FuseBox
"Transform your website into a podcasting powerhouse."
FuseBox is no doubt one of the most commanding podcast players for your brand and website. Just to give you an idea how famous the platform is, Pat Flynn of SmartPassiveIncome uses FuseBox.
The main thing that comes to mind when I think about FuseBox is: the ability to fully customize the appearance of the player. This is amazing for branding, and it gives a really slick looking design to your player (or website.)
It has three-in-one podcast offerings: Single Track Player, Full Player and the Sticky Player. What you’ll get from these various offerings are a number of good options to assist you in getting better engagement and higher listen or download count.
Fusebox features are unparalleled as you can do binge listening to the podcasts.
It has an email capture form that entices subscribers to your podcast. A great way to build up on loyal following.
You have options to choose multiple speed limits in listening to the podcast.
What’s more?
You can reward podcast listeners with transcripts as some prefer reading them, too. If you are in the market – promoting your podcast as a focal key of your brand is quite helpful. It certainly will lead to more conversions and of course, this is an advantage to you.
Fusebox’s rundown of built-in features
- Integrates with most common website platforms: WordPress, WIX, Squarespace, Webflow, Weebly... HTML websites and even Teachable
- Transcript Plug-in - creates SEO-optimized transcripts of your podcasts to help improve on your search engine performances.
- Facilitates engagement with audience, including the differently-abled who may prefer reading your podcasts
- Email Capture
- Speed control – multiple speeds available
- Mobile-friendly - responsive to all gadgets of any screen size
- Social Media sharing
- Custom colors – compliments your website’s color theme
- Custom sort – displays newest or oldest episode first
- Downloads – downloads podcast tracks from the player; can do this also for offline listening
FuseBox PROs
- Match the color of your players with your branding requirements
- Accessibility to all podcasts using the “Search” button
- Inclusions of URLs and text in the description of your podcasts
- Allows a sticky player in the top or bottom of a webpage for higher user engagement. User functionality - can listen to podcasts and surf the website simultaneously
- Option to download the transcripts of podcasts in PDF format for reading purposes
- Presents impressive integration options with third-party email marketing solutions.
FuseBox CONs
- Advanced functions like email support and webinar trainings are available only in the paid plans
- Features such as player customization and email capture are not included in the free plan
Buzzsprout
"Podcast hosting and a whole lot more."
Buzzsprout is one of the industry leaders for podcast hosting services.
If you need dependable, affordable and secure hosting, then this platform is for you.
The following statement on their websites tells it all: "Buzzsprout has helped over 100,000 people start their own podcast. It is the easiest way to host, promote, and track your podcast."
This tool makes it easy for you to embed a podcast on your website. It is so versatile – has integrations with your current audio feeds and social media accounts.
They have outstanding features that make their services stand out among the rest. Among these are: distribution service, comprehensive analytics dashboard and an open API. The dashboard is easy to explore and intuitive.
Uploading an episode takes just a click away. If you have existing podcasts that you want to transfer to Buzzsprout – go for it. It’s so easy and simple!
Buzzsprout customizes the podcast player with your branding requirements. This allows you to listen to podcasts at 2x speed. You have less time to listen to more content.
Plus, you can monetize your podcasts and grow their reach. This platform has several popular brand-partners to help get you going and start having affiliate earnings. Wow – that’s really awesome!
Buzzsprout's remarkable features include
- Clear and easy to understand podcast stats
- Creation of ‘Chapter Markers’ inside episodes which lets users navigate to their favorite podcasts and avoid spoilers
- Magic Mastering – improves audio quality to deliver professional podcasts (how the filters are like to Instagram photos)
- Automatic Episode Optimization – optimized podcasts on various technical factors like audio, bit rate or file type
- Transcription – more accessible for disabled users; higher rankings on search engines with transcripts.
- On top of all these features, it also offers a 90-days free trial period to learn the platform.
Buzzsprout PROs
- Single account can have a number of podcasts; single podcast can be managed by unlimited number of users
- Podcasters can connect directly with their API
- Assists you in your website creation with branding and custom domain
- Helps you track your podcasts’ performances based on demographics, areas, etc.
