You've decided to start a company podcast. Now comes the question that stops a lot of B2B teams in their tracks: where do you host the thing?
Anchor keeps coming up. It's free, it's owned by Spotify, and the barrier to getting started is basically zero. But free doesn't always mean right for business, and there's a lot to unpack before you commit.
Here's an honest look at what Anchor (now officially called Spotify for Creators) is, what it does well, and where it falls short for B2B podcasters who need more than a casual hobbyist platform.
Anchor was a free podcast hosting and recording app that Spotify acquired in 2019. In March 2023, Spotify officially retired the Anchor name and folded everything into Spotify for Podcasters, later rebranded again as Spotify for Creators.
So when people say "Anchor podcast platform," they mean the same thing as Spotify for Creators. Same free hosting, same interface, new name.
The platform lets you upload episodes, record directly in-browser or via mobile app, distribute to Apple Podcasts and other directories via RSS, and publish video podcasts to Spotify. It's genuinely one of the most accessible podcast tools out there. No monthly fees, no storage limits, no per-download charges.
That accessibility matters. A lot of B2B teams kick off their first show on this platform because the cost of entry is zero. But the real question is whether it can hold up as your show grows.
No storage caps, no bandwidth limits, no tiered plans. For companies testing whether podcasting is worth the investment before committing to paid hosting, this is a real advantage. You can launch, publish a handful of episodes, and get real data on whether the format works for your audience without spending a dollar on hosting.
Your RSS feed is automatically submitted to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, and other major directories. You don't have to manage separate submissions for each platform. For a team that just wants episodes live quickly, that's a meaningful time save.
Because this is Spotify's own tool, your episodes get priority placement on the platform. You can also publish video podcasts directly to Spotify, which matters as video podcasting continues to grow. According to data on podcast consumption trends from The Podcast Consultant, Spotify now accounts for a significant share of podcast listening globally, so being tightly integrated with the platform has real reach implications.
The Partner Program lets you run dynamic host-read sponsorships with scheduling and performance tracking built in. As of early 2026, the eligibility requirements are 3 published episodes, 2,000 hours of listen time on Spotify in the last 30 days, and 1,000 engaged listeners on Spotify in the same period. If your show qualifies, you can start monetizing without a third-party ad network. Our post on Podcast Monetization Methods covers how this fits into the broader picture.
This is the biggest limitation. Spotify for Creators gives you decent analytics, but the data is heavily skewed toward your Spotify audience. You get listener demographics and consumption behavior for Spotify listeners, but you get almost nothing on the people listening via Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or direct RSS. For a B2B team trying to prove ROI or understand their audience across all platforms, that data gap is a real problem.
If your executives or clients are asking "who's actually listening?" you can't give them a complete answer with Anchor alone.
IAB Tech Lab certification is the industry standard for podcast measurement. It filters out bot traffic, normalizes how downloads are counted, and makes your numbers comparable across platforms. Anchor doesn't offer IAB-certified analytics. For B2B shows where you're trying to sell sponsorships or report on campaign performance, this is a credibility issue.
Paid platforms like Buzzsprout, Transistor, Captivate, or Podbean offer things Anchor doesn't: private podcast feeds, detailed geographic and device data, team collaboration tools, dynamic ad insertion with proper targeting controls, and dedicated customer support with faster response times. Spotify cut its listener support program in early 2025, and getting help when something breaks can be slow.
If you do use the built-in monetization, Spotify takes 50% of ad revenue generated through the Partner Program. That's a high cut. Most third-party podcast ad networks take 20-30%. If ad revenue is a meaningful goal, the math doesn't favor Anchor.
Your audience is partly "on Spotify" in a way that can make migration harder. When you move to another host, your Spotify presence can dip during the transition. Buzzsprout's overview of alternatives covers the migration process in detail, and while it's doable, it's not seamless.
Anchor works well for B2B teams in specific situations:
You're testing the format. If your company has never done a podcast and leadership wants proof of concept before investing in production, Anchor lets you launch fast and cheap. Publish 6-8 episodes, see if people actually listen, and then decide whether to invest in a proper hosting setup.
Your audience is primarily on Spotify. Some niches skew heavily toward Spotify listeners. If your data (or research into your target audience's habits) suggests Spotify is where they spend most of their podcast time, being native to that platform has real advantages.
You have zero budget. Startups and early-stage companies with tight budgets get real value from free unlimited hosting. There's no shame in starting free, as long as you have a plan to migrate when you need more.
If you're launching a show with serious production investment, if you need to prove ROI to stakeholders, or if you need full-platform analytics, a paid host is worth the $15-25/month. Platforms like Transistor and Captivate are built for professional shows and give you the data infrastructure to actually measure what matters.
Check out our guide on Podcast Measurement and ROI to understand what metrics you should be tracking from day one, because your hosting platform determines what data you can actually access.
Anchor (Spotify for Podcasters) is a solid launchpad. It's genuinely free, it distributes your show everywhere it needs to go, and for teams just getting started, it removes a ton of friction.
But it's not built for the analytics, control, and professional infrastructure that growing B2B shows need. Think of it as a starting block, not a destination.
If your podcast is a real marketing channel with real goals attached to it, plan to graduate to dedicated hosting when the time is right. Start on Anchor if budget is the constraint. But don't confuse accessible with optimal.
Need help figuring out the right tech stack for your company podcast? That's exactly the kind of thing we work through with clients. Get your free podcasting plan and we'll help you build a setup that actually serves your goals.
