If you are thinking about starting a podcast, you have probably heard of Anchor. For a long time, Anchor was one of the most popular free podcasting platforms around. It made podcasting feel much easier, especially for people who had never created a podcast before.
There is one thing that can be confusing, though. If you search for Anchor today, you might not find the same website or dashboard you see in older tutorials. That is because Anchor was bought by Spotify and later became part of what is now called Spotify for Creators.
So, if you are looking for an Anchor review, this is really a review of what happened to Anchor and what you can use today.
In this article, I’ll explain what Anchor was, what Spotify changed, how the platform works, what you can do with it, and whether I think it is still a good choice for starting a podcast.
What is Anchor?
Anchor started in 2015 with a pretty simple goal. It wanted to make podcasting easier for everyone.
Back then, starting a podcast could feel like a lot of work. You needed a place to host your audio files, an RSS feed, a way to distribute your episodes, and usually some kind of editing software. If you were new to podcasting, all of this could be confusing. Anchor tried to put most of those things in one place.
You could record an episode, edit it, upload it, and distribute your podcast without having to understand all the technical stuff behind podcasting.
Spotify acquired Anchor in 2019. Over time, Anchor became part of Spotify’s podcast creator tools. The service was eventually renamed Spotify for Podcasters and is now known as Spotify for Creators.
So, Anchor isn’t really a separate podcast hosting company anymore. The technology and many of the features people liked about Anchor are now part of Spotify’s creator platform.
That is important to know if you are reading an old Anchor tutorial.
Is Anchor Still Free?
One of the biggest reasons people liked Anchor was that it was free. The good news is that Spotify for Creators continues to offer free podcast hosting.
For someone starting a podcast, this can be a big deal. You don’t have to spend money on hosting before you even know whether your podcast will work.
You can start with a basic setup, publish your episodes, see how people respond, and decide later if you want to invest more money into your podcast. This makes the platform especially useful for beginners.
Let’s be honest. When you’re starting a podcast, there are already plenty of things you might have to spend money on. You might buy a microphone, headphones, a laptop, or other equipment.
Having free hosting means you can keep your starting costs down.
Of course, free doesn’t mean perfect. As your podcast grows, you may find that you want features that are available on more advanced paid platforms.
But when you’re just getting started, free hosting is hard to complain about.
How Easy Is Spotify for Creators to Use?
This is probably one of the best things about the old Anchor platform, and that simple approach is still useful today. You don’t need to be a podcasting expert to understand the basic workflow.
You create your show, add information about it, upload your audio, add an episode title and description, and publish. That’s pretty much what most beginners want.
When you’re starting a podcast, the last thing you want is to spend hours trying to figure out complicated hosting software. The simpler the process is, the more time you can spend actually making your podcast. This is where Spotify for Creators does a good job.
The platform is designed for creators rather than technical experts. You don’t need to understand everything about RSS feeds, servers, or audio hosting before you can get your first episode online.
Recording and Editing
Anchor became popular partly because it made recording a podcast easier. The original platform allowed people to record directly through its tools instead of requiring expensive recording software.
Today, you still have access to creator tools through Spotify for Creators, although many serious podcasters will probably use separate software for recording and editing.
For example, if you are making a simple interview show or a casual podcast, you may not need complicated editing software.
But if you want professional-level audio, you will probably want more control.
Professional audio editing can involve things like removing background noise, adjusting different microphones, controlling volume levels, adding compression, and making detailed changes to individual tracks. Spotify for Creators isn’t really trying to replace professional audio programs.
And that’s okay. Think of its recording and creator tools as a convenient way to get started rather than a complete professional recording studio.
Podcast Hosting
Podcast hosting is one of the most important things you need when starting a show. Your podcast episodes are audio files, and those files need to be stored somewhere. A podcast host stores them and provides the information that podcast apps need to access your episodes.
Spotify for Creators provides free podcast hosting, which is one of its biggest advantages. You don’t have to pay a monthly hosting bill just to keep your podcast online. For a small creator, that can make a real difference. It also means you can experiment.
Maybe you have an idea for a podcast but aren’t sure if anyone will listen. Instead of paying for a year of hosting immediately, you can start for free and see what happens. If the podcast takes off, you can always reconsider your hosting setup later.
Can You Get Your Podcast on Spotify?
Yes, and this is obviously one of the platform’s biggest attractions. Spotify owns the service, so getting your podcast into Spotify’s ecosystem is a natural part of the experience.
But your podcast isn’t necessarily limited to Spotify. Podcasts use RSS feeds to distribute episodes to different podcast apps and services. Spotify for Creators can help creators distribute their shows beyond Spotify as well.