- Offers two value-added extras such as audio transcription and audio file optimization on top of regular plan: not essential but nice to have
- Adding new features constantly
- Free trial available for 90 days with 2 hours of upload/month while all regular plans have unlimited storage, unlimited team members, podcast import and advance stats
Buzzsprout CONs
- Quite tedious to apply to each platform where the podcast is to be distributed
- Could improve in customizing the landing page
Adobe Audition
"Professional audio editor and post production suite"
Adobe Audition is a comprehensive audio editor for podcasts, video-post production and audio restoration.
It is regarded as a premium option for a number of reasons. It is a hugely intuitive, powerful and flexible DAW or Digital Audio Workstation.
This tool is also part of your “Adobe Creative Cloud” which provides good value. It’s a remarkable software to remove the noise, make speech and vocal enhancements and amplify the audio.
It covers basically almost every feature for sound engineering, such as noise reduction and sound leveler.
It is an industry standard software – scaling its users efficiently.
It allows you to record multiple podcasts through various microphones at a time. You can also create, mix and design a variety of sound effects.
Here’s more:
This tool provides remarkable podcast production features such as individual EQ, processing remedies and gain levels to each voice. Thus, making it a breeze to record and finalize discussions.
Adobe Audition also offers non-destructive sounds and effects into the track or clip completely.
Since having its popular flexible background noise reduction feature, it helps you produce professionally-produced podcasts. How cool is that?
If you're just a beginner – Adobe Audition acts as a simple editor using the cut-and-paste functionality.
For the experts, this audio editing software has more depth with the tools that you can utilize so your job will be a lot better, easier.
Adobe Audition’s outstanding features are the following
- Spectral Analysis – improves the quality of a podcaster's voice by deleting unnecessary noise from the background.
- Loudness Match – ensures that the loudness of other speakers will keep the podcast’s general loudness at same intensity or levels
- Volume Level Control – controls various sounds involved like music beds/music, fading in, fading out, and “ducking” under voice.
Adobe Audition PROs
- Works as a simple editor with cut-and-paste functionality for the newbies
- Add features like SFX, dialogue, music and ambience voice via Adobe Audio Essential Sound
- Availability of more than fifty audio effects
- Allows restoration of audios without any problems
- Easily mixes different tracks via the multi-track view
- Frequency Analysis – placement of shaped sounds over various tracks
- Essential Sound Panel –includes significant sounds and effects in the podcast
Adobe Audition CONs
- Interface – maybe not as easy to understand for beginners
- Tends to be sluggish in detecting audio hardware (e.g., headphones) – still need to indicate in Preferences
GarageBand
"GarageBand is a fully equipped music creation studio right inside your Mac."
GarageBand is best for beginners and professional podcasters alike. If you own a MAC laptop and do not have that much budget to produce your own podcast – using GarageBand definitely is the way to go.
First of all, it’s free if you own a Mac. Plus, it provides some excellent features.
Would I record all my podcasts on GarageBand? Probably not, but it's a great short-term solution.
GarageBand allows you to quickly create separate tracks for intros, outros, music, and ad spots.
You can do several plugins for each track that includes noise gates, visual EQ and compression. With the shifting-shape controls, you can easily adjust the sound levels of individual tracks to anywhere it goes.
GarageBand’s Main Features
- Add Track – Do you care for podcast on the go using your iPhone or iPad?
- Smart Control – It can do real-time refinements in the participants’ voices to produce professional podcast recordings
- Master Track – It easily controls overall EQ and mix compression; ‘limit to help’ function maximizes the average levels
GarageBand PROs
- Less post-production work by including real-time effects in your podcast
- No limit to the number of tracks you can add
- Quality of audio is good so it adds to the showcase after the recording
- Can do modifications in volume and panning; can also cut and lengthen the musical loop.
- MIDI Sound Tool – good for nice background music and commercial jingles podcasts
- Interface is simple and user-friendly – can navigate, record and rough mix easily
- Fine-tunes and converts sounds as you want
- Capable to modify the tracks’ speed and tone levels
GarageBand CONs
- Plug-ins are limited only to what’s available at Apple’s App Store
- Some frequently used items like volume and panning ribbons are hidden by default
Apple Logic Pro X
"Ridiculously powerful. Seriously creative."
