Plans side by side
US dollars. Captivate prices are per month when paid yearly. Captivate’s monthly billing starts at $19.
| Castos plan | Monthly | Yearly | Downloads | Captivate plan | Paid yearly | Downloads |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essentials | $19 | $190 | Unlimited | Personal | $17/mo ($204/yr) | 30,000/mo |
| Growth | $49 | $490 | Unlimited | Professional | $44/mo ($528/yr) | 150,000/mo |
| Pro | $99 | $990 | Unlimited | Business | $90/mo ($1,080/yr) | 300,000/mo |
| Premium | From $499 | From $4,990 | Unlimited | Custom | By email | Over 300,000 |
Free trial: 14 days on Castos, 30 days on Captivate. Neither has a free plan.
Yearly cost by monthly downloads
Using the cheapest plan that covers the audience, ignoring feature needs.
| Downloads per month | Castos | Captivate |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 30,000 | $190 (Essentials) | $204 (Personal) |
| 30,001 to 150,000 | $190 (Essentials) | $528 (Professional) |
| 150,001 to 300,000 | $190 (Essentials) | $1,080 (Business) |
Captivate says it won’t stop your show if you go over your download limit. If you’re over for a second month in a row, it will ask you to move to the next tier.
What you get on each plan
| Feature | Castos | Captivate |
|---|---|---|
| Unlimited podcasts and uploads | All plans | All plans |
| Team members | Just you (Essentials), up to 5 (Growth), up to 10 (Pro), unlimited (Premium) | Team access listed among included features |
| Dynamic ad insertion | All plans | All plans |
| Analytics | In-depth listener analytics on all plans; advanced and customizable reports on Growth and up | IAB-certified analytics on all plans |
| Private podcast subscribers | 100 / 250 / 500, plus $50/mo per extra 500 on Pro | Included on all plans, no cap listed |
| App for private listeners | Growth and up | Not listed |
| Custom website domain | Growth and up | Not listed (Captivate websites are included) |
| YouTube republishing | Growth and up | Not listed |
| Video file hosting | Pro and up | Not listed |
| AI transcription | 10 / 25 / 100 credits per month by plan | Not listed |
| WordPress plugin | Seriously Simple Podcasting, all plans | Not listed |
| Uptime SLA | Pro and up | Not listed |
| SSO | Premium | Not listed |
| Migration | Free one-click migration with personal help, all plans | Import tool |
Castos also lists listener donations and password-protected feeds on every plan, and a 1:1 onboarding call from Growth up.
Which to pick
- Choose Castos if your show has, or will soon have, more than 30,000 downloads a month, you publish from WordPress, or you need YouTube republishing or video file hosting.
- Choose Captivate if you want dynamic ads, private feeds, and team access without upgrading, a 30-day trial, or the 25% nonprofit and education discount.
For private-feed costs at different audience sizes, see best private podcast hosting. For a third option, see Captivate vs Transistor. Moving an existing show? Start with how to move your podcast to a new host.
Sources
- Castos pricing: https://castos.com/pricing/ (checked Oct 28, 2026)
- Captivate pricing: https://www.captivate.fm/pricing (checked Oct 28, 2026)
- Captivate private podcasting: https://www.captivate.fm/private-podcasting (checked Oct 28, 2026)