If you want to start a podcast, BUT you don’t want to spend a lot of money OR time trying to figure out which tools to use—keep reading, because I’m going to tell you how to start a podcast for FREE.

I learned from experience by launching my podcast, Recover with God, without spending a dime.

You can do it, too.

Trust me. I know finding free resources that work can be a hassle. So, I saved you the trouble by creating a list of every program, platform, and tool I used to record, edit, and publish my podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Free Podcast Tools

Here is an overview of the tools described in this post:

• Spotify for Podcasters — as a podcast platform
• YouTube — as a podcast platform
• Zoom — for recording
• Pixabay — for royalty free music
• VEED — for intros, outros, and social media teasers
• Riverside.fm — for podcast editing
• Audacity — for podcast editing
• CloudConvert — to convert video (MP4) files to audio (MP3 & WAV)
• Canva — for cover art and social media posts
• Google Docs — for organizing questions and episode descriptions, etc.
• Basic equipment needed to start a podcast

Note: This is not an exhaustive list. It’s simply what worked for me. Because I own a PC laptop and Android phone, I did not consider products tailored to Apple users.

How to Use Spotify for Podcasters

If you’re new to podcasting, I recommend hosting your podcast on Spotify for Podcasters. It’s free to join and easy to get started by uploading your cover art with your podcast name and description.

While you can record an episode right in the platform, uploading prerecorded episodes is also simple. Then, add your show notes and a few other details and voila. You are ready to share immediately or schedule that episode.

If you want your podcast to appear on more platforms than Spotify, check out this article for more details on how to distribute your podcast (via RSS feed) to other large platforms, like Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and more.

How to Use YouTube for Podcasting

YouTube is another free option for your host platform. Simply upload your recorded and edited podcast videos to your YouTube channel.

This is an excellent option if you want to share your podcast in video format or desire to grow your YouTube channel.

Alternatively, you can add your existing podcast to YouTube Music via your RSS feed link that you will receive from your host platform. (Refer back to this article linked above about RSS feeds and Spotify.)

How to Add Your RSS Feed to YouTube

• Create a YouTube account.
• Log into YouTube Studio directly OR navigate to Studio on a desktop or laptop from your YouTube channel by clicking the three horizontal bars at the top left and scrolling down to “YouTube Studio.”
• Once you are in YouTube Studio, click the “Channel Content” icon on the left side menu. (It looks like a play button.)
• Under Channel Content, click “Podcasts.”
• Next, click “New Podcast.”
• From there, you can add your podcast with your RSS feed link, copied from your host platform.

Please note: YouTube Music replaced Google Podcasts in the spring of 2024.

Okay, so you know where to host your podcast, but how do you actually create it?

Using Zoom for Podcast Recording

Zoom is an excellent recording option if you plan to interview guests. If not, your podcast host platform may offer an in-app recording option. I can vouch that Spotify for Podcasters does offer this option.

But let’s talk Zoom.

The free version allows you to record up to 40 minutes of video at a time, which can automatically save to your computer. In your Zoom settings, you can even choose the folder where your recorded videos will go once you end the call.

I do recommend having an external hard drive, large capacity flash drive, or additional cloud storage for storing those recorded Zooms. Personally, once my Zoom recordings are saved to my computer, I upload them to my Google Drive. (I already pay for extra storage, so moving the recordings there was a no-brainer for me.)

But my computer capacity may not be as large as some, so having external storage may not be necessary.

Find Free Podcast Music on Pixabay

Most podcast intros and outros include instrumental music. And guess what? You don’t have to pay for this either!

You may be familiar with Pixabay for its massive library of royalty-free images; but did you know, Pixabay also offers royalty-free music?

You can search by keyword and browse songs to find one that matches the mood of your podcast. Once you find that perfect song, simply download the audio file to use for your intro and outro.

Use VEED for Podcast Intros, Outros, and Social Teasers

I love how easy it is to edit with VEED. Honestly, I’d use it to edit entire episodes, but the free version does have a limit on the video length you can download. So, I only used VEED to create my intro and outro, and to create teaser video clips for Instagram Reels.

For the intro and outro, VEED is so easy to use when it comes to layering your music file over your voice. For the voiceover, you can either record right in VEED or upload a recording of your voice from Zoom (or any other audio recording site).

To get mine just right with the fade-in and fade-out of the music, I uploaded the music file twice and layered both over my voice, while playing around with the tools for fade-in, fade-out, and overall volume.

For social media teasers, VEED gives you LOTS of options.

You can create a video or audio teaser AND you can choose from dimensions optimized for YouTube (horizontal and Shorts), Instagram (Reels, stories, and posts), Facebook (posts and stories), TikTok, LinkedIn, X (Twitter), and Snapchat.

I will add that another downside of using the free version of VEED for clips is that the VEED watermark stays on the clip. If that doesn’t bother you, great! But if it does bother you, scroll down to read about Canva. OR…

CLICK HERE to get 50% off your first 3 months of VEED. (This is a referral link, and I earn a commission if you choose the paid option.)

