Brandwave

Podcast hosting platforms:Which brands are most popular in search?

In August 2026, Buzzsprout was the most searched among podcast hosting platforms worldwide, with an estimated 37.5K branded searches and 49.7% estimated Share of Search within this set. Worldwide · English terms: these are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.

Share of Search, August 2026
  1. Buzzsprout49.7%
  2. Podbean44.4%
  3. Transistor3.1%
  4. Captivate1.4%
  5. RedCircle1.4%

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Share of SearchLeaderboard

Compare hosts for publishing, distributing, and measuring podcasts. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.

Share of Search among podcast hosting platforms worldwide, by month

Share of Search by month for Buzzsprout, Podbean, Transistor. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of search table
MonthBuzzsproutPodbeanTransistorCaptivateRedCircle
Oct 202550%45.9%1.5%1.1%1.3%
Nov 202545.8%50.1%1.7%1.3%1.1%
Dec 202550.4%45.4%1.8%1.3%1.1%
Jan 202654.7%40.3%1.9%1.6%1.4%
Feb 202650%45.2%1.9%1.7%1.2%
Mar 202650.2%45.2%1.9%1.5%1.3%
Apr 202649.2%45.5%2.3%1.5%1.5%
May 202648.5%46.2%2.6%1.6%1.2%
Jun 202654.2%40.3%3%1.4%1.1%
Jul 202650.4%43.9%3%1.4%1.2%
Aug 202649.7%44.4%3.1%1.4%1.4%
Sep 2026—————

This month’s ranking, August 2026

  1. 1.Buzzsprout

    49.7%

    held 1st · 37.5K estimated branded searches · -2.6% vs prior month · -0.8 points

  2. 2.Podbean

    44.4%

    held 2nd · 33.5K estimated branded searches · 0% vs prior month · +0.5 points

  3. held 3rd · 2.3K estimated branded searches · 0% vs prior month · 0 points

  4. 4.Captivate

    1.4%

    held 4th · 1.1K estimated branded searches · 0% vs prior month · 0 points

  5. 5.RedCircle

    1.4%

    held 5th · 1.1K estimated branded searches · +16.3% vs prior month · +0.2 points

Compare search popularity between leading brands

Which brand is most popular in search among podcast hosting platforms worldwide?

In August 2026, Buzzsprout was the most searched among podcast hosting platforms worldwide, with an estimated 37.5K branded searches and 49.7% estimated Share of Search within this set. Podbean is in 2nd place, 5.3 percentage points behind at 44.4% Share of Search.

Global podcast hosting platforms, last 12 months ending September 2026
BrandShare of SearchPeakLowRank
Buzzsprout50% → 49.7%54.7%Jan 202645.8%Nov 20251st
Podbean45.9% → 44.4%50.1%Nov 202540.3%Jun 20262nd
Transistor1.5% → 3.1%3.1%Aug 20261.5%Oct 20253rd
Captivate1.1% → 1.4%1.7%Feb 20261.1%Oct 20255th → 4th
RedCircle1.3% → 1.4%1.5%Apr 20261.1%Dec 20254th → 5th

Each finding as a sentence

  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Podbean’s estimated Share of Search among podcast hosting platforms worldwide decreased from 45.9% to 44.4%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Transistor’s estimated Share of Search among podcast hosting platforms worldwide increased from 1.5% to 3.1%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Buzzsprout’s estimated Share of Search among podcast hosting platforms worldwide peaked at 54.7% in January 2026 and was lowest at 45.8% in November 2025.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Podbean’s estimated Share of Search among podcast hosting platforms worldwide peaked at 50.1% in November 2025 and was lowest at 40.3% in June 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Captivate rose from 5th to 4th among podcast hosting platforms worldwide.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, RedCircle fell from 4th to 5th among podcast hosting platforms worldwide.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Buzzsprout held steady: its estimated Share of Search among podcast hosting platforms worldwide moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

How did search popularity change for podcast hosting platforms worldwide in August 2026?

  1. In August 2026, Buzzsprout lost estimated Share of Search among podcast hosting platforms worldwide, from 50.4% to 49.7%.

  2. Estimated monthly branded searches for Transistor worldwide rose 37.3% over 11 measured months, from 1.7K to 2.3K in August 2026.

  3. Estimated monthly branded searches for Podbean worldwide fell 33.5% over 11 measured months, from 50.4K to 33.5K in August 2026.

  4. Estimated monthly branded searches for RedCircle worldwide fell 27.2% over 11 measured months, from 1.5K to 1.1K in August 2026.

  5. Estimated monthly branded searches for Captivate worldwide fell 13.5% over 11 measured months, from 1.3K to 1.1K in August 2026.

How the Brand Demand Index is measured

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