The Podcast Host Stack

A solo podcast at 5K listeners per episode can earn as much as a 50K-subscriber YouTube channel — here's the stack.

Cross-platform8 toolsUpdated 2026-04-15

The philosophy

The best podcast stack is boring. Great audio, reliable hosting, on-time release schedule. Everything else (fancy mixing, video versions, premium transcripts) is optional polish that matters only after the core stack is running smoothly.

Podcasting has the highest revenue-per-listener of any creator medium and the lowest production overhead per episode. Working podcasters publishing weekly at 1K-50K downloads per episode use roughly the same stack — the differences are in content discipline, not tooling.

The stack

01
Sponsorship Rate Calculator (TxtFeed)
TxtFeed
Free
Pricing
Podcast CPM ($20-40 for general audiences, $50-120 for niche audiences) is close to YouTube but prices via host-read ads instead of algorithmic insertion. The calculator supports both models.
Open tool
02
Shure MV7 or SM7B
$249-399 one-time
Audio
MV7 is USB, SM7B is XLR (needs interface). MV7 is a valid starting mic for $249; SM7B is the upgrade path when you're earning enough to upgrade audio.
Visit site
03
Audacity or Reaper
Free / $60 one-time
Editing
Audacity is free and sufficient for 95% of podcasts. Reaper ($60 one-time) is a step up for multi-track interview editing without the subscription overhead of Adobe Audition.
Visit site
04
Transistor or Buzzsprout
$19-39/mo
Hosting
Podcast hosting, analytics, RSS distribution to Apple/Spotify/Google. Transistor is the cleanest UI, Buzzsprout has the largest user base. Both $19-39/mo.
Visit site
05
Riverside or SquadCast
$15-29/mo
Remote recording
Local-audio recording on both sides of a remote interview produces broadcast quality even with poor internet. Either works — both have free trials.
Visit site
06
Descript
Free / $15-30/mo
Editing
Transcript-based editing is especially valuable for podcasts. Filler-word removal and content cutting via text rather than audio waveform cuts editing time dramatically.
Visit site
07
Showpod or Headliner
Free / $12+/mo
Promotion
Turn audio clips into short videos for TikTok/Instagram promotion. Single-episode promotion to multiple platforms is the highest-ROI promo activity for podcasts.
Visit site
08
Substack
Free
Email list
Podcast listeners convert to email better than YouTube viewers. A free Substack cross-posted with episodes grows a list that's yours (not platform-dependent).
Visit site

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All stacks

The Podcast Host Stack

A solo podcast at 5K listeners per episode can earn as much as a 50K-subscriber YouTube channel — here's the stack.

Cross-platform8 toolsUpdated 2026-04-15

The philosophy

The stack

01
Sponsorship Rate Calculator (TxtFeed)
TxtFeed
Free
Pricing
Podcast CPM ($20-40 for general audiences, $50-120 for niche audiences) is close to YouTube but prices via host-read ads instead of algorithmic insertion. The calculator supports both models.
Open tool
02
Shure MV7 or SM7B
$249-399 one-time
Audio
MV7 is USB, SM7B is XLR (needs interface). MV7 is a valid starting mic for $249; SM7B is the upgrade path when you're earning enough to upgrade audio.
Visit site
03
Audacity or Reaper
Free / $60 one-time
Editing
Audacity is free and sufficient for 95% of podcasts. Reaper ($60 one-time) is a step up for multi-track interview editing without the subscription overhead of Adobe Audition.
Visit site
04
Transistor or Buzzsprout
$19-39/mo
Hosting
Podcast hosting, analytics, RSS distribution to Apple/Spotify/Google. Transistor is the cleanest UI, Buzzsprout has the largest user base. Both $19-39/mo.
Visit site
05
Riverside or SquadCast
$15-29/mo
Remote recording
Local-audio recording on both sides of a remote interview produces broadcast quality even with poor internet. Either works — both have free trials.
Visit site
06
Descript
Free / $15-30/mo
Editing
Transcript-based editing is especially valuable for podcasts. Filler-word removal and content cutting via text rather than audio waveform cuts editing time dramatically.
Visit site
07
Showpod or Headliner
Free / $12+/mo
Promotion
Turn audio clips into short videos for TikTok/Instagram promotion. Single-episode promotion to multiple platforms is the highest-ROI promo activity for podcasts.
Visit site
08
Substack
Free
Email list
Podcast listeners convert to email better than YouTube viewers. A free Substack cross-posted with episodes grows a list that's yours (not platform-dependent).
Visit site