How to Move Your Podcast to a New Host (2026): Feed Prep, the 301 Redirect, and Apple

The two parts of every move

1. Import: your new host copies your audio files, artwork, and show notes from the old RSS feed.
2. Redirect: your old host tells every app and directory that the show has moved, using an HTTP 301 redirect on the old feed URL.

The import gives your new host a copy. The redirect moves your audience to it.

Step 1: Prepare your old feed

Transistor’s import checklist covers the problems that block most moves:

Step 2: Export what won’t move

Download your historical analytics from the old host. Transistor notes that analytics don’t migrate between hosts, so stats on the new host start fresh. Save any data you’d need for sponsors.

Step 3: Import into the new host

Most hosts start from your old RSS feed URL:

• Transistor: My Shows, then “Add show,” then “Import an Existing Show.” Paste the feed URL. Transistor emails you when the import is done.
• Castos: offers free one-click migrations on every plan, with personalized help from its team, from your dashboard or its Seriously Simple Podcasting WordPress plugin.
• Captivate: advertises a quick import tool for moving shows from another host.

Large back catalogs can take a while to copy. Don’t redirect until the import has finished and the new feed shows every episode.

Step 4: Redirect the old feed (the step that keeps followers)

In your old host’s settings, find the feed redirect option and paste your new feed URL. This sets a 301 redirect, so every app still using the old feed gets sent to the new one.

Apple’s rules for a feed move:

• The old feed should return an HTTP 301 redirect to the new feed.
• The new feed should carry the itunes:new-feed-url tag pointing to the new URL.
• Keep both in place for at least four weeks so followers keep getting new episodes.
• Keep every episode’s GUID exactly the same. Apple warns that changed GUIDs can create duplicate episodes, skew analytics, and affect your show’s status.

Most third-party hosts handle the redirect for you. When the redirect is in place, Apple says you don’t need to do anything else in Apple Podcasts Connect. Apple Podcasts Connect also lets you change the feed URL by hand if your old feed can’t be redirected.

Step 5: Update Spotify and check the other directories

Transistor’s guide also updates the feed in Spotify’s podcaster dashboard: open the show’s settings, click “Update,” paste the new feed URL, and confirm. Then publish your next episode on the new host and check that it shows up in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and the other apps your listeners use.

Step 6: Wait before you cancel the old host

Transistor recommends waiting two weeks before deleting the old account. Apple’s guidance is to keep the redirect for at least four weeks. If cancelling would remove your redirect, keep the old account until both windows have passed. Some hosts keep the redirect running after you cancel, so ask your old host what it does.

Moving checklist

Choosing where to move

• Captivate vs Transistor: price at each download level.
• Castos vs Captivate: unlimited downloads vs every feature on every plan.
• Transistor pricing: every plan and limit.