Spreaker Studio review: free recording app, paid hosting tiers (2026)
Spreaker Studio is the free recording app attached to a paid hosting and monetisation platform, and the platform is what you are choosing. Our check of spreaker.com/plans on 13 June 2026 recorded Free Speech at $0, Broadcaster at $20 a month, Anchorman at $50 and Publisher at $250. That evidence is four months old.
The short answer
Buy Spreaker Studio Buy a Spreaker plan if you want recording, hosting, distribution and ad monetisation from one account. Our 13 June 2026 check of spreaker.com/plans recorded Free Speech at $0 with one podcast and unlimited episodes, and Broadcaster at $20 a month for private podcasts and Apple Subscriptions.
Skip it if recording quality is the thing you are buying. Spreaker Studio records competently but has no remote guest capture of its own, and Riverside was $29 a month on Pro when we checked on 1 October 2026 for exactly that job. Many podcasters record elsewhere and host here.
Where Spreaker Studio fits
Spreaker is two products sold as one. Spreaker Studio is a free recording and live broadcasting app for desktop and mobile, and Spreaker itself is the hosting, distribution, analytics and advertising platform the recordings are published through. The subscription prices the platform, not the app.
Our check of spreaker.com/plans on 13 June 2026 recorded four tiers: Free Speech at $0 with one podcast and unlimited episodes, Broadcaster at $20 a month adding private podcasts and Apple Subscriptions, Anchorman at $50 a month adding full statistics and unlimited collaborators, and Publisher at $250 a month adding an ad campaign manager and priority support.
The free tier is unusually generous for podcast hosting, with unlimited episodes and no storage cap recorded on that check. The trade is automatic ads: Spreaker inserts them and you do not control placement, which is how a free hosting plan pays for its bandwidth. If that trade is acceptable, you can publish a show at $0 a month.
Monetisation is the real argument for the platform. Ads are placed dynamically through an advertising network rather than through sponsorships you negotiate, which means a small show can earn something without a sales conversation. How much is a function of your downloads, and we hold no figures for that, so do not let anyone quote you one.
The steps between tiers are uneven and worth planning around. Broadcaster at $20 a month is $240 across a year and Anchorman at $50 is $600, but Publisher at $250 a month is $3,000 across a year, which is $200 a month more than Anchorman. That jump is built for advertising operations rather than for a growing show.
Against the alternatives this is a hosting platform competing with recording tools. Riverside was $29 a month on Pro, verified 1 October 2026, and records remote guests locally but does not host. Zencastr was $20 a month on Standard on our 13 June 2026 check and does both. Squadcast was $20 a month on Hobbyist, recorded 11 June 2026, and is recording only.
This pricing was last verified on 13 June 2026, which is four months old, and tier names on this platform are distinctive enough that a rename would be obvious. Read the current rate card on spreaker.com/plans before committing, particularly the Publisher tier. The podcast recording software category covers the alternatives.
Spreaker Studio pricing
Spreaker prices flat per account and gives the recording app away. The figures below come from our check of spreaker.com/plans on 13 June 2026 and have not been re-verified since, so confirm them before you buy.
| Plan | Price | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Free Speech | $0/mo | One podcast, unlimited episodes, automatic ads you do not place |
| Broadcaster | $20/mo | Private podcasts and Apple Subscriptions. $240 across a year |
| Anchorman | $50/mo | Full statistics and unlimited collaborators. $600 across a year |
| Publisher | $250/mo | Ad campaign manager and priority support. $3,000 across a year |
There was no per-episode or per-download charge in what we recorded, so the tier you need is set by what you do with the show. Five things decide it:
- Whether you need more than one podcast. Free Speech carried one on our 13 June 2026 check, so a second show moves you to a paid tier.
- Whether you want control over ads. The free tier placed them automatically, and paid tiers gave more say in where they go.
- How much analytics you need. Full statistics sat on Anchorman at $50 a month rather than on Broadcaster at $20.
- Collaborators, since unlimited collaborators was an Anchorman feature. A one-person show does not need that tier for team reasons.
- Whether you sell advertising directly. The campaign manager sat on Publisher at $250 a month, which is $3,000 across a year, and that is an advertising business rather than a podcast expense.
