Firstory

Firstory is a podcast hosting platform for creators to publish shows, distribute episodes, and manage promotion and audience information. Creators can upload video and audio together, then distribute to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, KKBOX, and more than 10 platforms. AI Studio can generate transcripts, summaries, highlights, newsletter drafts, questions and answers, keywords, and topic tags after upload. Analytics cover plays, audience profiles, and episode performance, using RSS data alongside official Spotify data. Daily Spotify charts and Spotify listener and follower metrics are available only on Pro and higher. Promotion tools include FLink, a universal link for listening platforms and social profiles, an automatically generated show website, and an embeddable player. Monetization options include dynamic ads, one-time donations, recurring subscriptions, and cross-platform membership payments while creators retain member data. The free plan allows one show and one AI content extraction episode per month. Paid plans start at $7/mo, and paid plans list a 14-day trial.

Firstory combines podcast publishing and distribution with AI content tools, analytics, and monetization options. Its free plan has limits on shows and monthly AI extraction, while paid plans start at $7/mo.

Firstory suits podcast creators who want hosting, distribution, promotion, and analytics in one service. It may also suit creators publishing both audio and video or collecting memberships and donations.

Firstory is podcast hosting for creators who want publishing, promotion, audience data and ways to earn from listeners in one service. It best suits shows using both audio and video or building memberships alongside broad distribution. Its main trade-off is that the free tier and lower-cost plans restrict show counts and AI use, while some directory submissions require manual work.

Overview

Firstory combines hosting with tools for reaching listeners and turning episodes into audience-facing material. One upload can go to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, KKBOX and more than 10 platforms, and creators can publish audio and video together. That breadth is useful for a show managing multiple formats, though distribution is not uniformly automatic.

Firstory reports more than 200 million monthly impressions and 14,000-plus total shows. It says a first episode can go live in five minutes; creators should still account for manual directory setup where required.

Key features

Distribution is one-click for Spotify, KKBOX and Pocket Casts. Apple Podcasts, Breaker, Player FM, Stitcher, Podcast Addict, Radio Public and SoundOn require manual distribution, adding setup work for shows targeting those outlets. Firstory also supports RSS feeds and lists Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, KKBOX, Amazon Music and Pocket Casts among its destinations. Creators with Apple Podcast subscriptions can manage subscriber-exclusive content through Firstory Studio using an Apple Podcast Connect API key.

AI Studio can generate transcripts, summaries, highlights, newsletter drafts, questions and answers, keywords and topic tags after upload. This helps creators repurpose an episode, but the monthly extraction allowance is tight on entry plans: one episode on Free and three on Lite. Analytics cover plays, audience profiles and episode performance, combining Apple and other RSS data with official Spotify data. Daily Spotify charts and Spotify listener and follower metrics require Pro or higher.

For promotion, FLink brings listening platforms and social profiles together under one link. Firstory can also create a show website without code and supplies an embeddable player. Monetization includes dynamic ads, one-time donations, recurring subscriptions and cross-platform membership payments; creators retain ownership of member data. The comparison page also lists Apple Podcast subscriptions, Discord, Zapier auto-email and corporate bank payout integrations.

The Firstory Studio mobile app, available on Android and iOS, supports analytics, notifications, FLink sharing and customer service. Firstory says all users receive a support reply within two business days, and paid users within one business day. It processes personal data in Taiwan or other locations used by its owned or outsourced data centers, and does not guarantee complete security.

Pricing

Firstory is freemium, with a 14-day free trial on paid plans and annual billing that saves 22%. The free tier includes one show, unlimited episodes, early access to video upload, analytics, reports, an episode-level universal link and one AI content extraction episode per month. It is a useful starting point, but the show and AI caps leave little room for a growing catalog or frequent repurposing. Firstory says the free plan includes 5,000 monthly downloads.

All plans include unlimited episodes, but AI extraction and show counts scale by tier; even Enterprise caps AI extraction at 25 episodes monthly. Firstory says creators must upgrade after exceeding a plan limit for two consecutive billing cycles. The trial offers a chance to assess a paid tier before committing, while annual billing lowers the overall cost if the plan is a long-term fit.

Platforms

Firstory is available on the web, Android and iOS. Its mobile Studio app provides analytics, notifications, FLink sharing and customer service; the publishing and distribution service reaches podcast listening platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and KKBOX.

Who it's for

Firstory fits independent creators who want hosting, video and audio publishing, promotional links, analytics and monetization in one workflow. It is especially relevant to shows planning memberships or donations, or to creators who can use AI-generated episode materials within the plan quotas. It is less suitable for a show that needs extensive AI extraction at low cost, relies on Spotify-specific listener metrics without buying Pro, or wants every directory submission to happen with one click.

Pros and cons

• Pros: One upload can reach more than 10 platforms, and audio and video can go out together.
• Pros: FLink, an automatic show website and an embeddable player cover several promotion needs; membership payments, donations and dynamic ads add earning options.
• Pros: Analytics combine RSS and official Spotify data, while the mobile app supports audience monitoring and FLink sharing.
• Cons: Free permits only one show and one AI extraction episode monthly; Lite still limits AI extraction to three episodes.
• Cons: Apple Podcasts and several other directories require manual distribution, unlike the one-click destinations.
• Cons: Daily Spotify charts and listener and follower metrics are reserved for Pro and above.

Alternatives

For other ways to monetize a podcast audience, browse Podcast Monetization Platforms.

• Acast is worth considering when ad and sponsorship support is the priority: its Essential plan includes ads and sponsorships with multiple shows and unlimited episodes for $14.99 a month billed yearly.
• Disctopia is another freemium option with a free plan and trial; compare its plans if its indie-catalog and creator focus suits your needs.
• Patreon may suit creators focused on paid fans and video hosting; its Standard plan offers up to 100 hours of monthly video hosting for creators with paying fans.
• Podbean is an option if a defined free hosting allowance is a better fit: its Basic Free Plan includes five hours of storage, 100GB monthly bandwidth and 20 episodes in the RSS feed.
• Apple Podcasts is relevant for creators focused on Apple’s listening and subscription ecosystem; free shows are available, and creators set subscription prices.
• Podimo is a freemium alternative with a free trial and paid listening plans priced in euros.
• Spreaker offers a free plan with one podcast, unlimited episodes, six months of statistics and a Supporters Club with a 20% fee.
• Onion Podcasts provides free hosting with no monthly fee; unusually large archives may eventually require a paid plan.

Verdict

Choose Firstory if you want a single podcast service for multi-platform distribution, audio and video, audience promotion and membership monetization. Its strongest case is the combination of publishing and audience tools, particularly for creators building more than a podcast feed. Look elsewhere if generous AI capacity at a low tier or one-click delivery to every target directory matters more than that all-in-one approach.