Spotify for Creators vs ICONS Podcast hosting: which to use?

Spotify for Creators vs ICONS Podcast hosting is a choice between two free hosts with different strengths. Spotify for Creators hosts audio and video for free (October 2026) and pays eligible shows through its Partner Program, so it suits agents chasing reach inside Spotify. ICONS Podcast hosting is free, audio-only, and adds transcripts, show notes and a website.

Two free hosts, one table

Spotify for Creators and ICONS Podcast hosting both cost nothing, but Spotify is built around its own app while ICONS hosting is built around a standard feed and a show website. Spotify’s rows come from its own pages and support center as of October 9, 2026; ICONS rows come from the ICONS Podcast hosting product page.

	Spotify for Creators	ICONS Podcast hosting
Price	Free; Spotify takes a percentage of ad revenue from monetized shows	Free
How you get it	Sign up, or import an existing show	Ask for access through the form on the product page
Video	Yes, but video plays only on Spotify; audio-only elsewhere	Audio only; video files converted to audio
Distribution beyond Spotify	You submit to Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and others yourself	Step-by-step guide and tracker for 8 directories; you submit
Stats	Plays, downloads, audience, retention; IAB status not stated	Published counting method; not IAB-certified
Transcripts	“Some shows have auto-generated episode transcripts”	Automatic for uploads, English, editable, added to the feed
AI show notes	Not listed on the pages checked	AI drafts of titles, summary, takeaways, keywords, chapters
Website	Spotify show page	Show site with episode pages, about, contact form, blog, subscribe page
Earnings	Partner Program: 50% share of Spotify ad revenue, once eligible	Sponsor audio run by the ICONS team
Recording and editing tools	Removed as of July 9	None (recording is ICONS Live, a separate tool)
Team	Invite team members with access by tab	Owner, admin, editor, analyst, viewer roles

What does Spotify for Creators cost?

Spotify for Creators costs nothing to host a podcast, as of October 2026. Its switch page, read October 9, 2026, offers “completely free podcast hosting” with free episode uploads and storage. Spotify explains how it pays for that: “To support our service, we take a percentage of ad revenue generated by monetized shows.”

Video has its own limits in Spotify’s specs: files up to 60 GB and up to 12 hours long. You can manage several shows from one account. When you switch in, Spotify can import your episodes and metadata from your RSS feed. It warns that “Your analytics won’t transfer from your current host.”

Is ICONS Podcast hosting free as well?

ICONS Podcast hosting is free as well, and the route in is the form on the product page: ask for access there and the ICONS team sets the show up. No revenue share is listed anywhere on the page.

The feature list covers shows and episodes, a feed with Podcasting 2.0 tags, a feed health check, guided submission to 8 directories and download stats. English transcripts, drafted show notes, a show website and listener surveys are part of the package. Individual files can run to 8 GB.

Distribution and video

Spotify for Creators puts your show on Spotify, and you handle every other app yourself. Spotify’s support page says that to reach “platforms beyond Spotify - like Apple Podcasts or Amazon Music - you need to submit your show to each service yourself.”

ICONS hosting is similar in that you submit, but it guides you through it. It gives step-by-step instructions and a tracker for Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Amazon Music and Audible, Podcast Index, Podchaser, Deezer and iHeartRadio. The steps for the two biggest apps are in submitting your podcast to Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Video is the bigger catch:

• Spotify for Creators hosts video, but “Videos and video episodes are only available on Spotify. These episodes will be audio-only on other platforms.”
• ICONS hosting is audio-only everywhere and turns an uploaded video into a podcast MP3.

So with either host, getting your interview onto YouTube as video is a separate job. YouTube or Spotify for a realtor podcast works through that choice.

Transcripts, websites and tools

ICONS Podcast hosting includes more content tools, while Spotify for Creators has cut back. Spotify’s support pages say: “Some shows have auto-generated episode transcripts,” and “Transcripts aren’t available to all creators.” They also say that as of July 9, recording and editing tools, Record with Friends and Music + Talk are no longer available.

ICONS hosting includes:

• Transcripts. English transcripts are made for uploaded episodes, editable and added to the feed.
• Show notes. AI drafts of a title, summary, key takeaways, keywords and chapters fill only empty fields.
• A website. Your show gets episode pages, about and contact pages, a blog plus a subscribe page, and an embeddable player.
• Surveys. Listeners can answer up to 10 questions on the show site.

Spotify gives your show a page inside Spotify; the pages checked didn’t describe a separate show website.

Can either host pay you?

Spotify for Creators can pay you, while ICONS Podcast hosting’s sponsor option is run by the ICONS team. Spotify’s Partner Program pays “a 50% share of the revenue recognized every time an ad monetized by Spotify” plays, plus Premium video revenue. Eligibility, per Spotify’s support page, requires:

• at least 3 published episodes;
• at least 2,000 global consumption hours in the last 30 days;
• at least 1,000 unique listeners or viewers on Spotify in the last 30 days.

The program is currently available in eligible markets that include the United States and Canada, with more markets listed for October 20, 2026. You can also insert up to five ad breaks per episode. For a local real estate show, those thresholds can be a high bar, so treat earnings as a bonus rather than a plan.

ICONS hosting’s page says the ICONS team can run sponsor audio before, during or after episodes, and that sponsored content must be disclosed to listeners.

Where Spotify for Creators does more

Spotify for Creators does more for reach and earnings inside Spotify. These are real advantages:

• Video on Spotify. Upload video and it plays in the Spotify app.
• A path to ad revenue. The Partner Program pays eligible shows a share of Spotify ad revenue.
• Paid subscriptions. Subscribers get a private RSS feed, once you meet Spotify’s requirements.
• Open sign-up. You can import an existing show for free.
• Detailed Spotify data. Retention, demographics and video watch time, with most analytics updating every 15 minutes.
• Several shows in one account.

ICONS hosting’s advantages

ICONS Podcast hosting is the more standard, agent-friendly host of the two. Its advantages:

• No revenue share. The hosting is free without a cut of ad revenue.
• Content help. Transcripts and show-note drafts come with every uploaded episode.
• A real show website. It has episode pages, a contact form and a blog.
• Guided distribution. Instructions and a tracker cover 8 directories.
• Stats across apps. Downloads by country, region, listening app, device and operating system follow a published counting method.
• Easy exit. Everything exports as a ZIP, and a deleted account comes back within 7 days if you ask.
• Connected to ICONS Live. On ICONS-produced shows, recordings become draft episodes without any upload step.

Spotify for Creators or ICONS hosting?

Spotify for Creators wins if your audience lives on Spotify and you want video there; ICONS Podcast hosting wins if you want a free audio host with transcripts, show notes and a website. The usual three:

• Solo agent, audio show, just starting: ICONS hosting gives you a website and show notes as well as the feed. Spotify for Creators is fine if Spotify is the only app you care about.
• ICONS produces the show, or a team producer does: ICONS hosting. Recordings land as draft episodes.
• Agent already publishing video on Spotify for Creators: stay if Spotify video matters. ICONS hosting would publish those episodes as audio only.

Both free hosts sit beside six paid ones in podcast hosting compared for agents. For a wider look at hosting choices and feed ownership, read podcast hosting for real estate agents. To hand off publishing entirely, there is done-for-you production from Icons.