Libsyn is a well-known podcast web hosting platform but it’s not the only option. In fact, depending on your podcast needs and requirements, it might not even be the best option for you. Libsyn has limitations that can leave podcasters and creators in a fix.
Hubhopper is a great Libsyn alternative. It overcomes the major limitations and also gives you everything and more than what Libsyn offers. Hubhopper is trusted by 30,000+ podcasters and has a 4.5+ rating on Capterra and G2. Here’s a complete breakdown of how Hubhopper and Libsyn compare.
Hubhopper vs Libsyn: The Podcasting Upgrade You’ve Been Looking For
| Features | Hubhopper | Libsyn |
| Free Plan | ✅ | ❌ |
| Unlimited storage | ✅ | Starts from 162 MB/month |
| Unlimited bandwidth | ✅ | ❌ |
| Record and edit audio | ✅ | ❌ |
| Exclusive distribution partners | ✅ | ❌ |
| Canva Cover Art Creation | ✅ | ❌ |
| Low latency downloads | ✅ | ❌ |
| Headliner integration | ✅ | ❌ |
| Customisable RSS feeds | ✅ | ❌ |
| Migration of your existing podcast | ✅ | ✅ |
| Episode Duration | No limit | Starts at 3 hours per month |
| Episode transcripts | ✅ | ❌ |
| Ease of episodes creation with AI | ✅ | ❌ |
| Marketing collateral creation with AI | ✅ | ❌ |
| Podcasting 2.0 | ✅ | ✅ |
| Automated distribution | ✅ | ✅ |
| GDPR Compliant | ✅ | ✅ |
| Team members | ✅ | ✅ |
| Private podcast subscribers | ✅ | Included in Enterprise Plan |
| Episode scheduling | ✅ | ✅ |
| Embedded player | ✅ | ✅ |
| Microsite (Podcast website) | ✅ | ✅ |
| Podcast Analytics | ✅ | ✅ |
Hourly limit
Libsyn limits creators on the basis of the hours they can upload. Why is it restrictive? Because for many creators, predicting their episode length is tricky and therefore makes choosing a plan quite tough. One doesn’t want to overpay and not utilise the limit or underpay and fall short of hours they can upload.
With Hubhopper, there is no limit on the hours of episodes you can upload. If one month you want to upload 10 hours of content but in another month only 2 hours you can. You don’t need to worry about how many hours you can upload on your current plan.
Podcast limits
When you’re good at podcasting, why limit to just one podcast? With Libsyn as your podcast hosting platform, you have to pay additionally for each show you host. It can constrict your creative expression and experimenting with different podcast ideas.
What if we told you that you can create unlimited podcasts with Hubhopper? Yes, that’s what a lot of our creators do. In fact, 40% of our users have more than one podcast.
So whether you want to host one, two, or ten podcasts, you can do so with only one account. Switch between them with ease and keep track of all of them.
Storage limit
Many times creators and podcasters want to store some episodes as drafts or schedule episodes to maintain consistency. With storage limits, you can’t reach your full potential and will be struggling to keep up with your content calendar.
Hubhopper also gives you unlimited storage. Schedule or keep drafts of your episodes, you don’t have to worry about your storage running out. This gives you worry free podcast management.
Limited distribution
More distribution means more chances of your audience discovering your show. But, Libsyn limits your distribution to just three distribution channels – Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube music. Your show deserves to be on as many podcast directories as possible to capture a wider audience.
With all Hubhopper pricing plans, it gives you a wide podcast distribution network. Distribute your podcast to podcast listening platforms like Apple Podcasts, Amazon Prime, Spotify, YouTube, YouTube music, Castbox, and more. Hubhopper also published your podcast to podcast players in emerging markets like JioSaavn and Gaana.
Get access to granular data where you can track the listens and downloads from each of these platforms. Assess which platforms are working for you and which ones are not.
Video Podcasts
According to Libsyn pricing, it only provides video podcasting in their $40/month plans and above. The high cost of their plans can be a major deterrent for podcasters who have a video podcast or want to start making video podcasts.
With Hubhopper you can distribute your video podcast to YouTube. The audio will be distributed to podcast platforms and apps with Hubhopper premium plan available at $24/month plan. You won’t need to upload the video and audio files separately which results in a seamless work flow. It means less hassle, more convenience, and more time to spend working on creating great content.
Private Podcasting in Enterprise Plan only
Monetization is crucial for creators and podcasters and private podcasts is one avenue. Making money through exclusive content from your most loyal listeners not only supports your show but also brings you closer to your audience. Unfortunately, Libsyn provides private podcasting only in their Enterprise plan.
Private podcasts are a great way to generate revenue from your podcast and engaged listeners. It helps you stay true to your audience and not dilute your message in order to keep your podcast brand friendly.
