Free - Local & Niche plan

Free - Local & Niche is RSS.com’s free podcast hosting plan created to empower creators who serve specific communities, interests, and audiences.

It gives local storytellers, niche experts, and community voices professional-grade tools to start and grow their podcasts, at no cost.

With Local & Niche, podcasters can publish unlimited episodes, reach listeners across every major app, and build their brand using RSS.com’s powerful publishing and discovery tools.

Why It Exists

Podcasting has grown into a global medium, but local and niche voices often remain underrepresented. The Local & Niche Plan was built to change that.

Its mission is to make podcasting more inclusive by lowering the barrier to entry for local journalists, community storytellers, educators, and special-interest creators who want to connect with audiences through authentic, focused content.

Who It’s For

For example, including, not limited to:

• Local or regional podcasts (news, culture, community stories)
• Niche creators covering specialized topics or hobbies
• Schools, nonprofits, or grassroots organizations
• New podcasters testing ideas before scaling up

Key Features

Everything you need to start and grow your podcast, for free. Please, refer to our feature table to explore the details of the plan.

How to Join

1. Sign up for free.

2. After you publish the second episode or request a subscriber-only feature, select the Select the "Free - Local & Niche" in the RSS.com Pricing page.

3. Provide:

• The location of your podcast’s focus (e.g. Los Angeles, CA)
• (Optional) Your own location
• (Optional) A short summary of your podcast’s purpose and how it serves a local or niche audience

4. Add a credit card on file (required for account verification and to prevent spam and abuse, you won’t be charged)

Once you complete these steps, your podcast is ready to start.

FAQs

Q1. Who can join the Local & Niche plan?

Anyone creating a show that serves a specific community or niche audience, whether that’s local news, cultural stories, sports coverage, or a hobby-based podcast.

Q2. Why is it free?

RSS.com believes that local and niche voices should have access to the same professional tools as large creators. This plan removes financial barriers while supporting community-based content and authentic storytelling.

Q3. What makes it different from other free hosting plans?

Unlike most free tiers that limit audio uploads or restrict features, Local & Niche provides unlimited storage, transcripts, automatic app distribution, and promotion tools with no hidden caps.

Q4. Why do I need to provide a credit card if it’s free?

To prevent spam, fake signups, and abuse of the platform. Your card is used only for verification, RSS.com will never charge you for using the Local & Niche plan.

Q5. Do I have to prove my podcast is local or niche?

No. RSS.com relies on creator honesty and community spirit. The brief description you provide about your show’s purpose helps guide discovery and categorization.

Q6. What are the limits of the plan?

You can host one podcast per account. Analytics are available for the past 90 days, and some advanced monetization, multiple podcasts, and collaboration features are reserved for paid plans.

Q7. Can I upgrade later?

Yes. You can switch to a paid RSS.com plan anytime to unlock extended analytics, more monetization tools, and multi-show support.

Q8. Will my podcast appear on major platforms?

Absolutely. Your show will automatically distribute to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and other major apps with one click.

Q9. What is “Value for Value”?

It’s a model that lets listeners directly support your show, including through Bitcoin or other digital payments, as a way to sustain independent creators.

Q10. What’s the “Location Tag” used for?

It helps listeners find podcasts by place. You can specify where an episode was recorded (Los Angeles, CA) or what it’s about (The Colosseum), improving discoverability for local searches.