That’s important because you don’t want to build an audience that can only listen to you in one place. People use different podcast apps. Some use Spotify. Others use Apple Podcasts or other podcast players.
The more places your podcast is available, the easier it is for potential listeners to find you.
What About Podcast Analytics?
Analytics are another important part of podcasting. After publishing an episode, you probably want to know whether anyone is actually listening.
Spotify for Creators provides analytics that can help you understand how your podcast is performing. You can use this information to see things like audience activity and episode performance. This can be useful when you’re trying to figure out what your audience likes.
For example, imagine you publish two different types of episodes. Your interview episodes consistently get more listeners than your solo episodes. That gives you useful information.
You might decide to make more interview episodes because your audience seems to prefer them. Analytics can help you make those decisions based on actual data instead of guessing.
That said, some professional podcasters may find the analytics less detailed than what they can get from specialized paid podcast hosting platforms. For a beginner, though, the information available should be enough to get started.
Can You Make Money With Anchor?
This is where things get a little more complicated. Yes, podcast monetization is possible through Spotify for Creators, but not every monetization option is available to every creator.
Your eligibility can depend on things such as your location, audience size, and other requirements.
Spotify has introduced different monetization options over the years, including advertising and subscription-related features.
The important thing is not to assume that you will automatically start making money just because you upload a podcast. Podcast monetization takes time. You need people to listen to your show first.
If you have 20 listeners per episode, advertising probably isn’t going to make you rich. But if you build a large and engaged audience, monetization becomes much more interesting. The platform can give you tools to monetize, but the audience is still the most important part.
What I Don’t Like About Anchor
Anchor was great for beginners, but there are some reasons why you might eventually want something else.
The biggest one is control. As your podcast grows, you may want your own website, more detailed analytics, better integrations, more customization, and additional tools. Spotify for Creators keeps things simple, but that simplicity can also become a limitation.
For example, if you want to build a serious podcast brand, I would recommend having your own website. Your website gives you a place to publish show notes, transcripts, articles, videos, email signup forms, affiliate links, and other content.
You don’t want your entire business to depend on a single platform. This doesn’t mean you can’t use Spotify for Creators.
You absolutely can. You can use it for podcast hosting while building your own website separately.
Is It Good for Beginners?
This is where I think Spotify for Creators makes the most sense. If you’ve never created a podcast before, you probably don’t need an expensive hosting platform with dozens of features you don’t understand yet.
You need something that lets you publish your first episode without making the process unnecessarily complicated.
That’s what Anchor did well, and Spotify has continued that basic philosophy. You can start small. You don’t need a huge studio. You don’t need a massive budget.
You don’t even need to know exactly where your podcast is going to be six months from now. Just start. Once you understand podcasting and start building an audience, you can decide whether you need more advanced tools.
Is It Good for Professional Podcasters?
This depends on what you mean by professional. If you’re already running a large podcast business, you may want more advanced features than the platform provides.
A professional podcast might need detailed audience reports, sophisticated advertising tools, multiple-user access, advanced integrations, website customization, and other features.
In that situation, a paid podcast hosting service may be a better fit. But that doesn’t mean Spotify for Creators is bad for professional creators. It simply means your needs change as your podcast grows.
A tool that is perfect when you have 100 listeners might not be the best tool when you have 500,000. That’s normal.
Anchor Pros and Cons
There are several things I like about what Anchor has become. The biggest advantage is the price. Free hosting makes it much easier for beginners to start.
It’s also relatively easy to use, and being part of Spotify gives creators access to a huge podcast platform. The distribution and analytics tools are useful, and there are monetization opportunities for eligible creators.
But there are drawbacks too.
You don’t get the same level of customization and control that you might find with some paid podcast hosts. The analytics may also feel limited if you’re an advanced user.
And if you’re serious about building a long-term media business, you’ll probably want your own website rather than relying entirely on a podcast platform.
Final Thoughts
So, would I recommend Anchor today? Technically, I wouldn’t call it Anchor anymore. The platform is now Spotify for Creators.
But if you’re asking whether the platform that replaced Anchor is worth using, my answer is yes, especially if you’re just starting out. The biggest reason is simple: you can start without spending much money.
You can host your podcast, publish episodes, reach listeners, look at your analytics, and explore monetization options without immediately paying for an expensive podcast hosting service.
That’s a pretty good deal for someone who is testing an idea. As your podcast grows, you may eventually want more control. At that point, it makes sense to compare Spotify for Creators with other podcast hosting platforms.
But you don’t need to solve that problem on day one. If you’re sitting there thinking about starting a podcast but haven’t published your first episode yet, don’t spend weeks comparing hosting platforms.
Pick a simple option, get your first episode recorded, and publish it. The hardest part of starting a podcast isn’t choosing a hosting platform. It’s actually starting.