Speaker 1: What's up, Podcaster? It's Ben here from Podcast Pros with a podcast hosting comparison. And today we're comparing Simplecast to Blueberry. So if you've been debating between these two hosts, this video will help you make the right decision for you and your show. And once you've made your choice, there are links for free trials for both services in the description box and pinned comment of this video. And we're gonna compare these hosts based on three categories. The first being features, second being price, and third being ease of use to help you make the most informed decision. Let's get right into it. So let's start off with features. What I love about Simplecast is that all of their plans offer unlimited storage and uploads, meaning that you can put up as much content as you want and you won't have to pay any additional fees. Instead, how they charge is based on downloads per month. And their cheapest plan gives you up to 20,000 monthly downloads. So as long as you're under that, you can post as much content as you want. And 20,000 monthly downloads is a pretty high number, meaning that most people will be able to stay on the cheapest plan for some time. Simplecast also provides a podcast website and the opportunity to attach a custom domain for that website. So if you own one for your show, you can easily attach it. You're also able to manage multiple shows with one Simplecast account. So if you do have numerous shows, you don't have to make multiple accounts, but you will have to pay monthly for each show that you're hosting with Simplecast. They also provide an embeddable podcast player, which allows you to easily embed podcast episodes to easily play on websites. Simplecast also offers professional and enterprise-sized plans for businesses, larger shows, and podcast networks, meaning that regardless of your situation, there's probably a plan for you that would work on Simplecast. The basic plan starts with two team members or two team managers, meaning that two people can have their own Simplecast account to manage the same show. Simplecast also has what they call the recast feature, which allows you to easily create trailers and audiograms to help promote your show on social media. All Simplecast plans come with basic analytics, but they do move up and become more advanced as you pay for the higher plans. So those are all Simplecast's core features that you're gonna wanna keep in mind. They do give you a ton to work with, but there are some features that aren't available on Simplecast that are on other hosts, which is why Simplecast gets a seven out of 10 when it comes to features. They give you everything you need, but not some of the things that you may want. So now let's move on to pricing. Simplecast offers three primary plans based on your unique needs for you and your show, and the cheapest one starts at $15 a month that you can get down to $13 a month if you do pay annually. What I do love about Simplecast though, is if you use the link in the description box or the pinned comments, you'll get yourself a free 14 day trial. So you can actually see if you like using Simplecast to run and operate your show. But as I mentioned earlier, they charge based on monthly downloads and their cheapest plan will get you up to 20,000 downloads per month. But as your show grows, you are gonna have to pay more. So that's something you should be aware of. But with that said, that 20,000 number is quite substantial and the majority of shows are gonna be under that for quite some time and their beginning or starting plan is quite affordable. And for all of those reasons and all the features that Simplecast gives you, we would give their pricing a nine out of 10 based on value for what you're paying. And the third category is ease of use. And this is obviously very important because you're gonna be using this a lot. So you wanna make sure that you actually enjoy the process. And as you may have guessed from their name Simplecast, one of their core focuses is keeping their offering as simple as possible. And that is one of the reasons why they don't have as many features as other hosts may have because they wanna keep the process very simple and very easy to use for its users. So what they sacrifice in terms of mass features, they make up for in simplicity and ease of use. Their whole process from setting your show up to getting it live on different podcast directories is incredibly simple and easy to follow, meaning that basically anyone can use Simplecast and that's really the whole point. And for that reason, they get a nine out of 10 for ease of use. So overall, Simplecast gets a 25 out of 30. It is a very simple and easy to use podcast host. So as long as it has all the features that you're looking for, it may be a great option for you and your show. Let's get right into features. As mentioned before, Blueberry is one of the original podcast hosting providers. So they're a very trusted and reputable name within the podcast hosting space. But what really makes Blueberry a very compelling choice for podcasters still today is their integration with WordPress websites. Everyone of Blueberry's podcast hosting plans comes with a WordPress website. So what that means is that you're actually building