Speaker 1: Captivate and Transistor are two of the most popular podcast hosting options on the market. They're both fantastic tools, but which one is the right fit for you and your show? We're gonna find out. When it comes to picking the right podcast host, it really comes down to three core things, features, support, and price. So we're gonna walk through each of those categories for these two hosts to help you make your choice. So the first thing I wanna mention about Captivate before we dive too far into it is that they are obsessed with growth and helping you grow your income and audience with your podcast. It was created by a podcaster who saw those as serious problems for podcasters and wanted to build tools to help make it as simple as possible. Their founder, Mark, has been on the channel a bunch of times to help people better use Captivate, and I can say firsthand, the guy loves podcasting and building tools for podcasters. And they have built a ton, and I really do mean that. And so we're gonna walk through the majority of their features so you can get a feel for how much is really here to use within Captivate if you decide to go with them. So the first category is all about monetization, and they give you a bunch of features to help with this. You're able to sell custom memberships, you can accept listener tips, you can sell exclusive content, early access content, they have a one-click media kit, and you can sell direct sponsorships. So they give you a ton of tools to help you make money from your show as soon as possible. They also have dynamic advertising and content features. They have Audio Monetization and Insertion Engine, or AMI, Book Ad Editor, Baked In Ad Painter, and a DAX Ad Marketplace. All of these are just tools to make it easier to make money. Next is onto their download and analytics features. Their analytics are IAB certified, they have link analytics, network analytics, episode performance comparison, you can download location information, device and listening tools information, web player analytics, and you can export analytics to CSV files. Another point of note when it comes to Captivate that is a recent addition, if you are moving your podcast from a different host, they now have industry-leading data transfer, so you will not lose any of your valuable data from your previous host. You will get to keep all of the important info. They have episode workflow tools, which include episode idea planning, episode research links plugin, dynamic show notes builder, default publish times, Captivate OmniSearch, Descript integration, and Zapier integration. They also help with guest booking and interview management. They have an integrated guest booking platform, customizable booking page, complete interview management, and public calendar integration. This is huge if you are planning on hosting interviews, they try to make it as simple as possible to make those interviews actually happen. Now onto their podcast marketing tools, because they do wanna help you grow as much as possible, and they give you tools to help you do it. They have measurable short links, trackable single promo links, playlists, email marketing integrations, marketing links, and the ability to remove Captivate branding. They also offer a podcast player that you can embed into your website. And with this, you can create custom playlists collections, fully customizable links, self-designing player, and social embeds. They also create a podcast website for you, and this website is customizable. You can also add your own custom domain, and they have the Captivate sync WordPress plugin. Captivate also allows you to create a podcast network. And this is something extremely unique to Captivate, which really makes them a no brainer if you are running a network. And these features include number of network podcasts, cross promotional feed drops, cross promotional analytics, aggregated network analytics, customizable network website, link custom network domain, network team members, podcast taxonomy integration, host client podcasts, and network API. As you can see right there, there is a ton here, and that is a recurring theme when it comes to Captivate, is they wanna give you every possible tool you could think of to grow your show and grow your income from your show. Like every podcast host, Captivate allows you to get your show featured across all the different directories, like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, et cetera, all the places that people listen to podcasts. But wait, there's more. They do take feedback extremely seriously, as well as recommendations. So if there is a feature that you request, chances are if it's decent, they're going to build it. But even with all that's there right now, they are constantly adding to this. And do take your feedback very seriously if there's something you're looking for. Captivate gives you the ability to have unlimited shows within one plan. So if you're gonna be hosting multiple shows, it won't cost you more unless you're getting more downloads across those shows. They also allow you to host private podcasts, which are great for internal teams or any kind of content that you wanna keep restricted to a set number of people. So they definitely give you a ton to work with, but like anything, it does come with some cons. And Captivate's biggest con is really also its biggest pro. There's so much here that to take full advantage of it, you have to learn how to use all of these tools, and that will take time. Luckily, they do a great job of providing resources and education on their website in the form of courses, blog posts, and even on their YouTube channel, they make content to help with all this stuff. So it's not that hard. It's fairly straightforward, and they give you a ton of support, but it will take some time. So I