Acast vs CoHost
A side-by-side look at Acast and CoHost for podcasters: pricing, features, and where each one wins.
At a glance
| Acast | CoHost | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free plan | $89/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Free trial | No | No |
| Best for | Independent podcasters and mid-size networks who want advertising revenue built into their hosting | Brand and corporate podcast teams that need to show ROI and prove audience quality to stakeholders |
| Founded | 2014 | - |
Key features
Acast
- One-click distribution to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and all major directories
- Dynamic ad insertion with brand marketplace access
- Premium listener subscriptions and paid content
- Real-time analytics: downloads, revenue, listener location
- Audio-to-video clip generation via Headliner integration
- Custom podcast website and embeddable player
CoHost
- B2B company identification of anonymous listeners
- Audience demographics by seniority, department, industry, and income
- Salesforce CRM integration with auto-sync
- Consumption data across Apple Podcasts and Spotify
- Tracking link attribution for campaigns
- IAB Tech Lab certified analytics
- AI-powered episode transcriptions
- PodPromote managed audience growth service (Enterprise)
Pros and cons
Acast
Pros
- Strong monetization infrastructure with real brand partners
- Free tier includes distribution and basic analytics
- Over $600M paid to creators - track record is real
Cons
- Pricing is in euros, not USD - adds friction for US creators
- Free tier limited to 5 episodes unless you join the ad marketplace
- Less control over ad placements compared to self-managed sponsorships
CoHost
Pros
- Company-level listener identification is unique in the podcast analytics space
- Salesforce integration makes it viable as a genuine marketing attribution tool
- IAB certified analytics hold up to scrutiny from serious buyers
Cons
- Pricing starts at $89/mo - too expensive for independent or hobbyist podcasters
- No free tier and no free trial mentioned
- Annual billing required for base pricing; month-to-month likely costs more
The verdict
Choose Acast if
Independent podcasters and mid-size networks who want advertising revenue built into their hosting.
Acast is legitimately one of the stronger monetization platforms in podcasting - if you have an audience and want to work with real brands, this is a credible path. The free Starter tier is genuinely useful but caps you at…
Choose CoHost if
Brand and corporate podcast teams that need to show ROI and prove audience quality to stakeholders.
CoHost is solving a real problem: most podcast analytics tell you how many people listened, not who they were. For a B2B company running a podcast as a demand-gen channel, that company-level identification capability is genuinely valuable - and the…