How to create a paid podcast: feed, checkout and access

How to create a paid podcast: the parts you need

To create a paid podcast, you need a host that gives each buyer a private feed, a recurring checkout that adds and removes buyers automatically, and the apps buyers listen in. Feeds are the web addresses podcast apps read to find a show's episodes. Coaches, consultants and course sellers can follow three steps:

1. Choose a host with a private feed per buyer.
2. Connect a recurring checkout, such as Stripe.
3. Publish, then tell buyers which apps work, Spotify included.

Step one: a host that gives each buyer a private feed

Castos gives each private subscriber a unique feed that you can revoke at any time. Hello Audio gives each listener a unique link to a feed hidden from iTunes and Google. Supercast issues personal feeds and sends usage alerts if a subscriber shares one. Buzzsprout Subscriptions works on a paid Buzzsprout plan and can lock single episodes or a whole show.

Castos publishes at once or on a schedule, and Supercast needs only a title and an audio file.

Step two: a checkout that adds and removes buyers

Stripe and Kit add and remove Castos subscribers natively, and Zapier, a third-party tool with its own plans, connects almost any other tool you sell with.

• Stripe: connect your account, then add an automation in the Automations tab. It needs a recurring product, because Castos says one-off payments are not supported, and it revokes access when a subscription is not renewed or is canceled.
• Kit: tags, sequences and forms become triggers, and a paid Kit account is needed.
• Zapier: pick a trigger from another tool, such as a new spreadsheet row, and the Castos action Create Private Subscriber.
• MemberSpace and WordPress: Castos sends a MemberSpace member a unique code and step-by-step instructions, and syncs WordPress members through its free Seriously Simple Podcasting plugin.

Castos's Stripe article warns that one trigger method, which grants access to every customer, cannot revoke automatically.

Castos's home page lists paid subscriptions under Castos Commerce, which is by application, while the Commerce FAQ last updated May 10, 2024, describes donations and says subscriptions will come in the future, so for a paid private feed, use the Stripe, Kit, Zapier or membership-plugin routes above.

Supercast's launch checklist runs in this order: connect your Stripe account, set up listener plans and pricing, upload artwork, then set up your landing page. A membership system such as WooCommerce or MemberPress connects under its Custom plan, where that platform manages sign-up and billing while Supercast supplies the feeds.

Step three: what buyers listen in, including Spotify

Castos says each private subscriber's feed works in Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts and most other podcast apps, and the Castos app, from Growth, follows the subscriber list.

Spotify's help describes Open Access as its route for hosts and lists Supercast and Hello Audio among its platforms; Castos is not on that list. Whether the Spotify app accepts a pasted feed address is not stated on Spotify's help pages. Does Spotify allow private podcasts has the detail.

What each route costs before you sell

Castos adds and removes private subscribers through Stripe or Kit, adds them through Zapier and takes no cut of the subscriptions you sell, with Essentials at $19 a month, billed monthly, as read on October 18, 2026; Stripe's own fees still apply. The podcast membership platform list compares it with the others.

Supercast is $0.59 a month per subscriber plus Stripe fees, which its pricing page lists as 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction and 0.7% per recurring payment. Hello Audio Starter is $17 a month, billed monthly. Buzzsprout Subscriptions takes a fee on subscriber payments, with the rate on its Subscriptions page.

Setting up on Castos starts with its 14-day trial; you add a card first, and Castos bills it after day 14 unless you cancel. Pick Castos when you already sell through Stripe, Kit or a membership plugin, and Supercast when you want a landing page and payments in one product: Castos vs Supercast and Supercast alternatives compare them.