Colin created The Podcast Host back in 2011 with the aim of helping as many people start podcasting as possible. One of the biggest barriers to that is equipment, software and tools. There’s just so much choice out there…

The Equipment, Tools & Software We Use & Recommend

So, this page is designed to bring together all of the resources we love in one easy-to-find place. No matter what stage you’re at, you can find the tools you need here.

A quick heads up – we sometimes use affiliate links to products and services we think you’ll find useful. We may earn a small commission should you choose to buy through them, though at no extra cost to yourself.

PART 1: PODCAST EQUIPMENT

Podcasting Microphones

Your mic is your best friend. It’s the single most important part of your kit. Keep it simple to start with, then upgrade only if you need to.

Starting Out

Headset Microphone: Sennheiser PC8
Low-cost, good quality. Read our headset mic shootout here.

USB/XLR Microphone: Samson Q2U
High quality, flexible. Best value-to-quality mic. Read our full Samson Q2U review here.

Improving

Good USB Mic: Shure MV5
A great sounding and affordable little condenser. Read our full Shure MV5 review here.

Best USB Mic: The Rode Podcaster
Gold standard USB quality. Read our full Rode Podcaster review here.

Going Pro

XLR Mic: The MXL 990
Excellent value & quality. Read our full MXL 990 review here.

XLR Gold Standard: Shure SM7b
Legendary mic in the industry. Check out our Best Podcast Microphones roundup to get the lowdown.

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the podcasting store — Check out our Podcasting Store for all the tools and products we’ve created – as well as the ones we love!

Digital Recorders for Podcasting

Digital recorders offer flexibility in location, and add reliability, avoiding software crashes or glitches during recording. You’ll see we’re fans of the Zoom range, and use them for everything!

Starting Out

The Zoom H1 is the best budget option. Small, handy, easy use, with a decent internal mic. Check out our full Zoom H1 review.

Top Standalone Recorders

The Zoom H5 and H6 can be used on their own, or with multiple mics plugged in. Both are excellent, but which should you choose? We help you decide in our Zoom H5 Vs Zoom H6 comparison.

Going Pro

The Zoom PodTrak P4 is the ultimate podcast recorder. It has 4 XLR inputs, call recording capabilities, and you can play music and SFX during recording sessions, too. Check out our full Zoom PodTrak P4 review.

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Video Equipment

Video is a great companion to your audio. Why not record both and repurpose short shareable clips to YouTube? Here’s how to capture it.

Webcam

Logitech C920 Pro Webcam – The best bar none – top quality webcam imagery.

Tripod

Joby Gorrillapod Original – Brilliant, flexible tripods, ideal for a webcam.

Webcam Effects & Recording

Manycam – Set up scenes, screen-share, picture in picture, green screen, live broadcast & record your videos.

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Podcasting & Audio Accessories

Here are the extra bits and pieces that make your process easier, or incrementally better.

Best Microphone Stand

The Rode PSA1 Boom Arm – Industry-standard – will last forever! Read our full review of the Rode PSA1 here.

Best Headphones

You won’t find a better quality to value option than the Audio Technica M20Xs. Check out our full Best Podcast Headphones roundup for the lowdown.

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PART 2: WEB & MEDIA HOSTING

Web Hosting Service

It’s a good idea to have a website of your own for your podcast. This helps you to be found by new listeners. It also means you control how you grow and monetise the show, long term. Thankfully it’s really easy to set one up!

Beginner

Podpage can build you a podcast website in less than 5 minutes – no technical knowledge necessary. Check out our full Podpage review.

Intermediate

Bluehost is a great web host with tools to make it super simple to set up your own website. Check out our free podcast websites course which will walk you through the setup.

Advanced

SiteGround is the top choice for advanced users requiring more power and features.

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How to Set Up a Website for Blogging & Podcasting
Podcast Themes for WordPress (10% discount on Second Line Themes)

Podcast Hosting

A podcast hosting service takes care of storing your audio files. They also create the feed which is needed to submit to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other directories. We have 3 main recommendations for you:

Buzzsprout – from $12/month – is the cheapest top option, & most popular. Use our link to sign up and you’ll get a $20 Amazon gift card if you stick around for at least 2 months.

Captivate – from $17/month – has great growth & private podcast features. Sign up for a 7-day free trial and see for yourself.

Transistor – from $19/month – also offers private podcast feeds, & is super simple. 14-day free trial available!

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PART 3: SOFTWARE & APPS

Podcast Recording / Editing Software

Sometimes called a DAW (that stands for Digital Audio Workstation), these are programs designed to let you record and edit your podcast.

