Blubrry

Blubrry is a podcast hosting and publishing service for audio and video shows, with a free WordPress plugin that can be used separately from its hosting. It is best suited to creators building around WordPress or needing more publishing capacity as a show grows. The fit depends on whether its monthly-hour allowances and statistics tiers match your workflow.

Overview

Hosting includes RSS feeds and distribution to major directories such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube. Blubrry measures hosting by monthly publishing hours rather than file size, a useful way to budget against a production schedule, though publishers who outgrow their allowance must move to a more expensive tier.

PowerPress is a free WordPress plugin for publishing, RSS, SEO, an audio player and directory integration. It works on self-hosted WordPress.org sites and WordPress.com Business-level sites without requiring Blubrry hosting. Vid2Pod can turn YouTube videos or playlists into audio episodes for RSS distribution, giving video creators another route into podcast feeds.

Key features

• WordPress workflow: PowerPress is the strongest reason to consider Blubrry if your site runs WordPress: it brings publishing and feed tools together, while remaining usable with another host. Hosting plans also include an optional managed WordPress website using the plugin.
• Distribution: PowerPress provides destination links or submission support for Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Pandora, iHeartRadio, Podcast Index, Podchaser, TuneIn, Deezer and YouTube Music. This broad set of destinations is useful for creators seeking directory reach without treating distribution as a separate service.
• Analytics: Depending on plan, statistics cover downloads or plays, audience locations, listening apps and devices, trends, retention and partial plays. The entry hosting tier has standard statistics; deeper audience and episode comparisons require a paid statistics tier or advanced hosting plan.
• Monetization and scale: Advanced plans include monetization features, while Pro Hosting adds dynamic and programmatic advertising, FTP and multiple shows. Pro also includes a REST API, unlimited storage and 1TB monthly bandwidth, but bandwidth usage fees make its $100 monthly price only part of the cost calculation.
• Privacy and support: Blubrry says it does not sell personal information or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. It describes reasonable safeguards while acknowledging that absolute security cannot be guaranteed. Support includes a contact form monitored during business hours seven days a week, phone, documentation and scheduled video support.

Pricing

Blubrry has a free plan and paid hosting from $7/month. The hosting tiers are billed monthly, with publishing hours—not file size—as the key constraint.

• Standard 1.5 — $7 a month: Up to 1.5 hours monthly, audio/video podcasts, standard statistics, a free managed WordPress site and AI podcast tools. It is the lowest-cost hosting choice, but a short allowance and standard analytics make it a fit mainly for low-volume publishing.
• Standard 3 — $15 a month: Up to 3 hours monthly with the same audio/video support, standard statistics, managed site and AI tools. Choose it when the entry allowance is too tight but advanced analytics and monetization are not priorities.
• Advanced 6 — $25 a month: Up to 6 hours monthly, advanced analytics, AI tools, monetization features and Vid2Pod. This is the first listed hosting tier with the deeper analytics and monetization package.
• Advanced 12 — $50 a month: Up to 12 hours with advanced statistics, AI tools, monetization features and Vid2Pod; a step up for higher-output shows that still do not need Pro hosting.
• Advanced 25 — $90 a month: Up to 25 hours with advanced analytics, AI tools, monetization features and Vid2Pod. Its near-Pro price makes the distinction worth weighing if unlimited publishing or Pro features matter.
• Pro Unlimited — $100 a month: Unlimited publishing, multiple shows and users, dynamic advertising, FTP and PowerPress multi-program mode. It also includes unlimited storage and 1TB monthly bandwidth, but bandwidth usage fees mean high-traffic publishers should account for charges beyond the base rate.
• Free Statistics — free: Total plays/downloads and top audience locations and listening apps/devices, without Blubrry hosting. It is a limited way to see basic audience signals, not a substitute for full analytics.
• Standard Statistics — $5 a month: Full location, app and device data, comparison of the three most recent episodes, and listening trends; no Blubrry hosting is required. It suits publishers who want these metrics without changing hosts.

Blubrry offers a free trial, but the trial length is not given. The free plan is distinct from the $0 statistics option: the former is described as a free plan, while the latter specifically provides basic statistics without hosting.

Platforms

Blubrry is available on the web and through an API, and supports self-hosted use through PowerPress. The plugin's WordPress.com support is limited to Business-level sites.

Who it's for

Choose Blubrry if you want WordPress publishing tools that can work independently of your hosting, or if a monthly publishing-hour model is a better fit than file-size quotas. It also suits creators who want a path from basic hosting to advanced statistics, monetization and multi-show Pro hosting. Look elsewhere if your expected hours are difficult to fit into the lower tiers or if Pro's bandwidth fees undermine the appeal of its unlimited publishing.

Pros and cons

• Pro: PowerPress is free and does not require Blubrry hosting, so WordPress users can keep its publishing and RSS tools while using another host.
• Pro: Hosting includes a managed WordPress site, and plans cover audio and video podcasts with directory distribution.
• Pro: Separate statistics plans let publishers pay for audience data without moving hosting.
• Con: The $7 and $15 hosting tiers cap publishing at 1.5 and 3 hours monthly and provide standard statistics, limiting their appeal to more frequent publishers or those needing deeper analysis.
• Con: Pro Unlimited carries bandwidth usage fees in addition to its $100 monthly price, so heavy traffic can complicate budgeting.

Alternatives

Consider these alternatives if their specific platform or plan structure better matches your needs:

• Acast offers a free plan and a Starter option for one show and five episodes; its Essential tier is $14.99 a month billed yearly for multiple shows, unlimited episodes, ads and sponsorships. Choose it when that show-and-episode structure or its listed ad and sponsorship plan suits you better than Blubrry's hour-based hosting.
• Podbean has a free plan capped at five hours of storage, 100GB monthly bandwidth, three episodes per day, a 100MB single-file limit and 20 episodes in the RSS feed. Pick it if those explicit storage and bandwidth limits suit your publishing pattern better than Blubrry's monthly-hour model.
• SupaPass Podcast Website Builder has a free website plan with podcast and blog RSS import, episode updates, a sitewide player, member login and comments. It may suit a creator prioritizing a podcast website and member interactions.
• RSS.com has a free plan for one podcast with 30 days of analytics history and one voicemail, plus a $19.99 a month Plus plan. Consider it if that free-plan structure or its Plus tier better fits your requirements.
• Seriously Simple Podcasting is an open-source option for self-hosted WordPress users who prefer an open-source plugin approach.
• Meku Podcast Website Builder has a free plan with 100 credits per month, three always-public projects and one workspace. It may fit if those project-based website limits work for your needs.
• Podcast.page offers a free podcast website with RSS import and a watermark, alongside a $12.90 a month Creator plan. Consider it if you want a podcast website with that free entry point.
• PodView has a free plan with a PodView subdomain, automatic episode sync and no custom domain. It may suit someone seeking a free web presence with automatic syncing.

For a broader comparison of site-focused options, see Podcast Website Builders.

Verdict

Blubrry is a strong choice for WordPress-centered podcasters who want independent PowerPress tools and a hosting ladder from low-volume publishing to multi-show Pro. Its main reason to look elsewhere is cost pressure: modest hour caps push growing shows upward, and Pro's bandwidth fees can add uncertainty to the highest tier.