Spreaker pricing against the podcast recording tools
Broadcaster at $20 a month lands in the middle of this category while doing a different job from most of it. Zencastr was $20 a month on Standard on our 13 June 2026 check and also bundles hosting. Squadcast was $20 a month on Hobbyist, recorded 11 June 2026, and sells recording alone. Riverside was $29 a month on Pro, verified 1 October 2026, and is the recording specialist. Note that the Riverside date is more recent than Spreaker's, so the comparison is not strictly like for like.
Spreaker billing terms worth knowing
The free tier is the part to read closely, because what it costs is editorial control rather than money.
- Free Speech
- $0, one podcast, unlimited episodes, automatic ads, as recorded on 13 June 2026.
- Broadcaster
- $20 per month, which is $240 across a year.
- Anchorman
- $50 per month, which is $600 across a year.
- Publisher
- $250 per month, which is $3,000 across a year.
- The Anchorman to Publisher step
- $200 a month more, the largest gap in the range.
- Spreaker Studio
- Free on every tier, desktop and mobile, including live broadcasting.
- Check date
- 13 June 2026. Four months old and not re-verified since.
Spreaker offers four tiers: Free Speech ($0/month with 1 podcast, unlimited episodes, and automatic ads), Broadcaster ($20/month with private podcasts and Apple Subscriptions), Anchorman ($50/month with full stats and unlimited collaborators), and Publisher ($250/month with ad campaign management and priority support).
A free hosting plan with unlimited episodes is a strong offer, and the cost of it is that someone else decides which ads your listeners hear. These figures were recorded on 13 June 2026 and if spreaker.com/plans differs today then the rate card is right and this page is out of date. Our creator tool cost calculators will total a podcast stack once you have today's numbers.
What Spreaker Studio gives up
Recording quality is functional rather than good. Spreaker Studio gets an episode captured and live, and it does not approach what a dedicated recorder does with separate local tracks, which is the single most common reason podcasters pair it with something else.
Remote guests are not handled natively. Bringing in an interviewee means routing a call from another application, so the guest's audio is as good as the call was, not as good as their microphone is. Riverside at $29 a month on Pro, verified 1 October 2026, exists because that difference is audible.
Automatic ads on the free tier cannot be placed by you. For a show with a careful structure, an ad landing in the wrong place is an editorial problem rather than a pricing one, and the fix is a paid tier.
Editing is minimal and is not a substitute for a real editor. Anything beyond trimming belongs in a dedicated application, so budget for one if your show needs more than light cleanup.
The jump from Anchorman at $50 a month to Publisher at $250 is $200 a month, and there is nothing between them on our 13 June 2026 check. A show that has outgrown Anchorman's analytics but sells no advertising directly has nowhere sensible to go.
Our pricing evidence is from 13 June 2026 and is four months old. Four months is long enough for a tier to gain a feature or a price, so treat these figures as the state of play in June rather than as today's rate card.
Monetisation revenue is not a number anyone can promise you. Earnings depend on downloads, listener geography and advertiser demand, and we publish no figures for any of those, so be sceptical of a page that does.
How Spreaker Studio compares
The three tools below are the ones weighed against Spreaker, and the axis is an all-in-one platform against recording quality. Prices are each vendor's published rates with the date we checked them, and those dates differ, so read them with that in mind. The wider field sits in the podcast recording software category.
| Tool | Best for | Price | Where it breaks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spreaker Studio | Recording, hosting, distribution and ad monetisation in one account | Free, $20/mo Broadcaster (June 2026) | Basic recording and no native remote guest capture |
| Riverside | High quality remote interviews recorded locally | Free, $29/mo Pro (October 2026) | No hosting, distribution or ad network |
| Zencastr | Remote recording with hosting bundled in | $20/mo Standard (June 2026) | No ongoing free recording plan |
| Squadcast | Recording reliability and a route into Descript | Free, $20/mo Hobbyist (June 2026) | Recording only, no hosting or distribution |
What to test on the Spreaker free plan
Our 13 June 2026 check recorded Free Speech at $0 with one podcast and unlimited episodes, so you can publish a real show before paying. Confirm the current plans first, because those figures are four months old.
- Re-check spreaker.com/plans for today's tiers. We recorded $0, $20, $50 and $250 a month in June 2026 and those are the numbers everything below rests on.