your podcast website through WordPress. So this allows you to have way more customization and features built into your website, especially when compared to other podcast hosting website options that are out there. So if you're comfortable and familiar with building websites on WordPress, this is a huge pro for you because of all the features and customization that it allows you to have. All plans also include a custom embeddable podcast player, which makes it very easy to embed specific podcast episodes onto website pages. All plans also include phone and email support as well as unlimited bandwidth. So what you get more of as you pay for the more expensive plans is more storage. And that dictates how much content you can be posting on a monthly basis. And Blueberry's cheapest plan gives you 100 megabytes of storage per month. Luckily, audio files aren't huge, but 100 megabytes is not a lot. So a lot of people are gonna have to opt for their more expensive plans. When you see the monthly storage included in your Blueberry hosting plan, that number is for new content each month, meaning that previous episodes will not count towards that storage number for the month. Another Blueberry feature we love is that all plans include professional podcast statistics. So regardless of which plan you opt for, you're gonna have the same access to your stats. So those are all Blueberry's core features, but again, what really makes them so unique is the integration with WordPress because having a WordPress website gives you access to all the WordPress plugins and different features that you can build into your website. So with all that, we gave Blueberry a seven out of 10, a very solid score, but it wasn't higher because of how reliant it is on WordPress. It's just another thing that you have to learn. So it's great if you know it, it's a little more difficult if you don't. Moving on to price now, their cheapest plan comes in at $12 per month and their most popular plan comes in at $20 per month. Their most popular plan is what they call their medium plan and this gives you 250 megabytes of monthly storage. A lot of shows will be fine staying under that 250, but if you do need more, you will have to pay for it. Blueberry also offers what they call their pro hosting solution, which gives you unlimited storage and they say it's perfect for people looking to start podcast networks or multiple shows. Because I think that a lot of shows will be over 100 megabytes per month, meaning that you can't opt for their cheapest plan, I'm really setting this based off of their medium tier plan and that's why I gave them a score of seven out of 10, a very affordable pricing option, especially if you love WordPress, but a lot of people are gonna have to opt for the medium or above to get that necessary storage for their show. So seven out of 10 is a very solid score, but if you are familiar and love WordPress, the fact that you get a WordPress website for free with your podcast hosting could really improve that value if you do fall into that camp. But since I'm not a huge WordPress guy, I gave it a seven out of 10, solid value. So now moving on to ease of use. Because of how tightly connected Blueberry is to WordPress websites, the ease of use of Blueberry really comes down to the ease of use of WordPress. So if you're comfortable and familiar with WordPress and you love it, it could be a 10 out of 10 for you. But for me, I was a newbie to website building and WordPress had a pretty steep learning curve. Luckily, it's a very popular product and there are a ton of YouTube tutorials out there, but it is definitely not as straightforward and easy to use as some of the other podcast hosting website options and podcast hosts in general. There's a lot more that you have to learn, but with that gives you a lot more freedom, creativity and flexibility. So WordPress and Blueberry in general are definitely not impossible to use and there are a ton of tutorials and support out there to help you use these products, but there is a steeper learning curve than other ones out there. And for that reason, we gave them a seven out of 10 when it comes to ease of use. So overall, we scored Blueberry a 21 out of 30, a very solid score. But if you're someone who loves WordPress and you love all the customization and features that it gives you, it may make Blueberry a 30 out of 30 and a perfect option for you. It really depends on your situation, your willingness to learn WordPress or what you already know. As mentioned before, there are links for free trials for both Simplecast and Blueberry in the description box and pinned comment of this video. So go ahead and use that for whichever one is your favorite. And full disclosure, those links are affiliate links. So if you ever end up signing up for a paid plan, the channel will earn a small commission for you doing so at no extra expense to you. So we appreciate the support in advance. And after watching this comparison, I wanna hear from you. Are you gonna host your show with Simplecast or Blueberry? Let me know in the comment section down below and don't forget to click subscribe for more podcast and related videos that will help you run your show like a pro. I'll see you in the next one and happy podcasting.