Hubhopper gives you the feature to create a private podcast while taking no revenue share from you. In fact, you can use an external payment vendor to get payments from your listeners. Just use our feature to manage your private podcast. Plus our private podcast feature is available on our Growth plan which is feasible for most creators and podcasters.
Lacks AI generated transcription service
Transcriptions of your podcast helps a lot when it comes to repurposing your content. You can use your transcription to create a number of marketing collaterals for your podcast. Even Libsyn premium plans does not have service to give you the transcription of your episode. So if you want to generate a transcript, you would need another tool which can be time consuming, and let’s be real, you can use that time to craft better episodes.
Hubhopper not only gives you the whole transcription in minutes but also gives you a whole suite of AI tools. Our AI tools let you:
- Create transcripts,
- Edit your audio like it;s a document by deleting words in your transcript,
- Remove filler words and silences
- Create SEO title and show notes for your episodes
- Generate captions for social media promotion posts of your episodes
Advanced Analytics
Libsyn only offers advanced analytics on their $20 plans and onwards. Not getting the full access to your analytics can be quite restrictive since you don’t know if your content is performing.
Hubhopper gives you advanced analytics on all their paid plans. You can also connect Podtrac to your analytics dashboard. With Hubhopper’s advanced analytics, you get:
- Your podcast’s performance
- Best time to post your episodes
- Episode performance
- Unique listeners
- Locations people are tuning in from
- Platform wise breakdown of your listens and downloads
- Devices-wise breakdown of your audience
- Export your analytics into a CSV file
- Customize your date ranges
- Add a tracking prefix for analytic servers like Podtrac
Less intuitive User experience
Libsyn website and platform doesn’t have the best user friendly experience and their dashboard has a bit of a learning curve. As a creator who is paying upfront the learning curve can take some time and halt your creation process.
Hubhopper has been designed keeping creators in mind and thus has a zero learning curve. No need to learn how to use it and you can start publishing episodes from day one.
Hubhopper vs Libsyn: Get all Libsyn Features with Hubhopper
Hubhopper not only overcomes the limitations that come with Libsyn, but also gives you all all Libsyn features. When you migrate your podcast from Libsyn to Hubhopper, you won’t miss out on anything.
Podcast Website
A podcast website is a powerful tool for podcasters. It not only helps you solidify your brand but also helps you rank on search engines and give you more listeners and reach. With Hubhopper, you get a responsive podcast website that you can customize according to your podcast’s brand.
Embedded Players
Already have a podcast website? Use embedded players on your website to make the experience for your audience better. A well-placed and structured embedded player makes people spend more time on your website and decrease bounce rate.
Hubhopper gives you no code embedded players. You can choose the type of embedded player. Get one with a single episode, a list of episodes of your choice or your entire podcast’s episodes.
Invite your Team
Managing your podcast with your team can be a challenge. Not with Hubhopper. Our Teams feature allows you to manage your team and assign them roles based on the access you want each team member to have.
Migration
Migrate your podcast easily with your RSS feed or search it up. It’s quick, and hassle-free so you can pick up from where you left off.
Try Hubhopper
Hubhopper is a great Libsyn alternative. Your podcast deserves the best podcast hosting platform that fulfills your needs. Before you make the commitment, start a free trial. Try our great features:
- Unlimited hours, storage, downloads
- One-click distribution
- AI tools
- Microsite
- Embed players
- Advanced analytics
- Private podcasts
FAQs
What does Hubhopper offer that Libsyn doesn’t?
Hubhopper gives you unlimited storage, hours, and podcasts unlike Libsyn. With support for Indian languages, user-friendly platform, and AI tools (transcription generator, title and show notes generation, audio editor, social media captions generation), Hubhopper is a better option than Libsyn.
Is Hubhopper a good Libsyn alternative for free podcasting?
Yes. Hubhopper’s free podcast hosting lets you publish four episodes per month and gives you basic analytics. It’s a reliable choice for podcasters who don’t have the budget for podcast hosting. Libsyn on the other hand has no free plan.
Does Hubhopper include AI tools for podcasters?
Yes, Hubhopper has AI tools on both PRO and Growth plans which include transcription, titles, show notes, and social media captions.
Can you migrate from Libsyn to Hubhopper without losing your data?
Yes, you can migrate from Hubhopper to Libsyn without losing any data, subscribers or listeners. You migrate using your RSS feed so all your metadata is safe and is migrated easily.
Which platform offers better long-term value, Libsyn or Hubhopper?
For podcasters who want a cost efficient and a platform that doesn’t punish them when they scale, Hubhopper offers much more flexibility, less limits, and better features.
