What are the 5 BEST WordPress Podcast Plugins? (Our Top Picks)

Even your Dad has a Podcast!

So, you’ve decided to start a podcast for your cannabis business. Congrats! Creating new content that brings value to your audience is so important to make your business stand out. And podcasts are exploding…

Did you know: According to Infinite Dial, in 2020, 24% of people in the US (aged 12 and up) have listened to a podcast in the last week. This is up from 12 percent of people in the US in 2019.

But now it’s time to start thinking logistics. How are you going to get this thing up and running? And not just up and running… but functioning well.

Creating a seamless experience for your audience is just as important as the content you’re talking about. 

So we’ve put together a shortlist of what we think are the best WordPress podcast plugins (#1 being our favorite!).

1. PowerPress by Blubrry—simple WordPress podcast hosting

When you use PowerPress by Blubrry, you get that extra oomph you need to bring your podcast to the next level. PowerPress is the number one podcast plugin for WordPress and it integrates flawlessly.

Super simple. Only podcasters know the true challenges of podcasting. You need simple but you also need quality. PowerPress is quick, clean, and produces a high-quality podcasting experience.

PowerPress even has a simple mode! So if you’re new to podcasting, don’t worry about feeling overwhelmed. You can start on simple mode, and then seamlessly transfer to advanced to take full advantage of PowerPress’s best features.

Professional statistics. PowerPress by Blubrry is the first company to be Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Certified and compliant with podcast measurement guidelines. You receive accurate, exportable, and PDF downloadable statistics on:

• Download/play totals
• Day-to-day trending
• Origin of downloads
• Devices listeners use
• Where in the world are listeners
• And more…

Support. When you choose PowerPress by Blubrry, you get ongoing support to help you get in front of your target audience.

• SEO tools to help rank you in Google
• Multi-podcast support if you have multiple channels
• Multi-language support for more accessibility
• Sidebar widget for simple shortcuts and subscribing
• Supports leading platforms (like Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Blubrry Podcasting, and more).
• HTML5 media player with support for YouTube 
• Easy integration with MemberPress 

Overall, we give two thumbs up to PowerPress by Blubrry. They have your podcasts needs covered. PowerPress is free, and Blubrry starts at only $12/month—a small cost that’s worth it.

2.  Libsyn—the powerful WordPress podcast plugin.

Libsyn uses the Libsyn Publisher Hub plugin for WordPress. It’s visually appealing and operates seamlessly.

Libsyn can be with you from start to finish. It serves newbie podcasters as well as some of the most downloaded podcast shows.  Libsyn creates a smooth experience with an array of tools to support your long-term growth.

Marketing insights. With any online business, it’s essential to use data to drive your decisions.

Which episodes do people like more? Which day of the week do people listen more? Where am I getting the most exposure? Which social media platform gets the most shares? When you know the answers to these questions, you can use them to take the right actions and bring more hype. 

Libsyn’s podcast statistics are certified Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) v2.0. The statistics you’ll get are:

• User stats to know where your audience listens most (i.e. car, home, work)
• Geographic map to know where your listeners live.
• Social media stats integrate with your account to keep everything together.
• Day, week, and month statistics know when users are listening most.
• Date range statistics to gather more detailed information.
• Detailed breakdowns for each published episode.
• Destinations statistics to know how many downloads different destinations give you.

Custom episode publishing. You can choose custom settings for different episode destinations. For example, if you want a different title for Apple Podcasts than for Stitcher, you can do that. You may use this feature if your audience is different (i.e. different ages, gender, locations) on each platform. You can tailor the title and user experience based on specific audiences. Some features you can customize are:

• Custom ID3 tag settings
• Availability for download settings
• Control over the release date
• Choose the expiration date
• Create drafts before publishing
• Choose specific destinations
• Display episode artwork
• Choose to have comments on or off
• Customize title, subtitle, description, and category

 With plans starting at just $5 per month, Libsyn is a top choice for us.

3.  Buzzsprout—the podcast plugin for WordPress that has a free trial

When you podcast with Buzzsprout, they make it easy to embed your podcasts on your WordPress website. Their free plugin allows you to pull your episode from Buzzsprout and embed them.