wanted to make sure that you were aware of that before picking them. Now on to support for Captivate. They are very active on their YouTube channel and with their email list. They drop a ton of valuable content that is super niche specific to podcasters. They have free courses to educate you on how to start a podcast and grow it. The founder, Mark, is still actively involved with the product, and he constantly is making content to help you use it better, which we love to see. And they also have solid and fast customer support if you end up becoming a customer. Now on to pricing for Captivate. They do have a free trial, but after that trial is over, their paid plans start at $17 per month when paid yearly and range all the way up to $90 per month, again, when paid yearly. They're both a little bit more if you decide to pay monthly. But how Captivate's pricing structure works is based on downloads. So you only ever have to pay more if you're getting more downloads across the shows, links to your account. And the vast majority of people will be able to stay on their lowest tier Captivate plan for a very long time. And by the time you upgrade, you're gonna be making more than enough money that it will not be a big deal. So who's Captivate best fit for? Captivate is perfect for growth-focused podcasters or if you run a podcast network, Captivate also becomes a no-brainer. Transistor, like every podcast host, allows your show to be found across the different directories, like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all the other places where people listen to podcasts. Before we dive into features, I wanna stress this about Transistor. It's very easy to use. That's one of their core focuses. So if you're not a super tech-savvy person and you hear the features that you're looking for, Transistor might be the perfect fit for you. And those features are AI transcriptions for your episodes to make it as easy as possible to make it more accessible. You can have unlimited shows on one plan. So basically, if you pay for one plan, you can have as many podcasts as you want on that plan at no additional expense unless you go over the threshold of downloads associated with your plan. I'll explain more of that later when we get to pricing. They give you analytics for your show or shows. They have dynamic ad tools so you can adjust content even after it's been posted. They give you a podcast website that is customizable with a podcast website builder. They also give you an embeddable podcast player that you could put onto an existing website to make your show or certain episodes easy to access. They offer integrations to other popular podcasting tools to help with your workflow and make it as seamless as possible. You can also add team members to help manage your shows and they give you the option to host private podcasts as well, which a lot of businesses love for internal content that they wanna keep for a few select people. The cons when it comes to Transistor is that there's not a ton of tools here. It's a fairly simple product by design. So there are other podcast hosting options that definitely give you more bells and whistles, but Transistor does what it does extremely well and comes with some really awesome features. But there are definitely other options out there with way more bells and whistles. That's not what Transistor is. They wanna do what they do, do it really well and make it very easy. When it comes to support on Transistor, they have very solid live and reliable customer support and they have a growing library of content over on their YouTube channel to help you better use their tools and grow your show more effectively, as well as a blog where they publish content to help you do the same things. Pricing for Transistor is pretty straightforward. Plans start at $20 per month when you pay monthly and go all the way up to $99 per month when paid monthly. You can get a discount on any of their plans if you do decide to go for the yearly option. If you do that, it brings their cheapest plan down to $16 per month. And all their plans are based on downloads for your shows attached to your Transistor account. And so you only ever need to upgrade if you reach that threshold for downloads across your content. And honestly, the vast majority of podcasters will be able to get by on their cheapest plan for quite a bit of time. And by the time you need to upgrade, you're gonna be making enough money from your show where it's not going to be a big deal. So who is Transistor best for? Transistor is perfect for non-techie podcasters or new podcasters that wanna run multiple shows or have private podcasting as a priority. There are other simple podcast hosting options, but those other tools don't have the private functionality and the unlimited shows. So if those things are important for you and you're not a super techie person or don't wanna deal with a ton of tools, Transistor is a fantastic tool that is constantly growing in popularity because they do what they do and they do it extremely well. So whether you wanna go with Captivate or Transistor, they're both linked down below. And using those links, you can get a completely free trial. Those links also help to support the channel at no additional cost to you. So thank you in advance for doing so. And also definitely let me know which one you're going with in the comment section. I love to hear about what other podcasters are using and why. And since you're a podcaster looking to grow your show and make more money from it, make sure you subscribe to this channel and our free newsletter. We publish content exclusively for podcasters to help them do just that, turn their dream show into a profitable business and grow a loyal audience. YouTube thinks you'll like this video right here. I'll see you in the next one and happy podcasting.