api.video vs Podbean Pricing (2026)
How do these two stack up on price? Here's what each one costs, what you get, and where the value sits.
Video Encoding
- FREE for unlimited minutes
Video Hosting
- $0.00285 per minute of video stored
Video Delivery
- $0.0017 per minute of video delivered
Pay as you go
- 100 Upload API calls/min
- 200 Write API calls/min
- 500 Read API calls/min
- Audit Logs (up to 5 days)
- 99.999%
- Public Terms
- Credit Card, Apple Pay, SEPA (on request), Monthly Billing
- Customizable player
- Any video player (3rd party)
- HLS & MP4 output
- Upload by URL
- Custom domain
- Encoding from 240p to 4K
- Adaptive Delivery
- Concurrent Live Stream
- Simulcasting / Restreaming
- Live stream DVR functionality
- Record a live stream
- Encoding from 240p to 4K
- Adaptive Delivery
- 24/7 Live streaming
- Low-latency
- RTMPS and SRT protocols
- Video transcription
- Video translation
- Video summarization
- Generate Thumbnail
- Trimming / Clipping
- Watermark
- Captions
- Chapters
- Upload your own Thumbnail
- 1 month Analytics Retention
- 3 months Analytics Retention
- 12 months Analytics Retention
- Usage Analytics per Project
- Webhooks
- Metadata & video tagging
- Video analytics
- Data visualization
- Basic API Authentication
- Advanced API Authentication
- Private Video
- Private Live Stream
- Delegated Upload Tokens
- Domain referer playback restrictions
- AES Encryption 128bits
- Video Restore
- Ecosystem Catalog (see dedicated section)
- Direct Upload
- Progressive Upload
- Video Import Tool
- Delivery on the CDN (worldwide)
- Delivery on origin
- Backup & Recovery
- Accessing mezzanine files
- Normalization
- Analytics plugins for 3rd party players
- Built-in HTML5 player
- Native Android & iOS mobile player
- Screen & webcam recording SDKs
- CMS & no-code/low-code integrations
- API clients & SDKs
Enterprise plan
- 200 Upload API calls/min
- 1000 Write API calls/min
- 2500 Read API calls/min
- Audit Logs (up to 60 days) & Domain Referrer
- Isolated storage
- Security Reviews
- 99.999% + SLA credits
- Signed MSA, SLA, DPA
- Wire Transfer, Annual Billing, Payment schedules
- Customizable player
- Any video player (3rd party)
- HLS & MP4 output
- Upload by URL
- Custom domain
- Encoding from 240p to 4K
- Adaptive Delivery
- Concurrent Live Stream
- Simulcasting / Restreaming
- Live stream DVR functionality
- Record a live stream
- Encoding from 240p to 4K
- Adaptive Delivery
- 24/7 Live streaming
- Low-latency
- RTMPS and SRT protocols
- Video transcription
- Video translation
- Video summarization
- Generate Thumbnail
- Trimming / Clipping
- Watermark
- Captions
- Chapters
- Upload your own Thumbnail
- 1 month Analytics Retention
- 3 months Analytics Retention
- 12 months Analytics Retention
- Usage Analytics per Project
- Webhooks
- Metadata & video tagging
- Video analytics
- Data visualization
- Basic API Authentication
- Advanced API Authentication
- Private Video
- Private Live Stream
- Delegated Upload Tokens
- Domain referer playback restrictions
- AES Encryption 128bits
- Video Restore
- Ecosystem Catalog (see dedicated section)
- Direct Upload
- Progressive Upload
- Video Import Tool
- Delivery on the CDN (worldwide)
- Delivery on origin
- Backup & Recovery
- Accessing mezzanine files
- Normalization
- Analytics plugins for 3rd party players
- Built-in HTML5 player
- Native Android & iOS mobile player
- Screen & webcam recording SDKs
- CMS & no-code/low-code integrations
- API clients & SDKs
Unlimited Audio
Popular- Audio podcast
- 1GB uploads/mo.
