Host your podcast. Grow your community.
Substack is the only platform where you can host your podcast for free, grow a paying audience through private and paid feeds, and build a community with chat, live streaming, and newsletters. Create an RSS feed, distribute to Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, earn directly from listeners, and own every relationship from day one.
Diabolical Lies
Smart. Sane. Unbearable. Diabolical Lies is Caro Claire Burke and Katie Gatti Tassin's long-form culture and politics podcast. It's independent, listener-supported, and unafraid of an opinion.
Prof G Markets
Hosted by Scott Galloway and Ed Elson, Prof G Markets breaks down the news moving the capital markets, from earnings and Big Tech to geopolitics, to help you build financial literacy.
Projections from Sean Fennessey
Projections is Sean Fennessey's companion community and newsletter to The Big Picture, his twice-weekly podcast about movies, Hollywood, filmmaking, and how we see what we're seeing.
The Fifth Column
Kmele Foster, Michael Moynihan, and Matt Welch host "America's smartest, funniest, and intermittently most offensive podcast," a weekly rhetorical assault on the news cycle and the people who make it.
The Martyr Made Podcast
Darryl Cooper's MartyrMade is a deep, narrative history podcast diving into the most tragic and epic stories of the past.
Newcomer Pod
The Newcomer podcast is Eric Newcomer's deeply reported show on the inner workings of the startup and venture capital industry, where technology and venture capital intersect.
The Dishcast with Andrew Sullivan
On the Dishcast, Andrew Sullivan hosts long, civil conversations with a wide range of writers, thinkers, and newsmakers, built around debate, dissent, and the big questions.
The Glenn Show
The Glenn Show brings weekly conversations on race, inequality, and economics with writers, social scientists, and activists, the kind of discussions that have no place in mainstream outlets.
Expense Account
Expense Account from Emily Sundberg’s Feed Me is a food podcast for everyone. Anyone who enjoys eating food. It’s even for people who hate food.
House of Strauss
Ethan Strauss's House of Strauss podcast delivers the real criticism on the sports industry you can't find anywhere else, across sports, business, politics, and culture.
Volts
Volts is David Roberts's podcast about clean energy and politics, going deep with the engineers, policymakers, and researchers driving the transition to a carbon-free world.
The Jim Acosta Show
The Jim Acosta Show is independent journalist Jim Acosta's daily politics podcast, covering the news unvarnished and free from the pressures of corporate media.
Split Zone Duo
Split Zone Duo is a college football podcast that "eats the whole hog," obsessing over the nuts and bolts of the entire sport, from the biggest programs to the teams nobody else covers.
The platform built for growth
Substack doesn't just host your podcast — it helps people find it. More than half of new subscribers come from inside the platform itself, through the app, Notes, and cross-publication recommendations. And once they find you, turning free listeners into paying subscribers happens in the same place. Keep 90% of what you earn. No monthly fees, no platform tiers. You only pay when you earn.
Podcast hosting built for communities
Podcast hosting on Substack starts with free RSS feed and video hosting along with distribution to Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, but your listeners don't just hit play and move on. Every listener can become an email subscriber, which means your episodes land directly in inboxes, not buried in an algorithmic feed you don't control. And the relationship goes deeper than the inbox: comments, chat threads, and direct messaging turn passive listeners into active participants. On Substack, your audience doesn't just listen — they build with you.
You own everything. You always will
Your subscriber list. Your payment stream. Your content. Substack never holds any of it hostage. You can export your audience and take it with you at any time.
Build a sustainable podcast business
Ad revenue is unpredictable. Sponsorship deals come and go. Substack gives you a more durable foundation — one where your most devoted listeners pay you directly, and your existing monetization still has a place.
Keep your ad business. Add subscriptions on top
Already running a sponsorship-supported show? Substack doesn't ask you to choose. Publish your ad-supported episodes freely via RSS to Apple, Spotify, and every major player. Then offer paying subscribers an ad-free version, bonus episodes, extended cuts, or early access.
Build with subscriptions from day one
No ad network to pitch. No rates to negotiate. Just subscribers who value your work enough to pay for it directly. A few hundred paid subscribers at $5/month can replace a meaningful income stream — and a few thousand makes it a real business.
Your business partner for growth
Substack's business model is simple: we make money when you make money. Substack takes 10% from paid subscription revenue, incentivizing us to drive new paid subscribers to your podcast. No monthly fees, no tiers.
90%
How Substack Compares
Substack is the only platform where free listeners can convert to paid subscribers in the same space — and where you truly own your relationship with every one of them.
Scroll to see the full table
Feature | Substack | YouTube | Spotify | Patreon | Buzzsprout | Podbean | Acast | Supercast | beehiiv | Supporting Cast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Free podcast hosting | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
Free & paid episodes | — | — | — | |||||||
Own your subscriber list | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
Powerful discovery network | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
Native podcast hosting | — | |||||||||
Distribute to Apple Podcasts & Spotify | — | |||||||||
Episodes delivered by email | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
Auto-publish video to YouTube | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Paid episodes playable in Spotify | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
Browser and mobile recording studio | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Import your show and paying subscribers | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
Community tools (chat, comments) | — | — | — | — | ||||||
Collaboration tools | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
No monthly platform fee | — | — | — | — | ||||||
Live video | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
Themes and visual customization | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
Mobile app for listeners | — | — | — | — | — |
Up and running in five minutes
Start fresh or bring your existing show over — either way, setup takes less time than recording an intro.
1
Create a free Substack account
No credit card required. Free to start, free to leave.
2
Enable the podcast feature
Turn it on from your publication settings in one click.
3
Import or record your first episode
Upload an existing file or record directly in the Substack Recording Studio — no equipment needed.
4
Publish
Your episode goes to subscribers via email and RSS, and appears automatically in the Substack app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
Migrate an existing podcast
Import your full back catalog and RSS feed in a few clicks. Your history, your subscribers, your Stripe customers — all intact.
Free + paid tiers, side by side
Publish open episodes to grow your audience and gate bonus content, extended cuts, or ad-free versions for paying subscribers — all from one dashboard.
Substack Recording Studio
Record directly in your browser. No gear, no software, no editing required. Hit record, finish, publish.
Video podcasts, too
Publish video to YouTube automatically, and add to Spotify for Creators from your dashboard. Apple support coming soon.
Common Questions
How much does it cost to host a podcast on Substack?
Free. Substack charges no monthly hosting fees. When you turn on paid subscriptions, Substack takes a 10% fee plus standard Stripe payment processing fees. You keep 90%.
Can I distribute to Apple Podcasts and Spotify?
Yes — automatically. Every episode you publish gets an RSS feed that distributes to all major podcast players, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
If I publish a video podcast on Substack, does it show up on other platforms?
Yes. Video can be automatically published to YouTube and added on the backend from your Spotify for Creators dashboard. Video for Apple is coming soon.
Will I keep my listeners' email addresses?
Yes. You own your subscriber list and can export it at any time.
Can I offer some episodes for free and others for paid subscribers only?
Yes. You control which episodes are public and which are exclusive to paying subscribers. You can also use our flexible paywall tool to offer free previews of episodes to subscribers.
Do I need any special equipment to record?
No. The Substack Recording Studio works directly in your browser. You can record and publish without any external software, gear, or editing tools.
Can I import my existing podcast?
Yes. Substack's import tool brings over your previous episodes, RSS feed, and subscriber list in minutes.
Your voice. Your audience. Your income
Substack is where independent podcasters build sustainable businesses. It’s the only platform where you bring your community together, find new subscribers, and own 100% of your audience from day one.