Apple Logic Pro X is a wise option for users who want complete music production and podcasting. It is the total package for excellent quality of work.
If you’re used to GarageBand which is also from Apple – then, you will find it a breeze with this tool. After all, they’re both from Apple.
What does Apple Logic Pro X offer?
The Plug-in Manager makes customizations for the hierarchy of your menu. This keeps all the required plug-ins instantly ready to use. Users can do different touch gestures to help control the tone of individual tracks via their Visual EQ.
All in all, the interface layout and basic instruments make it an amazing “all-in-one” music tool for both beginners and professionals. Plus: its Remix Effects Plugin does a number of good stuff, such as: voice modulations, audio filtering, adding voice effects, and many more.
Do you know that its Remix FX feature adds some interesting transitions and effects in your audio providing a special dimension to your podcast? Yes, this is so awesome!
Apple Logic Pro X’s Key Features
- Live Loop – allows you to do creation and arrangement of podcasts and music in real-time.
- Multi-Touch Mixing – Manages your audio mix whether your gadget is a smartphone, tablet or desktop
- Logic Remote – Multi-touch gestures from iPhone or iPad can control features like Remix FX, Live Loops and more
- Ultimate Recording – does automatic take management flawless punch recording; supports 24-bit/192kHz audio.
Apple Logic Pro X PROs
- ‘Flex Time’ feature controls both the timing and rhythm of recording.
- Has quick click and drag functionality to choose the best takes per section.
- Interface – intuitive and easy to use
- Automation to monitor changes to a channel strip or plug-in parameters
- Leverages area-based measures for time, note velocity and dynamics to deliver powerful recording
- Gives you the highest quality of audios using EQs, dynamics professors and other superior production effects
- Can share automatically your finished products - both tracks and projects with MailDrop and AirDrop
- Huge library of free downloadable loops, bundled instruments and effects to use in projects
- Integration with all Apple products
- No copy protection vs. competitors
Apple Logic Pro X CONs
- Works with MAC only – Windows or Linux version would be helpful
- Tutorials could be better
Anchor.fm
"Made by Spotify. Create, distribute, and monetize your podcast—all for free."
Anchor.fm is what beginners and experts can have if they’re on the lookout for only a simple podcast recorder. It is made by Spotify! It is free and supported by both iOS and Android devices. It simply allows you to record a podcast without using an extra gadget or device. You can just edit directly from your smartphone after a podcast is recorded and that’s it!
What you can expect from this software are the following:
- Episode Builder – allows to do episodes without editing
- Transition Effects – can be added; also, listeners’ voices to create a more powerful podcast
- Free podcast hosting as an add-on
- Can distribute podcasts to different platforms
- Offers analytics to monitor your podcasts’ performances
- Can rearrange segments when needed
- Can invite multiple guests; co-hosting podcasts with friends is also an option
- Can monetize podcasts via sponsorships and listeners’ support
Anchor.fm’s features include
- Tools for Creation- can add any music (Apple or Spotify) into your podcast, with transition effects, voice messages, background music or even import an audio to your podcast
- Tools for Editing – After audio has been recorded and uploaded, start editing automatically from any iOS or Android device. Allows you to cut segments so you only have what you need.
- Multiple Podcasting - can invite anyone as a guest or a co-host: a single podcast can be recorded by many from their respective devices.
Anchor.fm PROs
- Provides an intuitive analytics dashboard that helps you in monitoring the performances of your episodes and even audience growth
- Can distribute to major platforms like Google Podcasts, Spotify and Apple Podcasts
- Can manage RSS feed manually means total control in the distribution of your podcast
- Completely free services for all users from creating to hosting podcasts
- Allows to get donations from listeners each month
- Can monetize your podcast by having sponsorship ads as an option
Anchor.fm CONs
- No notifications for updates
If you are interested in creating a blog or a website, why not read out Ultimate Guide: How to Build a Website Easy Step-by-Step [2021]