- Record one full episode in Spreaker Studio and listen on headphones. If the quality is not what your show needs, you have learned that before paying for hosting.
- Publish that episode and watch it reach Apple Podcasts and Spotify, since distribution is the part of the platform that is hardest to test any other way.
- Listen to your own episode as a listener on the free tier and hear where the automatic ads land. That placement is the price of $0 a month.
- Try a live broadcast, because it is included in the free app and is the feature that genuinely distinguishes this platform.
- If you need a remote guest, test recording them in Riverside at $29 a month on Pro, verified 1 October 2026, and uploading the file here. Record in one place, host in another is a common and sensible split.
- Count what you need from the paid tiers before upgrading. Broadcaster at $20 a month is $240 across a year, and the cost calculators will total that against a separate recorder and host.
Spreaker Studio questions buyers ask
How much does Spreaker cost per month?
Spreaker offers four plans: Free Speech ($0/month, 1 podcast, unlimited episodes), Broadcaster ($20/month, private podcasts, Apple Subscriptions), Anchorman ($50/month, full stats, unlimited collaborators), and Publisher ($250/month, ad campaign manager, priority support). The Spreaker Studio recording app is free on all plans.
Does Spreaker have a free plan?
Yes. Spreaker's Free Speech plan includes 1 podcast with unlimited episodes, basic analytics, and automatic ad monetization. There are no storage caps or episode limits. The tradeoff is that Spreaker places ads in your episodes automatically, and you get only basic download stats. It's one of the most generous free podcast hosting plans available.
Who is Spreaker best for?
Spreaker is best for podcasters who want recording, hosting, distribution, and monetization in a single platform. It's ideal for solo podcasters, news commentators, and live-format shows. It's not the best fit if you prioritize recording quality for remote guest interviews: dedicated tools like Riverside or Squadcast produce better audio for that use case.
Spreaker vs Riverside: which is better?
They serve different needs. Riverside is a dedicated recording tool with local recording, 4K video, and built-in editing, but no hosting or monetization. Spreaker is an all-in-one platform with recording, hosting, distribution, and monetization, but weaker recording quality. Choose Riverside if recording quality is paramount. Choose Spreaker if you want one platform for your entire podcast workflow.
Can I record with remote guests using Spreaker Studio?
Not directly. Spreaker Studio doesn't have built-in remote recording like Riverside or Squadcast. To record with a remote guest, you need to integrate with Skype, Zoom, or Google Meet and route the audio through Spreaker Studio. This means your guest's audio quality depends on the call quality, not local recording. For remote interviews, consider recording in a dedicated tool and uploading to Spreaker.
Does Spreaker include podcast hosting and distribution?
Yes. All Spreaker plans include hosting with unlimited episodes and automatic distribution to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and other major platforms. Spreaker generates your RSS feed and handles the distribution submission process. This is included in the free plan, making Spreaker one of the easiest ways to get a podcast published across all platforms.
How does Spreaker's podcast monetization work?
Spreaker uses dynamic ad insertion powered by iHeart Media's advertising network. Ads are automatically inserted into your episodes based on your listeners' demographics and location. You earn revenue based on impressions (downloads). The free plan includes automatic ads. Paid plans give you more control over ad placement. The Publisher plan ($250/month) adds a campaign manager for direct advertiser relationships.
Can I broadcast live on Spreaker?
Yes. Spreaker Studio supports live broadcasting: you can stream your episode in real time and interact with listeners who tune in live. This feature works on both desktop and mobile. It's ideal for news shows, Q&A episodes, and any format where audience interaction adds value. After the live broadcast, the recording is automatically saved as an on-demand episode.
Is Spreaker worth the money?
For solo podcasters who want the simplest path from recording to monetized, distributed podcast, Spreaker is excellent value, especially at the free and $20/month tiers. If recording quality is your priority, you'll likely outgrow Spreaker Studio and want a dedicated recording tool. The best approach for many podcasters: record in Riverside or Zencastr, host on Spreaker for the monetization and distribution.
Can I cancel Spreaker anytime?
Yes. Monthly plans can be cancelled anytime and stop at the end of the billing period. Your podcast feed and episodes remain accessible to listeners even after downgrading to the free plan. You lose access to paid features (advanced stats, private podcasts, collaboration), but your content and audience stay intact. This makes Spreaker low-risk to try.