Podcast & Audio Publishing · head to head
Captivate vs Auphonic
Captivate
Podcast & Audio Publishing
Smart podcast hosting with AI insights
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Auphonic
Podcast & Audio Publishing
Automated audio mastering and loudness processing
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Captivate tiers are download ceilings and nothing else: 30,000 a month on Personal, 150,000 on Professional and 300,000 on Business; Auphonic the free tier covers 2 hours of processed audio a month
- They diverge on capability: Captivate covers Unlimited hosting, Auphonic covers Automatic loudness optimization.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Captivate and Auphonic actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Podcast & Audio Publishing).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Captivate
- Unlimited hosting
- AI analytics
- Smart recommendations
- Distribution
- Monetization
- Audience insights
- All podcast platforms
- Social media
Only in Auphonic
- Automatic loudness optimization
- Noise reduction
- Audio restoration
- Intelligent processing
- API integration
- Auto-upload
- Podcast hosts
- Dropbox
Both cover
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Captivate
- Podcast hosting with unlimited shows on any tiernot Auphonic
- Distribution to the major podcast directoriesnot Auphonic
- Audience analytics by episode and platformnot Auphonic
- Running several podcasts under one subscriptionnot Auphonic
Auphonic
- Automatic loudness levelling and noise reduction on podcast audionot Captivate
- Batch processing an archive of recordingsnot Captivate
- Generating transcripts and chapters from an episodenot Captivate
- Producing consistent output across multiple formats from one uploadnot Captivate
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Captivate
- Tiers are download ceilings and nothing else: 30,000 a month on Personal, 150,000 on Professional and 300,000 on Business
- A show that exceeds its allowance for two consecutive months is expected to move up a tier
- Above 300,000 downloads a month the plan is quote-only
- Prices are quoted in euros at the yearly rate
Auphonic
- The free tier covers 2 hours of processed audio a month
- Billing is by audio duration with a 3 minute minimum per production, so many short clips cost more than the running time suggests
- Multilingual speech recognition, automatic chapters and show notes all require a paid plan
- Watch folders, batch productions and team accounts are paid features
- Free output carries an Auphonic jingle
Pricing, plan by plan
Captivate
Free- FreeFree
- 3 hours storage
- Basic hosting
- Limited analytics
- Professional$19/month
- Unlimited hosting
- AI analytics
- Full distribution
Auphonic
Free- FreeFree
- 2 hours/month processing
- Basic mastering
- Download files
- Personal$10/month
- 50 hours/month
- Advanced mastering
- API access
Which should you pick?
Choose Captivate if
- You need unlimited hosting.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want ai analytics.
Choose Auphonic if
- You need automatic loudness optimization.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want noise reduction.
Questions people ask
- Is Captivate or Auphonic better?
- Neither clearly leads. Captivate starts at Free and Auphonic at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Captivate or Auphonic?
- Captivate starts at Free and Auphonic at Free.
- Does Captivate or Auphonic run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Captivate for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Captivate best used for?
- Captivate is most often used for podcast hosting with unlimited shows on any tier, distribution to the major podcast directories, audience analytics by episode and platform, running several podcasts under one subscription. Of those, podcast hosting with unlimited shows on any tier and distribution to the major podcast directories are not what Auphonic is typically brought in for.
- What can Captivate do that Auphonic cannot?
- Captivate covers Unlimited hosting, AI analytics, Smart recommendations, Distribution. Auphonic covers Automatic loudness optimization, Noise reduction, Audio restoration, Intelligent processing. Both handle Web support.