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Run a podcast on your own: cheapest tool stack

Record, host, transcribe and clip a podcast as one person.

Prices are official, dated and quoted (latest check 2026-10-18). Change any number and the stacks update. Ranking never depends on affiliate status.

Cheapest$0.00/mo2.9 h/week by handLowest monthly price that covers every category.

Balanced$58.90/mo0.4 h/week by handLowest price + your time (hours × your hourly value).

Most automated$58.90/mo0.4 h/week by handFewest manual hours; price breaks ties.

Audio minutes per month: 180.0
Upload hours per month: 3.0
Episodes per week: 0.9

The three stacks

Cheapest stack

Category	Tool	What it does	$/month	Manual h/week
Recording & editing	Software you already have	Record and edit locally.	$0.00	1.0 h
Podcast hosting	RSS.com Free	Unlimited episodes and downloads.	$0.00	0.0 h
Transcription & show notes	By hand	Write notes yourself.	$0.00	0.9 h
Short clips	Clip by hand	Cut clips yourself.	$0.00	0.9 h
Total			$0.00/mo	2.9 h/week

Balanced stack

Category	Tool	What it does	$/month	Manual h/week
Recording & editing	Riverside Pro	Studio-quality remote recording with editing; includes podcast hosting.	$29.00	0.3 h
Podcast hosting	RSS.com Free	Unlimited episodes and downloads.	$0.00	0.0 h
Transcription & show notes	Gemini 3.5 Transcribe API	Transcript with speakers and timestamps.	$0.90	0.0 h
Short clips	OpusClip affiliate Pro	300 credits (source minutes) a month.	$29.00	0.1 h
Total			$58.90/mo	0.4 h/week

Most automated stack

Category	Tool	What it does	$/month	Manual h/week
Recording & editing	Riverside Pro	Studio-quality remote recording with editing; includes podcast hosting.	$29.00	0.3 h
Podcast hosting	RSS.com Free	Unlimited episodes and downloads.	$0.00	0.0 h
Transcription & show notes	Gemini 3.5 Transcribe API	Transcript with speakers and timestamps.	$0.90	0.0 h
Short clips	OpusClip affiliate Pro	300 credits (source minutes) a month.	$29.00	0.1 h
Total			$58.90/mo	0.4 h/week

Every option, per category

Sorted by price at your numbers. “Doesn’t fit” means a plan limit (users, minutes, subscribers…) is exceeded.

Recording & editing

Tool / plan	$/month	h/week	Evidence
Software you already have	$0.00	1.0 h	No tool to buy.
Riverside Pro We assume its editor cuts manual editing time by 70%.	$29.00	0.3 h	Price source Pro $29 monthly or $24/mo yearly; Grow $39 or $34 (checked 2026-10-18, Podcast hosting calculator (podhostcost): riverside fact riverside/prices); Pro includes podcast hosting & analytics; Grow: podcast hosting for 2 shows, video to Apple Podcasts, video hosting (checked 2026-10-18, Podcast hosting calculator (podhostcost): riverside fact riverside/hosting) Pro Create polished, high-quality content $29 $24 /month Grow Go live, engage and grow your audience $39 $34 /month Pro Create polished, high-quality content $29 /month Podcast hosting & analytics Podcast hosting for 2 shows Publish video to Apple Podcasts Video hosting Formula: `iff(annual,24,29)`

Podcast hosting

Tool / plan	$/month	Evidence
RSS.com Free	$0.00	Price source Free plan: unlimited episodes, audio and downloads, no expiration (checked 2026-10-18, Podcast hosting calculator (podhostcost): rss-com fact rss/free) Publish with unlimited episodes, audio and downloads. $0 /mo No trial. No expiration. Always free. Formula: `0`
Riverside hosting Included in Pro	$0.00	Price source Pro includes podcast hosting & analytics; Grow: podcast hosting for 2 shows, video to Apple Podcasts, video hosting (checked 2026-10-18, Podcast hosting calculator (podhostcost): riverside fact riverside/hosting) Podcast hosting & analytics Podcast hosting for 2 shows Publish video to Apple Podcasts Video hosting Formula: `0`
Buzzsprout Audio	$18.00	Price source Monthly billing: Audio $18, Audio + Video $30, Multi-Podcast $36 a month; 6 upload hours a month (15 on Multi-Podcast) (checked 2026-10-18, Podcast hosting calculator (podhostcost): buzzsprout fact buzzsprout/monthly) All Premium Features $18 / month Audio + Video Upload up to 6 hrs / mo All Premium Features $30 / month Multi-Podcast Upload up to 15 hrs / mo Affordably scales with your success All Premium Features $36 / month Formula: `iff(annual,15,18)`
Transistor Starter	$19.00	Price source Monthly: Starter $19, Professional $49, Business $99 a month (checked 2026-10-18, Podcast hosting calculator (podhostcost): transistor fact transistor/monthly) Starter $19 mo Professional $49 mo Business $99 mo Formula: `iff(annual,190/12,19)`
Captivate Personal	$19.00	Price source Monthly: Personal $19, Professional $49, Business $99 a month (checked 2026-10-18, Podcast hosting calculator (podhostcost): captivate fact captivate/monthly) Personal $19 USD / month, paid monthly Professional $49 USD / month, paid monthly Business $99 USD / month, paid monthly Formula: `iff(annual,17,19)`

