Castos vs Buzzsprout: private feeds or a public show

Castos vs Buzzsprout: the short answer

For a staff-only show, pick Castos. Buzzsprout's help center answers "Not exactly" when asked whether a podcast can be private, while every Castos plan includes private podcasting. As read on October 18, 2026, Castos Essentials is $19 a month, billed monthly, and Buzzsprout Audio is $18 a month, billed monthly. This page compares the two on private podcasting and price only.

Private podcasts: what each host's own pages say

Buzzsprout's help article gives its reason: anybody who has the feed address, the web address a podcast app reads to find a show's episodes, can download the episodes in the feed. It suggests keeping the show out of directories such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify by not submitting it, or using Buzzsprout Subscriptions on a paid plan.

Castos includes private podcasting on every plan. Each subscriber gets a unique feed that Castos says you can revoke at any time, though Castos also says an episode already downloaded to a phone cannot be retrieved or deleted. The Castos private podcast page explains how access is added and ended.

Paid subscriber episodes on Buzzsprout, and Castos's Stripe route

Buzzsprout Subscriptions runs on paid plans and can make a whole show subscriber-only. Buzzsprout charges a fee on subscriber payments, and its rate is on Buzzsprout's Subscriptions page. Castos adds and removes private subscribers through Stripe and Kit and takes no cut of what you sell, though Stripe's own processing fees still apply. How to create a paid podcast walks through the Castos route.

Prices on the same billing basis

Monthly billing is the like-for-like basis here. The two meter different things: Buzzsprout prices upload hours, 6 a month on Audio, and Castos prices private subscribers, up to 100 on Essentials, 250 on Growth and 500 on Pro, with unlimited episodes and downloads on every plan.

Castos Essentials is $190 a year, billed annually. Buzzsprout Audio is $15 a month, billed annually; Buzzsprout prints no year total, so the two are compared on monthly billing only.

Who should pick Buzzsprout

Pick Buzzsprout for a public show that starts free: its free plan includes 2 hours of uploads a month and hosts episodes for 90 days, with no credit card required. Castos has no free plan, and if a private show is the goal, its 14-day trial takes a card up front and does not charge it until the 14 days are up.

Castos can also run public and private shows in one account, and a hybrid show keeps a public feed and private feeds in one show. The Castos review covers what each Castos plan includes.