Blubrry Review: a Podcast Host Made by Podcasters

Last updated on February 17th, 2020

One of the largest podcast hosting platforms and also one of the best, Blubrry is a veteran in the podcast space with plans starting at $12 / month. Blubrry stands out among competitors because of how easy it is to set up a new show on the platform and because of the wide range of creative controls that creators have. Selling itself as a platform by podcasters for podcasters, there are very few things that Blubrry can’t do.

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Blubrry was started in 2005 and in the past decade has grown a strong community of podcasters. A subsidiary of RawVoice, the company is privately owned and based and operated entirely in the United States. A benefit of this is that compared to some newer start-up podcast hosting services, Blubrry has a good track record and therefore you have little risk that the platform will be going away in the near future.

Picking A Podcast Host

Whether you are a new podcaster looking for a place to start your podcasting journey or you have decided to move to a new podcast host, the process of selecting what service to use can be more complicated than it seems. Because the storage service itself that most of the leading podcast hosts will provide you with is relatively similar, the real decision you have to make comes in the pricing, add-ons and features provided. For example, some podcast hosting services have low priced limited storage plans, but get more expensive as you move towards their unlimited storage options.

Blubrry is right about at the middle price-wise compared to their main competition, with the lowest priced plan is $12 / month for 100 MB of storage. Following that is $20 / month for a 250 MB plan, and then all the way up to a $80 / month 1 GB plan and a professional Unlimited plan. All plans have something called “No Fault Podcast Hosting,” meaning that there is no additional cost if you happen to go over your monthly storage, up to 25%.

For a bit of context, 100 MB of storage would be just about enough space for a weekly show with 30 minute episodes. If you are creating longer shows or putting out more frequent episodes, you would likely need one of Blubrry’s bigger hosting options.

After you have decided on the amount of storage you need and narrowed your options down to the few most-affordable options, features should be the next thing to consider. For the remainer of this review, we will highlight a number of Blubrry’s most unique and desirable features and compare them to some of the primary competitors.

Powerpress and Easy Uploading

One of the features that has established Blubrry as a stand-out podcast host is Powerpress, their WordPress plug-in that allows you to quickly and easily share episodes to any website that is run with WordPress. The plug-in is incredibly robust, with options that allow for working with multiple RSS feeds and plenty of other useful tools that make it a seamless process to work with your podcast stream directly on WordPress, rather than from the Blubrry dashboard.

One of the most interesting things about Powerpress is that it allows users to upload a new episode directly from WordPress, rather than through Blubrry’s interface. The file is then sent to Blubrry and added to your podcast RSS feed, making it an especially easy option for those that have mastered WordPress and do not necessarily want to learn a new interface.

The easy publishing sets Blubrry apart, especially if you are working with WordPress. Those using other website platforms like Squarespace or Wix won’t be able to use the Powerpress WordPress plug-in, but will still find the default uploading method through Blubrry’s dashboard to be relatively easy.

Blubrry also has the option to create a managed WordPress website through PowerPress, which is similar in nature to the website creation option that Podbean provides for their users. Various plans are available for both recreational podcasters and professionals with larger followings.

Blubrry Analytics

Blubrry’s “Podcast Statistics” page is easy to reach from the main dashboard and has several reports that can provide you with information organized by episode, date or numerous other options. The statistics are thorough but displayed in a clean and easy to understand way, with graphs to help visualize what you are looking at.

Statistics available include accurate download totals, distribution of clients and applications used, location demographics, operating system demographics and more. In addition, all statistics can easily be exported as PDF reports to easily share.  

The statistics that Blubrry provides are relatively standard, but they stand out because Blubrry recently became the first ever podcast hosting company to receive Interactive Advertising Bureau Tech Lab (IAB) Podcast Measurement Certification. This certification was announced in December 2018 and gives podcasters, advertisers and business partners the ability to make informed decisions about advertising & monetization.

Anyone who has podcasted in the past knows how tricky it can be to actually gauge what your audience is listening to and who and where they are, so this certification can be appealing for those looking to monetize or simply understand their listenership better.

Support and Consulting

Blubrry is often praised for their robust options for support, including a 24-hour a day email support line, as well as the option for phone and video support. In fact, it is one of the only hosts that offers phone support, should you need it.

Blubrry is a veteran in the hosting space and has established itself as experts in the world of audio, so their $100 / hour consulting service is a nice feature. Sessions can be conducted by phone or video call, and all of the U.S. based consultants have over 10-years of podcasting experience.

Critiques

One of the reasons not to choose Blubrry is the price, which is slightly higher than some competitors. In addition to this, the main perk of Blubrry is the easy to use Powerpress system, however those not using WordPress may not see the appeal of it. While WordPress hosted websites will greatly benefit from Powerpress, it is not as beneficial if your website is not hosted there. Blubrry is really all about the simplicity of its interface and the speed of “post – upload – publish” thanks to Powerpress, so it is not necessarily as flashy or feature-packed as some other options.

For customers more concerned with reliability, support and simplicity, Blubrry remains a great option. While it may not be the lowest priced option available, the ease of use and sense of confidence it can invoke with the quality of support are both big benefits, especially for new or less-confident podcasters.  

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