Supporting Cast

Supporting Cast provides a platform for selling and delivering podcast subscriptions, audiobooks, newsletters, and other members-only benefits. Subscribers can hear premium podcasts in existing apps such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify without installing another app or copying a private RSS feed. Creators can configure single-show or multi-show memberships with monthly or annual billing, multiple tiers, pay-what-you-want pricing, and one-time payments. Exclusive video can be delivered through Spotify, a Supporting Cast subscription site, an embedded website player, or private RSS; creators can also publish free or paid newsletters and blogs. Integrations include Stripe, Mailchimp, Spotify, WordPress, Zapier, and WooCommerce. Reporting covers subscription growth, revenue, and engagement, with individual download information, CSV exports, and data-pipeline queries. Sharing thresholds can flag members for manual review or automatically disable premium-feed access. The platform supports Android, iOS, web, and API access, plus private podcasts, video podcasts, RSS, selected directory distribution, and advanced analytics. Pricing for podcast subscriptions is available on request.

Supporting Cast covers paid memberships across podcasts, video, and written content, with reporting and access controls for creators. The subscription product has no stated price, while the internal podcast Starter plan is listed at $99 a month.

Supporting Cast may suit creators selling member-only audio, video, newsletters, or blogs, including those who want subscribers to use existing podcast apps. Its internal podcast offering is presented for organizations communicating with hybrid, remote, and deskless employees.

Overview

Supporting Cast is a subscription platform for podcast publishers and organizations that want to deliver private audio to employees. It is best suited to creators combining paid audio with other member benefits, or teams distributing internal podcasts. Familiar listening apps and flexible membership options are compelling; creators should weigh those against custom pricing.

Key features

Memberships and content delivery

Publishers can sell access to a single show or a multi-show bundle, with monthly or annual billing, multiple tiers, pay-what-you-want pricing, or one-time payments. That range can accommodate different catalogs and audiences, though it puts the onus on publishers to choose and manage a clear offer. Subscribers can access premium podcasts in Apple Podcasts and Spotify without installing another app or copying a private RSS feed, reducing friction for members.

Memberships can extend beyond audio: creators can publish free or paid newsletters and blogs, and deliver exclusive video through Spotify, a Supporting Cast subscription site, an embedded player, or private RSS. Integrations include Stripe, Mailchimp, Spotify, WordPress, Zapier, and WooCommerce. Free trials, promo codes, discounts, localized currencies, custom transactional emails, bulk user management, single sign-on, and two-factor authentication add useful tools for running a subscription business.

Controls and reporting

Sharing thresholds can flag members for manual review or automatically disable premium-feed access, giving publishers a choice between oversight and automated enforcement. Reporting covers subscription growth, revenue, and engagement; publishers can also inspect individual members’ downloads, export CSV data, or query it through a data pipeline. That combination suits teams that need to monitor both overall performance and individual activity.

Security measures include encryption in transit and at rest, logged administrator changes, required staff MFA, role-based access controls, and a web application firewall. The company is SOC 2 Certified. These safeguards are relevant to organizations handling member or employee data, but do not by themselves determine whether the platform meets a buyer’s specific requirements.

Pricing

Podcast subscriptions use custom pricing, with a demo request rather than a published rate. A free trial is offered, and clients can have Supporting Cast handle customer support if they prefer. The missing subscription price makes it harder for independent publishers to forecast costs before discussing their audience and needs.

Internal podcast plans have distinct audiences and terms:

• Internal Podcast Starter: $99 a month, billed $99/month. It supports up to 500 listeners, with unlimited podcasts and episodes, plus email support and documentation. The listener cap makes this the clearer fit for smaller organizations; teams expecting a larger audience need another plan.
• Internal Podcast Enterprise: custom pricing, with unlimited listeners, SSO, live support, an SLA, and privacy and security reviews. It is aimed at organizations that need scale and enterprise support, but buyers must request pricing to compare its cost.

Enterprise clients are offered a six-month trial to establish a listener-engagement baseline and assess seat needs. That is a substantial evaluation window for an internal rollout, while the Starter plan’s published terms provide a more direct starting point for smaller teams.

Platforms

Supporting Cast supports Android, iOS, web, and API access. It offers RSS feeds and distributes to selected directories, rather than promising broad directory coverage.

Who it's for

Supporting Cast is a strong match for publishers building memberships that span podcasts, video, and written content, particularly when listeners should remain in familiar podcast apps. Its internal podcast offering also targets organizations communicating with hybrid, remote, and deskless employees. It is less suited to buyers who need a public subscription price to make an initial cost comparison.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Members can listen in Apple Podcasts and Spotify without a separate app or manual private-feed setup, lowering access friction.
• Pro: Multiple formats and payment models let publishers assemble a membership around more than one show or type of content.
• Pro: Detailed subscription and member reporting, plus configurable sharing controls, support active management of paid access.
• Con: Podcast-subscription pricing is custom, so publishers cannot readily assess cost against their expected revenue.
• Con: The Internal Podcast Starter plan caps listeners at 500, which rules it out for larger employee audiences.

Alternatives

Consider Podbean if a free entry point matters: it has a free plan with 5 hours of storage, 100GB monthly bandwidth, up to 3 episodes per day, a 100MB single-file limit, and 20 episodes in its RSS feed.

uStudio is another paid enterprise platform, with per-user SaaS fees adjusted for audience size and scope and a personalized proposal. Campfire is a paid option with a base subscription fee plus usage charges based on registered listeners; pricing also varies by app or self-hosted setup.

Hiro.fm may suit a solo creator seeking a stated monthly plan: Solo costs $57 a month and includes one creator account, three podcasts, 5,000 downloads per month, three keyword opt-ins, and 10 automations. Springcast starts with Essential at €9 a month, excluding VAT, for one podcast and one user with unlimited episodes and downloads.

For internal podcasting, Internal Cast offers a free trial with 3,000 tokens and no credit card required, followed by a Startup plan at $30 a month. Podcast.co has a Lite plan at $19 a month, or $190 annually, for one user, 15,000 monthly downloads, and basic podcast pages. CastDesk may be worth considering for team podcasting: its Teams plan is $499 a month when billed annually and includes up to 100 users, transcription, and a 99.9% availability SLA.

Browse Private Podcast Platforms or Podcast Monetization Platforms for more options.

Verdict

Supporting Cast is a good fit for publishers who want paid memberships across audio, video, and written content, and for organizations delivering internal podcasts with enterprise controls. Familiar app access, flexible billing, and detailed reporting are its strongest reasons to choose it. Look elsewhere if a published subscription price is essential to your decision, or if an internal audience exceeds the Starter plan’s 500-listener cap and needs a clearly priced upgrade.