Transcription & show notes

Tool / plan	$/month	h/week	Evidence
By hand	$0.00	0.9 h	No tool to buy.
Gemini 3.5 Transcribe API	$0.90	0.0 h	Price source Gemini 3.5 Transcribe (speech-to-text with diarization and timestamps): about $0.003/min audio input + $0.002/min text output (checked 2026-10-18, read on the official page 2026-10-18 (snapshot gemini-pricing)) Gemini 3.5 Transcribe gemini-3.5-transcribe $2.00 or $0.003/min * (audio) $12.00 or $0.002/min * (text) Formula: `audio_min*0.005`

Short clips

Tool / plan	$/month	h/week	Evidence
Clip by hand	$0.00	0.9 h	No tool to buy.
OpusClip affiliate Pro	$29.00	0.1 h	Price source Pro shows $29 USD, $14.5 USD/mo, $174 billed annually, and 300 credits per month. The compare row lists Pro at $29/mo. (checked 2026-10-18, AI Video Ad Cost: opusclip fact 2); Clipping credits are 1 credit per minute of the original video imported, not per minute of the finished clip. Under 1 minute rounds up. Partial minutes round down. An X post is 3 credits per clip, per X account. (checked 2026-10-18, AI Video Ad Cost: opusclip fact 3) $29 USD $14.5 USD/mo $174 billed annually 300 credits per month $29/mo processing clips will cost 1 credit per minute of the original video imported. Videos shorter than 1 minute are rounded up to the nearest minute (e.g., 0.5 minutes costs 1 credit). Videos with partial minutes are rounded down to the nearest whole minute. Each X post or schedule is charged at 3 credits per clip, per X account. Formula: `iff(annual,14.5,29)`
OpusClip affiliate Free	doesn’t fit		Price source Free is $0 USD/mo, 60 credits per month, with a watermark. Clips are not exportable after 3 days. (checked 2026-10-18, AI Video Ad Cost: opusclip fact 0); Clipping credits are 1 credit per minute of the original video imported, not per minute of the finished clip. Under 1 minute rounds up. Partial minutes round down. An X post is 3 credits per clip, per X account. (checked 2026-10-18, AI Video Ad Cost: opusclip fact 3); Free use of the Services is non-commercial. Paid Services are licensed for commercial uses. (checked 2026-10-18, AI Video Ad Cost: opusclip fact 4) $0 USD/mo 60 credits per month Has watermark After 3 days, the clips will no longer be exportable processing clips will cost 1 credit per minute of the original video imported. Videos shorter than 1 minute are rounded up to the nearest minute (e.g., 0.5 minutes costs 1 credit). Videos with partial minutes are rounded down to the nearest whole minute. Each X post or schedule is charged at 3 credits per clip, per X account. You will only use the Services for your own internal, personal, non-commercial use, and not on behalf of or for the benefit of any third party, and only in a manner that complies with all laws that apply to you. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if you are a user of Paid Services, you are licensed to use the Services for commercial uses and otherwise to the fullest extent possible under applicable law, subject to all the terms and conditions of this Agreement as they are applicable to the Services. Formula: `0`
OpusClip affiliate Starter	doesn’t fit		Price source Starter is monthly only, $15 billed monthly, 150 credits per month, and includes Remove Watermark. (checked 2026-10-18, AI Video Ad Cost: opusclip fact 1); Clipping credits are 1 credit per minute of the original video imported, not per minute of the finished clip. Under 1 minute rounds up. Partial minutes round down. An X post is 3 credits per clip, per X account. (checked 2026-10-18, AI Video Ad Cost: opusclip fact 3) Starter plan only available in monthly $15 billed monthly 150 credits Remove Watermark processing clips will cost 1 credit per minute of the original video imported. Videos shorter than 1 minute are rounded up to the nearest minute (e.g., 0.5 minutes costs 1 credit). Videos with partial minutes are rounded down to the nearest whole minute. Each X post or schedule is charged at 3 credits per clip, per X account. Formula: `15`

Not covered (yet)

Microphones and other hardware.
Riverside's own transcription and clip features (not priced separately).

Affiliate disclosure: links marked “affiliate” may earn Built & Stuck a commission at no extra cost to you. They are chosen after the ranking is computed and never affect it. Manual-hours figures are estimates from the assumptions above, not measurements.

Questions

What is the cheapest podcast hosting?

RSS.com has a free plan with unlimited episodes and downloads. Paid hosts start around $15–19 a month.

How does OpusClip count credits for a podcast?

One credit per minute of the original video you import, not per clip. A 45-minute episode uses 45 credits.

Do affiliate links change the ranking?

No. The ranking only uses price, manual hours and your hourly value. Some tools have a marked affiliate link; the calculation never reads it.