Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Buzzsprout

Castopod is a free and open-source podcast hosting and publishing platform designed for podcasters who want to keep control of their content and distribution. It provides tools to manage podcasts and episodes, publish RSS feeds, and engage with listeners directly.

Key Features

• Podcast and episode management with RSS distribution for podcast directories
• Fediverse integration to let episodes be shared, liked, and commented on in a decentralized social network
• Built-in, anonymized analytics aligned with IAB guidelines and designed with privacy regulations in mind
• Podcasting 2.0 support for richer metadata such as transcripts, chapters, persons, and locations
• Promotion tools such as generating shareable video clips and soundbites
• Monetization options including subscriptions, tips, and Podcasting 2.0-style payments (where supported)

Use Cases

• Host and publish one or multiple podcasts while maintaining ownership of the feed and media
• Engage listeners through decentralized social interactions around episodes
• Track podcast performance with privacy-conscious analytics for episodes and downloads

Castopod fits creators and organizations that want an open, standards-based podcast platform with modern Podcasting 2.0 capabilities. It combines publishing, audience interaction, and analytics in a single service that you can run under your own control.

ELEMENT.FM is an open source podcast hosting platform for publishing, managing, and distributing podcasts. It focuses on Podcasting 2.0 features and aims to provide a scalable hosting stack that can be run as a hosted service or self-managed.

Key Features

• Unlimited shows and episode lengths
• Automatic transcript generation for episodes
• Podcasting 2.0 support, including advanced RSS/XML extensions and V4V (Value for Value)
• AI-assisted generation of show notes and chapters
• Collaborative workspaces for teams
• Chapter-level analytics to understand listener behavior
• Import and migration from existing podcast RSS feeds
• Microservices-based architecture designed for scaling

Use Cases

• Hosting and distributing one or many podcasts with modern Podcasting 2.0 capabilities
• Migrating existing podcasts from another host via RSS import
• Running a team-based podcast production workflow with shared access and analytics

Limitations and Considerations

• Microservices architectures can be operationally complex compared to single-container apps

ELEMENT.FM is a good fit for creators and organizations that want a modern, standards-forward podcast hosting platform with automation features. It is especially relevant when Podcasting 2.0 support, transcripts, and chapter analytics are key requirements.

Pods-Blitz is an open-source podcast hosting and publishing server implemented in Rust. It provides multi-tenant podcast sites, automated RSS feed generation, episode management and analytics for independent podcasters.

Key Features

• Multi-tenant hosting: host many podcasts on a single instance with per-podcast sites and domains
• RSS feed generation and management with support for multiple feeds per podcast
• Episode management features including scheduling, transcripts, chapters and import of existing podcasts
• Built-in analytics that are kept up-to-date for episodes and feeds
• Support for premium episodes/feeds (subscriber-restricted content)
• Per-podcast website templates and embedded Podlove web player integration
• Optional storage of media files in any S3-compatible bucket; assets and generated RSS files managed on the server
• Small standalone binary with configuration via a TOML config file; designed to run on Linux with a reverse proxy

Use Cases

• Self-hosted podcast networks for independent podcasters who want full control over RSS and hosting
• Shared community hosting where multiple podcasters use a single multi-tenant instance to reduce cost
• Migrating podcasts from a third-party host by importing existing feeds and enclosures into a self-hosted server

Limitations and Considerations

• Requires a MySQL-compatible database (MySQL or MariaDB); alternative disk-only SQLite support is noted as planned but not yet available
• Admin-level permissions are required to create or import podcasts, which affects decentralized onboarding workflows
• By default media files are stored on the instance filesystem, so administrators must ensure adequate disk capacity unless S3 is used
• HTTPS and an external reverse proxy are recommended for production deployments; some deployment components (database, reverse proxy, TLS) must be configured separately

Pods-Blitz focuses on performance, stability and independence for podcast publishing. It is geared toward administrators and podcasters who prefer an open-source, self-hosted solution with multi-tenant capabilities and optional S3 media storage.

Funkwhale is a self-hostable audio platform that lets you upload, organize, and stream your music library and podcasts from a web interface and compatible client apps. It supports federation so content and profiles can be shared across independent servers.

Key Features

• Music library management with artists, albums, tracks, and playlists
• Podcast publishing and consumption, including subscriptions from podcast apps
• Federation between instances using ActivityPub, with moderation controls
• Sharing options for playlists, albums, or sections of a library with others
• Discovery features to explore audio shared by the wider Funkwhale network
• Privacy-respecting by design (no third-party analytics, no tracking, no ads)

Use Cases

• Personal audio server to access your music collection from anywhere
• Community or organization “pod” to share freely licensed music and curated playlists
• Artist/podcaster publishing hub with follower-based updates and distribution

Limitations and Considerations

• Federation and moderation require active administration to handle unwanted content or actors
• Large libraries may require careful storage and performance planning

Funkwhale combines a modern audio library/podcast experience with decentralized networking, making it suitable for personal collections, communities, and independent creators. It is community-driven and designed to keep control of content and data in the hands of operators and users.