Starting Out

Audacity is a free editing package that gives you the full suite of tools to do it yourself. Be warned, it’s a little clunky looking with a steep learning curve if you’re a complete beginner. We have an Audacity course that can help you master it, no pun intended.

Alitu is a super quick and easy ‘Podcast Maker’ web tool. It lets you record audio and online calls, then automates all the processing, cleaning up, and volume levelling. Editing your show in Alitu is as easy as shopping on Amazon.

Improving

Hindenburg is an intuitive audio software designed for creating spoken-word programmes. Here’s our full Hindenburg review.

Going Pro

Adobe Audition is a top of the rage production suite that levels-up ease of use, speed & power. Here’s our full Adobe Audition review.

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Online Call Recording Software

If you want to podcast with a remote co-host or guests, you need software to run & record the call. Here are our favourites.

Alitu

Run your online calls then easily edit and produce your episode all in one place. Alitu is all about keeping things as simple as possible.

Get Alitu

Squadcast

Starts from $10/month. Records WAV & MP3, & video, split-track with host and up to 3 guests!

Get SquadCast

Riverside.fm

Starts from $9/month. Records WAV, MP3, & video, split-track with host and up to 7 guests!

Get Riverside

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PART 4: PODCAST MUSIC & ARTWORK

Branding is important in your quest to stand out from the rest of the shows in your niche!

Music

Most shows include at least a theme tune, and many include music beds and sound FX to add to the mood. You have to pay for the good stuff – here’s where to find it.

Shutterstock – from $19/£14 a month
Epidemic – from $13/£10 a month
Storyblocks – from $19/£14 a month

These subscriptions give you access to huge libraries and lifetime licenses on anything you use during that subscription.

Artwork

Podcast listeners do judge shows by their cover – at least until they hit play anyway. With nice visuals, you’ll ensure that they do. Here’s a couple of options for getting your perfect podcast logo.

Our own Custom Podcast Artwork package – costs $195
Fiverr designer C7Productions – prices start at $130

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PART 5: PROMOTING & GROWING YOUR SHOW

Email Newsletters

One of the best things you can do to grow your Podcast long-term is to start an email list. Get your listeners signed up and you can tell them about new episodes, ask them for feedback and get their help in sharing your show.

ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign focuses on email marketing for digital businesses, e-commerce, and business-to-business companies. If you’re creating a network with other podcasters and want to share information, this could be a good tool.

Convertkit

Delivering emails to your list & delivering automatic email sequences. We’ve used Convertkit for our own newsletters. It’s super-easy to set up and offers tonnes of options to automate newsletters, segment your users and a lot more.

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Email Marketing for Podcasters

Planning & Organisation

If you’re a podcaster, there’s no shortage of things you could be planning or working on. But how do you stay organised and make sure the important stuff always gets done?

The Podcast Host Planner will help you organise and execute your episodes, keeping in mind your big picture goals, your key values, and your own personal definition of success.
ClickUp is a powerful project management tool that can help you organize your work.

Social Media & Audience Management

Social media can be useful for growing and engaging with your audience. But it can also be overwhelming. Here are the tools we use to make it easier.

SmarterQueue

Create an automated, recycling queue of posts to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn. Smarterqueue cycles through our queue of 500+ posts, promoting all of our old and new content on a regular schedule. Brilliant!

Bonjoro

Welcome new users, members or list subscribers with video. We’re using this to engage with our new members through quick videos, as soon as they join up. It helps them know us, trust us and become fans of what we do!

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How to Get Help With Your Podcast

Transcription

Transcribing your episodes is vital from an accessibility point of view. Transcriptions can also help with your show notes and other content repurposing ventures. Here are some options for getting your show transcribed.

Audext is a machine learning transcription service. You can drag and drop files of various formats (MP3s, WAVs, M4As, WMAs, etc) into the Audext interface and it’ll quickly transcribe them. There’s a speaker identification feature that’s handy for podcast interviews. You can edit your transcriptions easily within Audext before downloading them. Cost-wise, a one-off hour of transcription is priced at $12, but you can save on their subscription packages. A free trial is available if you’d like to test the water with Audext.

Rev‘s automated transcription costs 25 cents a minute, with a 5 minute turnaround time. Their human transcription service is $1.25 a minute, with a 12-hour turnaround time. They can even create foreign subtitles for video, for $3-$7 per minute.

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How to Get Your Podcast Transcribed

Promotion, Growth, & Monetisation

Publishing quality content on a consistent basis is only half the battle. How do you make sure your target audience finds and benefits from it?

Podcast Growth – Over 80 actionable audience growth tactics in one book

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Thanks for checking out our ultimate podcast resource page. Be sure to take a look at our Podcasting Store, too. There, you’ll find a curated and priced list of all the tools and products we’ve created – as well as the ones we love!