Podcast & Audio Publishing · head to head
Podbean vs Glow.fm
Podbean
Podcast & Audio Publishing
All-in-one podcast hosting with built-in monetization
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Glow.fm
Podcast & Audio Publishing
Premium podcast subscriptions made simple
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Podbean upload allowance is monthly rather than cumulative, at 1 GB on the entry plan, so a heavy recording month is capped even with unlimited total storage; 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.
- They diverge on capability: Podbean covers Unlimited hosting, Glow.fm covers Private RSS feeds.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Podbean and Glow.fm actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Podbean
- Unlimited hosting
- Built-in monetization
- Live streaming
- Video podcasting
- Podcast app
- Premium content
- Apple Podcasts
- Spotify
Only in Glow.fm
- Private RSS feeds
- Any app support
- Tiered subscriptions
- Subscriber management
- Payment processing
- Analytics
- All podcast apps
- Stripe
Both cover
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Podbean
- Hosting and distributing a podcast with an RSS feed and playernot Glow.fm
- Running multiple shows or a private internal podcastnot Glow.fm
Glow.fm
- Premium podcastsnot Podbean
- Subscriber contentnot Podbean
- Membership tiersnot Podbean
- Direct monetizationnot Podbean
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Podbean
- Upload allowance is monthly rather than cumulative, at 1 GB on the entry plan, so a heavy recording month is capped even with unlimited total storage
- The Network plan at $99 a month meters bandwidth at 3 TB while cheaper plans are unmetered, so the middle tier is the only one with a bandwidth ceiling
- Advanced analytics are excluded from every plan below Business
- Private podcasting and live chat support are Business only
- Team members are capped at 50 on Network despite being described as unlimited
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.
Pricing, plan by plan
Podbean
Free- BasicFree
- 5 hours total storage
- 100 GB bandwidth
- Basic analytics
- Unlimited Audio$9/month
- Unlimited storage
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Advanced analytics
- Unlimited Plus$29/month
- All audio features
- Video podcasting
- Live streaming
- Business$99/month
- All features
- Team management
- Enterprise security
Glow.fm
Free- StandardFree
- Private RSS feeds
- Any podcast app support
- Subscription management
Which should you pick?
Choose Podbean if
- You need unlimited hosting.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want built-in monetization.
Choose Glow.fm if
- You need private rss feeds.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want any app support.
Questions people ask
- Is Podbean or Glow.fm better?
- Neither clearly leads. Podbean starts at Free and Glow.fm at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Podbean or Glow.fm?
- Podbean starts at Free and Glow.fm at Free.
- Does Podbean or Glow.fm run on more platforms?
- Podbean runs on Web, Ios, Android. Glow.fm runs on Web.
- Can I use Podbean for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Podbean best used for?
- Podbean is most often used for hosting and distributing a podcast with an rss feed and player, running multiple shows or a private internal podcast. Of those, hosting and distributing a podcast with an rss feed and player and running multiple shows or a private internal podcast are not what Glow.fm is typically brought in for.
- What can Podbean do that Glow.fm cannot?
- Podbean covers Unlimited hosting, Built-in monetization, Live streaming, Video podcasting. Glow.fm covers Private RSS feeds, Any app support, Tiered subscriptions, Subscriber management. Both handle Web support.