Free Podcast Hosting: Too Good to be True?

Why is it that we are skeptical of things that are labeled free? 

There’s no such thing as a free lunch. You get what you pay for. Nothing in life is free. 

It seems we’ve made the collective assumption it’s not possible to get something for nothing. If it’s free there can’t be any value, or there’s got to be a catch. Right? 

Podcasters approach free hosting with the same skepticism. We get it, we’re not a traditional podcasting company. We aren’t trying to pull one over on you. Quite the opposite, we are all about transparency.

Our platform *really* is completely free to use and has everything you need to get your podcast out to the world. This includes: free and unlimited hosting, distribution, analytics and our cross-promotion marketplace to grow your audience. 

It can sound too good to be true and inevitably the next question is: 

“So… what’s in it for you guys?” 

Fair question. The short answer is we don’t want to make money from you, we want to make money together. 

Our mission isn’t to provide free hosting. Our focus is to partner with creators who are ready to monetize their show and support them as they take their business and podcast to the next level.

Here are the reasons we believe in keeping RedCircle free and how we’re able to do so: 

1 | Podcast hosting is table stakes, it should always be free. 

RedCircle is a podcast growth and monetization platform, hosting is a basic feature that’s included. We didn’t set out to build a SaaS business for podcast hosting—our vision goes far beyond that.

You shouldn’t be paying anyone to host your podcast. Storage and hosting costs have fallen drastically over the past decade and the underlying technology to provide hosting is not complex. 

The bottom line is that it doesn’t cost us much money to host your podcast. We believe in having a business model that reflects that. The companies that are charging a monthly fee to host your podcast are simply charging you rent. They’re not providing any significant innovation. 

We’re here to provide much more value than giving your podcast a place to live. 

2 | Our business model is aligned with you, the creator. 

We want you to focus on what you do best, producing amazing content. We give you innovative tools that help you to develop your brand, grow your audience, and monetize your hard work. 

If you are just starting out, we’ll help you build your audience and get support from your listeners using our tipping feature.  As you continue to grow with us, we’ll also help you find advertising partners.

If you already have an established podcast, we have a team dedicated to getting you in front of brands and helping you find advertising for your show as you continue to expand your audience. 

When we help you make money, we’ll share in the revenue when those connections are made and sustained. We measure our success by making others successful. We only do well when our creators do well. 

“Wait, I have some questions….”

Am I required to participate in your advertising or cross-promotion programs? 

No, we’ll never force you to use ads and you are free to keep and/or source ad revenue of your own. If we don’t source the advertisement for you, we don’t share that revenue and we would never insert ads into your content without your consent! 

Tell me more about your fees and rev share…

While we do take a small cut when we help you generate revenue, we make sure we give the most money possible to the person who deserves it most: you, the creator. We take a small 4.5% share on tipping revenue and we share 30% of the ad revenue we source for you.  

Do you limit upload speed or bandwidth? 

No, we don’t limit storage space or your streaming bandwidth and you’ll always maintain high-quality audio.

Do I have to host my podcast with RedCircle to use your features? Yes, in order to take advantage of our cross-promotion or monetization features you’ll have to switch from your old host to RedCircle. That said, we’ve made switching easy and painless. The platform walks you through the entire process in a few steps and only takes a few minutes.

Have another question? Send them our way at support@getredcircle.com. 

You have nothing to lose and lots to gain! Sign up for RedCircle today!