Captivate.fm podcast hosting review: pricing plans, IAB-certified analytics, monetization tools, and creator features. Plans start at $19/month.
Captivate is a podcast hosting, analytics, and monetization platform founded in 2019 by Mark Asquith and Kieran McKeefery in Sheffield, United Kingdom. It was acquired by UK media group Global in December 2021 and continues to operate as a dedicated platform for independent podcasters rather than being merged into Global's own broadcast properties.
The platform handles the core mechanics of podcasting — audio hosting, RSS feed generation, and distribution to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other apps — while layering on IAB-certified analytics, monetization tooling, and audience growth features that many rival hosts charge extra for or omit entirely.
Every Captivate plan includes the same feature set: IAB-certified analytics, dynamic ad insertion, an auto-generated podcast website, guest booking tools, and private/members-only podcast feeds. Plans differ only by monthly download allowance, not by functionality.
The bundled Captivate Creator Suite adds email opt-in forms, listener membership and tipping tools, and AI-assisted show notes generation at no extra cost. A public REST API and webhook support let developers integrate hosting and analytics data into other tools and workflows.
Captivate offers three tiers: Personal at $19/month for up to 30,000 monthly downloads, Professional at $49/month for up to 150,000 monthly downloads, and Business at $99/month for up to 300,000 monthly downloads. Annual billing brings modest savings ($204, $528, and $1,080 per year respectively).
There is no permanently free plan, but every tier includes a 30-day free trial with no feature restrictions, letting creators test the full platform before committing to a subscription.
Captivate has three paid plans: Personal at $19/month (up to 30,000 monthly downloads), Professional at $49/month (up to 150,000 monthly downloads), and Business at $99/month (up to 300,000 monthly downloads). Annual billing is also available at a discount.
Captivate does not offer a permanently free plan, but every paid plan includes a 30-day free trial with full feature access and no credit card charge until the trial ends.
No. Storage is unlimited on every plan; Captivate bills based on monthly downloads rather than the amount of audio uploaded.
Captivate was founded independently in 2019 and acquired by Global (Global Media & Entertainment), a major UK radio and media company, in December 2021.
Yes. Captivate provides a public REST API and webhook support for managing shows, episodes, media uploads, and analytics data programmatically.
Yes. Captivate includes dynamic ad insertion, listener memberships, and tipping tools on every plan as part of its bundled Creator Suite.