If you read The Frugalpreneur regularly, you know I am a HUGE fan of podcasting. Being a podcaster myself means that I’m always looking out for all the cool new companies that operate in the podcasting space, which is exactly how I came across Castbox.
Founded a mere three years ago in 2016, Castbox aims to be the “YouTube of audio” and offers a free podcasting platform for listeners alike. So, if you’re thinking of becoming a podcaster (or already are), should you consider using the Castbox App?
What is Castbox?
The Castbox App is both a podcast hosting app where podcasters can upload and distribute their podcast episodes to their audience, as well as being a podcatching app.
A podcatching app, if you’re unfamiliar, is an app that essentially “catches” a podcast’s RRS feed and plays it back to a listener. In essence, a podcatching app is an app that you can listen to podcasts on. Other examples include iTunes, Stitcher and Spotify.
Castbox combines both of these functions to create a full-cycle platform for podcasters and fans alike.
What Makes Castbox Different?
From a podcast listening perspective, Castbox works more like how I’d describe iTunes Music (and maybe Spotify but I’m an Apple girl). They use proprietary technology to power features like in-audio search and personalized recommendations. This technology “uses natural language processing and machine learning techniques.”
It also has 95-million episodes on the platform, so there is a ton to listen to and discover. This also means recommendations can be more comprehensive due to the large selection.
In fact, one of my biggest complaints about Apple Podcasts is that while I like the platform (sometimes), it never truly gives recommendations or finds me new podcasts t listen to. I have to discover them all on my own.
From a podcaster’s perspective, I don’t find Castbox to be all that unique. You can host and listen to podcasts directly on other apps like Podbean. That said, Castbox is free. Which is a BIG deal if you’re just starting out.
Should you be using Castbox?
If you’re a newbie podcaster with a tight budget (even if it’s a business podcast) Castbox might actually be a great place to start. Especially if your “tight budget” is really a $0 budget.
It gives their podcasters free upload and storage—let me repeat that, FREE—which is a huge deal because you can pay $20 or more a month for hosting alone.
They also have a fairly comprehensive analytics tool that can let you evaluate your progress. And there are tools built in to help you engage better with fans like commenting and social sharing.
When it comes down to it, if you’re a budget-strapped podcaster, you might want to considerer starting out on Castbox. You can always switch later if you don’t like it.
Have you used Castbox? Share your experience in the comments below.
Looking For More Podcast-Related Posts?
- Here’s Everything You Need for Starting Your Own Podcast
- These Are the 5 Best Marketing Podcasts for Your Business
- Looking to Start a Podcast? – Call Podcast Websites!
Tae started out as a journalist before following the money into the corporate world. But it turns out that the grass isn’t always greener and now you can find her spending most of her time writing about all the things she loves. Namely, money, travel and business with a hefty dose of self-deprecating humor. She is a podcast fanatic, blogging aficionado and loves to find new ways to turn passions into cold hard cash!
