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Software · head to head

Glow.fm vs Transistor

Glow.fm logo

Glow.fm

Software

Premium podcast subscriptions made simple

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Transistor logo

Transistor

Software

Professional podcast hosting for businesses and creators

From
$19/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Glow.fm has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Glow.fm the Internet Archive's capture of Glow's pricing page on 6 December 2021 listed Basic starting at $0/month plus $0.55 per listener per month or $2 per one-time purchase, and Professional starting at $300/month for unlimited listeners with podcast hosting capped at 150,000 downloads per month; card processing adds $0.30 plus 2.9% per transaction on both tiers.; Transistor starter plan at $19 per month caps monthly downloads at 20,000
  • They diverge on capability: Glow.fm covers Private RSS feeds, Transistor covers Unlimited podcasts.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Glow.fm and Transistor actually diverge.

Attributes where Glow.fm and Transistor differ
AttributeGlow.fmTransistor
Starting priceFree$19/month
Pricing modeltransactionsubscription
Free tierYesNo
Founded20192018

Identical on both: platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Glow.fm

  • Private RSS feeds
  • Any app support
  • Tiered subscriptions
  • Subscriber management
  • Payment processing
  • Analytics
  • All podcast apps
  • Stripe

Only in Transistor

  • Unlimited podcasts
  • Private podcasting
  • Advanced analytics
  • Team collaboration
  • Custom branding
  • API access
  • Apple Podcasts
  • Spotify

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Glow.fm

  • Premium podcastsnot Transistor
  • Subscriber contentnot Transistor
  • Membership tiersnot Transistor
  • Direct monetizationnot Transistor

Transistor

  • Hosting and distributing multiple podcasts from one accountnot Glow.fm
  • Running private, subscriber-only podcast feedsnot Glow.fm
  • Publishing podcast websites and inserting dynamic audio adsnot Glow.fm

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Glow.fm

  • The Internet Archive's capture of Glow's pricing page on 6 December 2021 listed Basic starting at $0/month plus $0.55 per listener per month or $2 per one-time purchase, and Professional starting at $300/month for unlimited listeners with podcast hosting capped at 150,000 downloads per month; card processing adds $0.30 plus 2.9% per transaction on both tiers.

Transistor

  • Starter plan at $19 per month caps monthly downloads at 20,000
  • Private podcast subscribers are capped at 50 on Starter and 500 on Professional
  • Dynamic ad insertion and auto-posting to YouTube require the $49 per month Professional plan or higher
  • Removing Transistor branding requires the $99 per month Business plan
  • Enterprise plans above 250,000 monthly downloads start at $199 per month and require contacting the vendor

Pricing, plan by plan

Glow.fm

Free
  • StandardFree
    • Private RSS feeds
    • Any podcast app support
    • Subscription management

Transistor

$19/month
  • Starter$19/month
    • Unlimited podcasts
    • 10,000 downloads/month
    • Basic analytics
  • Professional$49/month
    • Unlimited podcasts
    • 50,000 downloads/month
    • Advanced analytics
  • Business$99/month
    • Unlimited podcasts
    • 150,000 downloads/month
    • Full analytics
  • Enterprise$199/month
    • Unlimited everything
    • 300,000+ downloads
    • Priority support

Which should you pick?

Choose Glow.fm if

  • You need private rss feeds.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want any app support.
Glow.fm review

Choose Transistor if

  • You need unlimited podcasts.
  • You also want private podcasting.
Transistor review

Questions people ask

Is Glow.fm or Transistor better?
Neither clearly leads. Glow.fm starts at Free and Transistor at $19/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Glow.fm or Transistor?
Glow.fm has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Glow.fm and $19/month for Transistor.
Does Glow.fm or Transistor run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Glow.fm for free?
Yes. Glow.fm has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Transistor starts at $19/month.
What is Glow.fm best used for?
Glow.fm is most often used for premium podcasts, subscriber content, membership tiers, direct monetization. Of those, premium podcasts and subscriber content are not what Transistor is typically brought in for.
What can Glow.fm do that Transistor cannot?
Glow.fm covers Private RSS feeds, Any app support, Tiered subscriptions, Subscriber management. Transistor covers Unlimited podcasts, Private podcasting, Advanced analytics, Team collaboration. Both handle Web support.
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