- Unlimited total storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
- 600 AI Credits
- Advanced podcast stats
- Custom podcast site & embed player
- All monetization features
- One-click distribution
- Podcast rss feed
- Professional podcast website
- Map your own domain
- Free import from previous host
- Distribute to major directories
- Auto-share to social media
- Video to Podcast
- Episode trends and comparison
- User engagement intel
- Apple Podcasts subscriptions
- All monetization features
- Dynamic ad insertion
- AI Credits
- AI Audio Optimization
- AI Content Assistant
- AI Podcast Creator
- Blog to Podcast
- iPhone/Android app
- Custom embeddable players
- Multiple podcast channels
- Email/web support
Unlimited Plus
- 2 Audio or Video podcasts
- 10GB uploads/mo.
- Unlimited total storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
- 2,400 AI Credits
- Advanced podcast stats
- Custom podcast site & embed player
- All monetization features
- One-click distribution
- Podcast rss feed
- Professional podcast website
- Map your own domain
- Free import from previous host
- Distribute to major directories
- Auto-share to social media
- Video to Podcast
- Episode trends and comparison
- User engagement intel
- Apple Podcasts subscriptions
- Dynamic ad insertion
- AI Credits
- AI Audio Optimization
- AI Content Assistant
- AI Podcast Creator
- Blog to Podcast
- iPhone/Android app
- Custom embeddable players
- Multiple podcast channels
- Email/web support
Network
- Unlimited Audio & Video podcasts
- 40GB uploads/mo.
- Unlimited total storage
- 3TB monthly bandwidth
- 6,000 AI Credits
- Network level stats
- Branded podcast site & embed player
- All monetization features
- 50 team members
- Network station page
- Podcast rss feed
- Professional podcast website
- Map your own domain
- Free import from previous host
- Distribute to major directories
- Auto-share to social media
- Video to Podcast
- Advanced podcast stats
- Episode trends and comparison
- User engagement intel
- Analysis on network level
- Apple Podcasts subscriptions
- Dynamic ad insertion
- AI Credits
- AI Audio Optimization
- AI Content Assistant
- AI Podcast Creator
- Blog to Podcast
- iPhone/Android app
- Custom embeddable players
- Multiple podcast channels
- Multiple admins
- Professional network page
- Remove Podbean branding
- Email/web support
- Live chat support
Business
- Unlimited Private + 2 Public podcasts
- 40GB uploads/mo.
- Unlimited total storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
- 6,000 AI Credits
- Business level stats
- Branded podcast site & embed player
- All monetization features
- Unlimited team members
- 100 private members
- SSO login + SOC2 protection
- Podcast rss feed
- Professional podcast website
- Map your own domain
- Free import from previous host
- Distribute to major directories
- Auto-share to social media
- Video to Podcast
- Advanced podcast stats
- Episode trends and comparison
- User engagement intel
- Analysis on network level
- Apple Podcasts subscriptions
- Dynamic ad insertion
- AI Credits
- AI Audio Optimization
- AI Content Assistant
- AI Podcast Creator
- Blog to Podcast
- iPhone/Android app
- Custom embeddable players
- Multiple podcast channels
- Multiple admins
- Professional network page
- Remove Podbean branding
- Private podcasting
- Email/web support
- Live chat support
api.video vs Podbean FAQ
- Which one is cheaper?
- One or both use custom pricing, so it depends on your specific needs.
- Can I use either one for free?
- Both offer free plans, so you can try each without paying. Start with whichever fits your workflow better and upgrade when you hit the limits.
- How do they charge?
- Different approach here. api.video uses usage-based pricing, while Podbean goes with flat-rate. That changes the math depending on your team size and usage.
- Which one is a better deal?
- Depends on what you need. api.video: They're positioning as the developer-friendly, transparent-pricing alternative to Mux and Cloudflare Stream — similar usage-based model but with free encoding as a differentiator. That $0 encoding line is a direct shot at competitors who charge for transcoding, targeting cost-conscious dev teams building video into their apps. Podbean: They're mid-market — not as cheap as Buzzsprout's entry tiers, not as premium as Simplecast or Transistor on a per-feature basis. At $17 to start, they're clearly fishing for indie creators who've outgrown free tools but aren't ready to pay Spotify-level hosting fees.
Keep tabs on both.
We'll monitor pricing changes for api.video and Podbean and let you know when something moves.