--- title: "Acast vs Captivate: Which is searched more?" description: "Is Acast or Captivate more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Podcast hosting platforms set worldwide. 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." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/acast-vs-captivate" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Acast vs Captivate: Which is searched more? Is Acast or Captivate more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Podcast hosting platforms set worldwide. 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. ## Key facts - **Compared**: Acast and Captivate - **Competitive set**: Podcast hosting platforms - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Acast Share of Search**: 7.9% - **Captivate Share of Search**: 0.3% ## Is Acast or Captivate more popular in search? - In September 2026, Acast had more branded searches than Captivate among podcast hosting platforms worldwide. Acast had about 27,100 branded searches, while Captivate had 1,050. Acast made up 7.9% of all podcast hosting platform searches we track, and Captivate accounted for 0.3%. - Acast was ahead of Captivate in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Acast’s share of searches among podcast hosting platforms worldwide moved from 9.1% to 7.9%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 33.1K to 27.1K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Captivate’s share of searches among podcast hosting platforms worldwide moved from 0.35% to 0.3%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 1.3K to 1.1K. ## Top podcast hosting platforms in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Captivate appeared in all five answers. Acast did not appear in any of the five answers. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Buzzsprout | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Spotify for Creators | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Transistor | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | RSS.com | 4th | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Captivate | 5th | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Riverside | 6th | 0 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Podbean | 7th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | RedCircle | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Acast | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Libsyn | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about podcast hosting platforms - Asked ChatGPT "Which podcast hosting platform should I use?": 1. Spotify for Creators, 2. Buzzsprout, 3. Transistor, 4. Captivate, 5. RSS.com - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best podcast hosting platforms?": 1. Buzzsprout, 2. Transistor, 3. Spotify for Creators, 4. Captivate, 5. RSS.com, 6. Podbean - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best podcast hosting platform for publishing and distribution?": 1. Buzzsprout, 2. Transistor, 3. Spotify for Creators, 4. Captivate, 5. Podbean - Searched Google, AI Overview "podcast hosting platform": 1. Spotify for Creators, 2. Buzzsprout, 3. RSS.com, 4. Riverside, 5. Captivate - Searched Google, AI Overview "podcast hosting service": 1. Spotify for Creators, 2. Buzzsprout, 3. RSS.com, 4. Riverside, 5. Captivate Not named in any answer: RedCircle, Acast and Libsyn. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in the United States on October 21, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for podcast hosting platforms worldwide in September 2026? - Estimated monthly branded searches for Acast worldwide fell 18.1% over 12 measured months, from 33.1K to 27.1K in September 2026. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Captivate worldwide fell 16.7% over 12 measured months, from 1.3K to 1.1K in September 2026. ## Month by month | Month | Acast estimated searches | Acast Share of Search | Acast rank | Captivate estimated searches | Captivate Share of Search | Captivate rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 33.1K | 9.1% | 5 | 1.3K | 0.35% | 9 | | Nov 2025 | 33.1K | 10% | 5 | 1.3K | 0.38% | 9 | | Dec 2025 | 27.1K | 8.6% | 5 | 1.2K | 0.38% | 9 | | Jan 2026 | 27.1K | 7.3% | 5 | 1.7K | 0.46% | 9 | | Feb 2026 | 27.1K | 7.5% | 5 | 1.6K | 0.44% | 9 | | Mar 2026 | 33.1K | 8.2% | 5 | 1.7K | 0.43% | 9 | | Apr 2026 | 27.1K | 7.2% | 5 | 1.4K | 0.37% | 9 | | May 2026 | 27.1K | 7.2% | 5 | 1.4K | 0.37% | 9 | | Jun 2026 | 27.1K | 7.8% | 5 | 1.1K | 0.33% | 9 | | Jul 2026 | 22.2K | 6.6% | 5 | 1.1K | 0.32% | 9 | | Aug 2026 | 27.1K | 8% | 5 | 1.1K | 0.32% | 9 | | Sep 2026 | 27.1K | 7.9% | 5 | 1.1K | 0.3% | 9 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Acast’s and Captivate’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **Acast**: Measured on the search term “acast”. - **Captivate**: Measured on the search terms “captivate podcast” and “captivate podcast hosting”, summed into one figure. - [Acast profile](/demand/global-en/brands/acast) - [Captivate profile](/demand/global-en/brands/captivate) - [All podcast hosting platforms worldwide](/demand/global-en/categories/podcast-hosting-platforms): The set both shares are measured inside, 10 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Acast or Captivate more popular in search? In September 2026, Acast had more branded searches than Captivate among podcast hosting platforms worldwide. Acast had about 27,100 branded searches, while Captivate had 1,050. Acast made up 7.9% of all podcast hosting platform searches we track, and Captivate accounted for 0.3%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Acast vs Captivate: Which is searched more?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/acast-vs-captivate This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/acast-vs-captivate. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.