Buzzsprout has four different subscription packages and each one include the essentials: 

• Readable podcast statistics
• A clean and professional podcast website
• A custom embed player
• Access to top podcast directories
• 250GB bandwidth per month

The primary differentiator of the packages is the number of hours you’re allowed to upload per month.

Easy creation and publishing. Buzzspout optimizes your episode automatically. You don’t have to worry about bitrates, filetypes, or ID3. Just upload your podcast, and either publish immediately or schedule it for a future day and time.

Far distribution. Once you upload your episode to Buzzspout, it will distribute your podcast to Stitcher, iHeart Radio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Alexa, Overcast, PocketCasts, Castro, TuneIn, and Podchaser.

Simple podcast stats. Learn the best way to market your podcast by having access to statistics. Know what apps people listen from, where people are listening from, and how many downloads over time.

Buzzsprout has a few different monthly plans to choose from. And the first 90 days are free! So you can really get a sense if you like Buzzsprout before fully committing to it.

4. Fusebox—the best free podcast hosting platform

Fusebox, formerly Smart Podcast Player, is the best way to get your podcast up and running if you’re on a low budget. With its site-wide sticky player and mobile-friendly features, Fusebox makes it easy for fans to pull up your website and listen on any device.

Binge listening. The way Fusebox is set up on your website, it makes it easy for users to binge listen and sit there longer. You can highlight the whole archive to encourage listeners to listen longer, or highlight specific episode to direct listeners to where you want them to go.

Email collector. If you’re looking to grow an email list, Fusebox’s subscribe button makes collecting emails easy.

Easy transition. The free version starts you off with some basic features to get you going. But when you decide you’re ready for more features, Fusebox makes it easy to transition from the free version to their $8/month version.

Side note: if you’re new to podcasting, you may want to just splurge on the $8 per month to save yourself some time… Because, with their paid version, you get access to both webinar training and email support.

Transcription plugin. Fusebox is great for SEO because of its transcription plugin. Not only does this help SEO, but it makes it easy or listeners to scan the episode to see if there are any places they want to skip to.

By helping listeners find the content they want fast, you’re making the listening experience convenient while converting them to loyal fans.

Having a podcast transcription also makes your podcast more accessible to listeners. In a time where being inclusive is ultra-important, make your podcast accessible to those who may not have the option to listen.

Some of the premium website features are:

• Email capture
• Custom colors 
• Social media sharing
• Speed control
• Downloadable MP3s
• Custom sort
• Timestamps
• Volume control
• Host migration
• Future timestamps
• Integration with Rev.com

And you get all of these for a whopping $8 per month.

5.  Simple Podcast Press—the WordPress plugin for podcasts that scales.

As Simple Podcast Press (SPP) advertises, everything about them is simple. And SPP is designed to help you grow. They’re so confident you’ll love their WordPress plugin that they offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Easy to import. Simple Podcast Press is compatible with other platforms like Libsyn, Buzzsprout, Blubrry, and Apple Podcasts. So even if you want to start with Libsyn and don’t like it, you can easily switch to Simple Podcast Press.

Fully automatic. Simple Podcast Press simplified importing episodes from Apple Podcasts. And it’s fully automated. Just enter the iTunes URL and SPP will create a new page for each of your episodes. Each page will have a player, your images, and your description.

For a yearly fee, you’ll get:

• iTunes reviews on display
• A visual that’s on-brand
• An email opt-in that’s integrated
• Easily Tweetable show notes
• Timestamps that are clickable
• A podcast playlist
• Visually appealing transcripts
• Url shortener for easy remembering

Starting at $67 per year you’ll get your podcast up and running, simply.

Let’s talk about which WordPress podcast plugin sounds like a good fit for your cannabis business.  These are our top picks. But if you have something else in mind, we are open! We will help you integrate your preferred plugin onto your WordPress cannabis website and get your podcast up and running flawlessly.

Happy Podcasting!

Feel free to fill out the form below, and someone from our team will get back to you soon.