Top 15 Podcast Tools for Starting Your Podcast in 2024 

There are seemingly endless tools, software, and equipment for producing podcasts. From ideation, recording, editing, distribution, hosting, and marketing - it takes a village to launch a podcast. 

So what are the best tools to launch your podcast? 

We list a few of our favorite must-have tools that set your podcast up for success. This list is non-exhaustive, but a few that we (or podcasters we know) have used. Shoot us an email if you have any other recommendations! 

1) Podcast Ideation Tools

AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude can help generate interesting podcast ideas and episode topics. 

Try chatting and brainstorming, honing, tuning, and refining your podcast’s topic. Remember - podcasts are successful when there’s a clear target audience and theme - *think* niche and unique. You can also use these tools to help you find a catchy title or related topics to explore. 

If you have an idea already, great. Time to start recording. 

2) Podcast Recording Software 

You have a great podcast idea and are ready to start recording. Podcast recording software like Riverside, Audacity, and Adobe provide a seamless recording experience for podcasters. 

Some software specializes in recording interview-style podcasts or remote podcasts, while others facilitate solo-podcasting. We provide a breakdown below. 

Interview Podcasts & Remote Podcasts: 

• Zoom.us - Zoom’s video conferencing tool also supports high-quality podcast recording with features like cloud storage, making it ideal for podcasters who need a reliable and familiar platform (starts at $14.99/month) 

• Streamyard - Live streaming studio based in your browser. Streamyard enables podcastsers to record high-quality audio and video while streaming live to social media platforms, enabling real-time audience engagement (starts at $20/month) 

• Riverside.fm - Offers high-quality recording with separate audio and video tracks for each participant. Supports remote recording while maintaining studio-level quality. 

• Zencastr - Web-based recording that captures high-quality video and audio locally for each participant. Provides automatic post-production tools and separate tracks for easy editing (starts at $20/month)

Solo Podcasts: 

• Audacity - Free, open-source audio recording and editing software ideal for solo podcasters seeking a cost-effective solution for recording, editing, and mixing podcasts (free) 

• Adobe Audition - A part of Adobe’s Creative Cloud, Adobe Audition provides multi-track editing, sound design, and restoration capabilities, perfect for podcasters looking for high-end production tools ($20.99/month) 

3) Podcast Recording Hardware 

In addition to software recording tools, podcasters need hardware - mics and headphones, cameras and lighting. We’ll cover hardware in another article, but a quality microphone can go a long way toward avoiding sound editing headaches - and is a fantastic one-time investment. A Shure MV7 or SM7B are very popular options that suit most podcasters.

4) Podcast Editing Tools

Great! You recorded the podcast, now comes the heavy-lifting: editing. Editing can take hours - taking out silences, adding elements like intros and outros, removing filler words like “um” and “uh”, and checking for structure and flow can be taxing and time-consuming, especially if you’re working with a lean team. 

Thankfully, there are lots of tools that leverage the power of AI to trim, enhance, and normalize your audio - all within seconds. The below are a few of our favorites: 

• Adobe Premiere Pro - A part of Adobe’s Creative Cloud, Adobe Premiere Pro is a video and audio editing software that integrates seamlessly with other Adobe products ($20.99/month) 

• Descript - Facilitates text-based audio editing and automatic transcription, allowing users to edit audio by editing text. The platform also features multi-track editing and video integration ($12-$24/month)

• Podcastle -  Provides high-quality remote recording, AI noise reduction, and multi-track editing. It includes automatic transcription, text-to-speech, and a library of royalty-free music, simplifying professional podcast production ($11.99-$23.99/month)

5) Podcast Transcription Tools 

Transcripts boost SEO and discoverability, enhance accessibility, and improve the overall listening experience. 

Transcripts also facilitate content repurposing where you can easily transform your transcripts into blog posts, social media snippets, and newsletters. 

Flowsend uses the power of AI to transcribe podcasts in seconds, not hours. Flowsend allows users to identify and assign speakers and generates a copy-ready transcript that’s ready to be added to your podcast’s hosting platform and podcast’s website to increase SEO.

6) Podcast Distribution & Hosting Tools 

Podcast distribution and hosting tools ensure your episodes reach a broad audience across multiple platforms seamlessly, while providing analytics to refine your content strategy and grow your listener base. These tools also offer reliable storage and bandwidth, ensuring consistent performance and accessibility for your podcast. 

Podcast distribution and hosting tools that we recommend include: 

• Libsyn - Hosting platform that includes analytics, monetization options, and distribution to major podcast directories (starts at $5/month) 

• Podbean -  All-in-one podcast hosting solution with built-in monetization features, customizable podcast websites, and live streaming features (starts at $9/month) 

7) Podcast Promotion Tools & Podcast Marketing 

Marketing your podcast is crucial in growing your audience. Platforms like Flowsend specialize in maximizing each episode’s reach and discoverability. 

Promoting your podcast on social media, newsletters, and blog posts ultimately expands your podcast’s digital footprint - driving more traffic and visibility towards your podcast over time. 

Flowsend’s AI-powered tool creates SEO-optimized content to promote and grow your podcast. It automatically transcribes the podcast and creates written content for creators to use - *think* show notes, title suggestions, episode descriptions, email newsletters - all created to maximize your searchability and reach. All within seconds. 

Flowsend generates written content that (i) resonates with your audience and (ii) sounds like you. 

How to Use Flowsend.ai 

1. Upload your podcast (copy-paste a link, upload a file) 

2. Identify your speakers (how many are there? Who’s who?) 

3. Generate AI-content 

4. Grow your podcast

Flowsend was built by podcasters who spent hundreds of hours producing and marketing their podcast. They were so frustrated with existing tooling that they used their AI expertise to build a tool that streamline the podcast marketing and post-production process.  

From Apple Music to YouTube, Flowsend knows the ins-and-outs of each platform to make sure your posts, tweets, and blogs are optimized for each platform and helping you get in front of your target audience.

Flowsend generates written assets to market your podcast in seconds, including:  

1. SEO Tags - Identify the keywords specific to your podcast and podcast’s audience 

2. Episode Descriptions - Engaging and topical descriptions laced with SEO-optimized keywords that drive traffic to your podcast episodes

3. Timestamps - What’s talked about when? What are the key themes to highlight? Flowsend generates timestamps and descriptors, creating a visual breakdown of your episode - and helps you grow more in podcast players and on Youtube

4. Title Options - Catchier? More concise? Include the guest’s name? There’s lots to consider in naming your episode, we give you options to help narrow things down and optimize for a style that grows your podcast and makes sense for you

5. So much more - Create a free account to explore our library of AI-powered, SEO-optimized content - from social media posts to email newsletters, to suggested viral clips - we have you covered 

Explore Flowsend's platform and let us know what you think.