The interesting question “Does podcast cost money” is undoubtedly raised at least once if you are a fan of this entertaining content. Well, episodes are almost free, except for the premium content.
To dive into this interesting question, this concise post gives you a complete answer along with much other helpful information. Now, let’s get started!
Does Podcast Cost Money?
The curious question “Does podcast cost money?” is understandable because many people spend hours on podcasts every day.
Listeners can enjoy a wide range of content from music, comedy, education, talk shows to current affairs, etc.
Furthermore, many dedicated podcast apps make it easy for everyone to access anytime and anywhere. Nowadays, it has become a daily habit of almost everyone.
As you can see, almost all podcasts are free. It is under the type of sponsored content for commercial advertisement. Podcasters naturally embed ads into their talk, making the episodes attractive while conveying product information.
While many listeners enjoy free of charge, the other ones feel pretty annoyed about the appearance of advertisements. The length and frequency of the ads loosen their excitement.
Due to that fact, producers introduce to their audience about the subscription option. This premium content offers ad-free and exclusive access to the library and channels available for subscription.
On the other hand, listeners also can support podcasters like the Listener Support of Anchor, a Patreon-style subscription service.
Anchor encourages podcasters to share the link under the show notes. Listeners can donate $0.99, $4.99, or $9.99 a month for the privilege of audio content. This monetization method helps creators earn a little money for their hard work.
Are Podcasts Worth Paying For?
As explanations for the first question, “Does podcast cost money?” almost all podcasts are free. However, there are still a certain amount of podcast subscriptions.
The steady rise of podcast apps like Spotify, Audible, Stitcher also proves that listeners are more willing to pay for content creators. Well, whether podcasts are worth paying for or not.
Now, let go along with us to find answers for the question “Are podcasts worth paying for” and podcast subscription benefits.
The exclusive benefits that subscribers usually enjoy are ad-free listening, bonus episodes, early access to the newest chapters, or rewatching past episodes.
Many podcast apps give subscribers extra privileges to serve for conveniences, too. For instances:
- Allow new episodes to appear in the podcast feed,
- Set the default storage space,
- Create and organize the playlist,
- Explore show and episode recommendations,
- Enjoy the most popular and trending shows,
- Live chats with podcasters and guests of the talk show,
- Bonus video episodes for the visual explanations.
- Share podcasts and channels on social media, messengers, emails,
In our opinion, the answer to the question “Are podcasts worth paying for” highly depends on personal goals. It is worth paying for as long as it meets their need for either education or entertainment.
The video below summarizes the benefits of the transcript and how to get it by Rev.
How Much Does A Podcast Subscription Cost?
Reading until here, we certainly ensure that you would ask, “How much does a podcast subscription cost”. The subscription fee depends on podcasts’ formats, quality, and frequency.
The value of premium content and the number of loyal listeners are the other two major factors impacting the cost. On average, subscription fees range from US$ 3 – US$ 15 per month.
For instance: Spotify Premium costs from US$ 9.9 to US$ 15.99 for ad-free music and access to its library. Apple Podcasts paid subscription fee starts from 50 p per month.
Where Can I Find Free Podcasts?
The enjoyable experiences and rich contents of premium subscriptions sound interesting! So, whether free podcasts are still worthy for you to venture into or not? Our answer is still yes, especially if you are a podcast beginner.
The simplest way to access free podcasts is from web browsers like Chrome, Safari, Firefox.
For instance: Go to The Guardian Page, the renowned news page, and find the podcast section. Then, a list of podcasts available is waiting for your discovery.
Besides, an abundance of great podcasts and apps make it the most convenient for you to dive into the world of podcasts. Instead of check-out separating articles, the podcast apps host a wide range of podcast channels.
If you already have your favorite channels, let’s find them on the app and hear episodes you are interested in.
If not, you will discover podcast recommendations from the apps by simply searching for keywords, persons, or topics.
Meanwhile, it is still possible for you to follow, share and save your favorite episodes into the library. At the same time, you see many other recommendations under the same topics or the channel.
Enjoying the free podcasts is excellent. However, the overwhelming number of podcast apps makes it confusing to choose the right apps. Right now, we walk you through the best three podcast apps along with their significant features:
- Apple Podcast comes with the sync ability with Siri and Amazon Alexa, playback, BlueTooth connectivity, audio’s speed adjustment, etc.
- Google Podcast has the unique “Explore Topics” linkable to Google Search to get the latest related news. The “Activity” tab is a useful function for you to track history activities.
- Spotify is available for its collections and flipping between songs and podcasts within the app. Like Google Apps, you can add episodes to the queue and listen to them in order.
FAQs
1. Is there any free podcast app?
Yes, many total free podcast apps are available for iOS and Android. Some of the best ones are RadioPublic, Google Podcast, Podbean.
2. What are the best podcast apps for listening and recording?
In our experience, the best podcast app for listening and recording is Podbean. As for the listening, features allow listeners to enjoy favorite podcasts, radio, live streams, and audiobooks.
It enhances listening experiences with intelligent speed, volume boost, and customizable playlists.
Podbean is also the best podcast hosting platform to create, promote and monetize your podcast.
3. Which is the best podcast app?
You can enjoy the many best podcast apps: Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Audible, and Stitcher.
They have similar features like curated playlists, episode recommendations, adding episodes to your queue, listening to them in order, etc.
4. What’s like Spotify but free?
Soundcloud and Deezer are pretty like Spotify, which hosts music and podcasts.
5. Is Spotify free?
No, Spotify offers both free and premium versions. You would enjoy ad-free listening, mobile streaming, offline listening once paying for a premium plan.
Conclusion
We hope this nice post answers the question “Does podcast cost money”? and gives you an insight into podcast apps and subscribers’ privileges.
We believe an increase in users and the development of technologies will make podcasts more popular in the next few years.