Use Riverside.fm for Podcast Editing

I used the free version of Riverside.fm to edit my full podcast episodes. (This is an affiliate link, and I earn a commission if you choose the paid option.)

First, I upload the Zoom recordings to Riverside. Next, I added my intro and outro using the plus buttons at the beginning anf end of the audio / video track.

Say you want to insert a commercial or added content anywhere in the episode. Just add and drag new tracks literally anywhere in the recording. You’ll first need to split the track, which is easy to do by placing your cursor where you want the recording split, and selecting the split icon on the left-hand side of the track.

Need to edit your podcast recording? Riverside populates captions from your uploaded recordings, making it super simple to edit by deleting words, which will then remove that part of the recording completely. Of course, you can also edit out sections manually.

Overall, Riverside is user-friendly and intuitive to use—though I do prefer some of the features on VEED (like volume fading and the options to create social media clips).

For Season 3 of my podcast, I am playing around with Riverside’s Magic Clip feature, that auto-generates 10 shorter clips from a single recording and puts them in a social media-friendly format. Not only is it easy to use, but you can do a few basic customizations, like closed captioning font, highlight color, and how the split screen appears. Of course, with the free version, the Riverside watermark will be visible.

Use Audacity for Podcast Editing

I’m throwing this one in here because one of my podcast-savvy friends (who is also a podcast editor), recommended the free version of Audacity. I haven’t personally tried it, but I trust my friend’s judgment!

How to Convert Video to MP3 with CloudConvert

If you want to convert any podcast videos (MP4, etc.) to audio files (MP3 & WAV), CloudConvert offers a free option to do this.

Why would you need to do this?

Spotify does allow you to share video versions of your podcast, but I personally only want to share the audio — which means I need to convert my edited video files to MP3s or WAV files.

Riverside does allow me to export both video and audio versions; however, I want to share this option, in case you decide not to use an editing platform like Riverside and need to quickly convert a file.

To use CloudConvert, all you have to do is upload a file from your computer, click convert, and then download the converted WAV audio file. Easy peasy!

Of course, like anything else that’s free, it’s limited. According to CloudConvert’s pricing page:

“You can use CloudConvert absolutely free for up to 25 conversions per day. Beyond that we offer flexible payment options.”

Source cloudconvert.com/pricing

Create Podcast Cover Art and Social Posts with Canva

There is a LOT you can do with the free version of Canva.

For podcast cover art: There are a TON of podcast cover templates to choose from, or you can create your own from scratch with a blank square project.

For social media episode teasers: Because I don’t want the VEED or Riverside watermarks on my social media posts, I create a blank Canva project and uploaded my VEED or Riverside clips. (You can create a blank Canva for any size social post you need!)

After making sure the clips fill the entire blank space, I add my podcast logo to the design and make sure it is layered on top of the video.

Once it looks the way you want it to for your social post, go ahead and download directly from Canva.

Pro tip: Download the Canva app so you can then download the clips to your phone and streamline the posting process for Instagram and TikTok.

Use Google Docs to Organize and Plan Your Podcast

This might go without saying, but Google Docs is a fantastic way to send questions to guests ahead of time and/or organize your show notes for each episode.

As long as you have a Gmail account, you can access Google Docs for free. While you can access an online version of Microsoft Word for free, it’s not the same as the paid version and, in my opinion, not as user-friendly to share with other people.

What Equipment Do I Need for a Podcast?

Great question, especially on this topic of starting a podcast for free.

• Mic.
• Headphones.
• Ring light

Those things aren’t free.

Me? I like to be resourceful and use what I have. For my podcast, I started by using a mic I already had (nothing fancy) and basic, wired earbuds (that I saved from an international flight — yes, I am that cheap!) Any Bluetooth earbuds or headphones you have available will work.

While I can’t say for sure, you might be able to get away with not using a mic, as long as your computer’s built-in mic is high-quality and you record in a quiet space that won’t pick up background noise. It’s worth a test if you don’t want to buy a mic.

I also already owned a ring light which I use when I record at night, but it’s not necessary. Any room with good lighting will do if you want to record video. Heck! Sitting in front of a window gives you better lighting than a ring light, in my opinion.

If you do decide to buy a mic or headphones or spring for better lighting, it’s not necessary to spend a fortune on the best products out there. Start small. You can always upgrade your technology later if you want to.

In full transparency, I did recently upgrade to a new microphone, because my old one started cutting out. I purchased this one on Amazon and the sound quality is excellent for the price. (This is an Amazon affiliate link.)

So, how much does it cost to start a podcast?

It doesn’t cost anything if you don’t want it to.

Podcast software — there are plenty of free options.

Podcast equipment — start with what you have.

I hope this inspires you to pick up a mic and let your voice be heard!