media parent company behind it.
Read the full RedCircle review · Read the full Seriously Simple Podcasting review · Read the full Spreaker review