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ReviewsIs Anchor (Spotify for Podcasters) actually free?
How free95/100
Value8/10
How these scores work
Free Score (0–100) follows a fixed rubric: cards up front, auto-billing, hard time cutoffs, withheld core features, and paying with your data or attention all deduct points. 90–100 truly free · 70–89 free forever · 45–69 squeezed · 15–44 trial mechanics · under 15 fake or gone. Value (0–10) is editorial: real-world worth of the free offering measured against its paid equivalent. Full rubric on the methodology page.
Yes — Spotify for Podcasters (formerly Anchor) lets you record, edit, host, and distribute a podcast to all major platforms — free, with no hosting fees, no episode limits, and no ads unless you opt in.
What it’s worth
Podcast hosting services run $5–20+/month; this covers the full workflow free.
What you get free
- Free podcast hosting with no episode or storage limits
- Recording and basic editing tools built in
- Distribution to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google, and more
- Optional monetization through ads and subscriptions
In practice: a complete podcast studio and hosting platform at $0 — the reason the barrier to starting a podcast is now just a microphone and an idea.
Drawbacks
- Analytics emphasize Spotify metrics over other platforms
- Spotify's terms give it broad content rights
- Moving to another host later requires redirecting your RSS feed
Free facts
| Verdict | Truly Free |
| Card required | No |
| Auto-bills | — |
| Account | Required |
| Limits | None on core features |
| The real cost | Nothing. Spotify wants podcasts on its platform. |
The catch
Spotify funds this to fill its platform with podcasts. Your show is distributed everywhere (Apple, Google, etc.), not locked to Spotify. The trade is that Spotify gets first-party data on your listeners.
The smart play
- Read the terms on content rights before publishing anything exclusive
- Download your own episodes as backups
- If you outgrow it, export your RSS feed to another host — it's portable
More info — tap to expand
Why Spotify gives away podcast hosting
Every podcast hosted on Spotify's platform is content that drives app opens, listening hours, and ad inventory. Free hosting isn't charity — it's a content acquisition strategy that turned Spotify into the world's largest podcast platform. Your show is the product; the hosting is the customer acquisition cost.
Last checked: July 2026 · Verdict: Truly Free — no card, no account wall, no meaningful catch. use it and go.
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