Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Captivate VS SoundCloud

Compare Captivate VS SoundCloud and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Captivate logo Captivate

Every tool you need to start, manage & monetize your podcast

SoundCloud logo SoundCloud

Enjoy music & follow favourite artists
  • Captivate Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-18
  • SoundCloud Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-13

SoundCloud

Pricing URL
-
Release Date
2007 January
Startup details
Country
Germany
State
Berlin
City
Berlin
Founder(s)
Alexander Ljung
Employees
250 - 499

Captivate features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Captivate features an intuitive and easy-to-navigate interface, which makes it accessible for both beginners and experienced podcasters. Its design focuses on simplicity, reducing the learning curve for users.
  • Comprehensive Analytics
    The platform provides detailed analytics, helping podcasters understand their audience better. This includes metrics on listener demographics, episode performance, and download trends.
  • Unlimited Podcasts and Episodes
    Captivate allows users to create and manage unlimited podcasts and episodes under one account, providing flexibility for podcasters who produce multiple shows.
  • Built-in Marketing Tools
    The platform includes built-in marketing features such as customizable podcast websites and calls-to-action, aiding podcasters in growing their audience effectively.
  • Generous Hosting Limits
    Captivate offers unlimited storage and bandwidth, allowing podcasters to upload and distribute content without worrying about reaching data caps.

Possible disadvantages of Captivate

  • Subscription Cost
    While Captivate provides numerous features, it comes with a subscription fee that might be higher compared to some other podcast hosting platforms, potentially making it less accessible for hobbyists or smaller creators.
  • Less Established Brand
    Compared to some older and more established podcast hosting platforms, Captivate might not have the same level of brand recognition or a vast user community.
  • Advanced Features Complexity
    Some of the advanced features and tools available on Captivate might be overwhelming for users who are new to podcasting or those who prefer a more straightforward approach.

SoundCloud features and specs

  • User-friendly Interface
    SoundCloud features an intuitive and easy-to-navigate interface that makes it accessible for users of all technological proficiencies.
  • Free Access
    Users can upload, listen to, and share music for free, making it a cost-effective platform for both listeners and creators.
  • Discoverability
    SoundCloud's extensive library and recommendation algorithms make it easy for users to discover new and emerging artists.
  • Community Engagement
    The platform allows for comments and likes on individual tracks, facilitating direct interaction between artists and listeners.
  • Emerging Artists’ Platform
    It offers a great starting point for emerging artists to gain exposure without needing a record deal.
  • Integration with Other Services
    SoundCloud can be easily integrated with social media platforms and other music services, enhancing its usability.

Possible disadvantages of SoundCloud

  • Limited Earnings for Artists
    The monetization options available on SoundCloud are generally less lucrative compared to other platforms like Spotify or Apple Music.
  • Sound Quality
    Some users report that SoundCloud's audio quality is not as high as other streaming services.
  • Limited Offline Access
    While there is an option to download tracks for offline listening, this feature is restricted to SoundCloud Go+ subscribers.
  • Search Function Limitations
    The search function can sometimes be cluttered or not very accurate, making it difficult to find specific tracks or artists.
  • Copyright Issues
    Users sometimes upload copyrighted material without authorization, which can lead to tracks being taken down.
  • Ad-Frequency
    Free users may experience a high frequency of ads, which can disrupt the listening experience.

Analysis of SoundCloud

Overall verdict

  • SoundCloud is generally considered a good platform, especially for music discovery and supporting up-and-coming artists. Its value largely depends on individual preferences: it's excellent for those seeking new and diverse sounds but might not offer the same convenience or catalog size as some mainstream streaming services. For creators, it provides accessible publishing tools and a supportive community.

Why this product is good

  • SoundCloud offers a unique platform for musicians, podcasters, and audio creators to upload and share their work with a global audience. It is particularly well-known for its community-driven approach, allowing emerging artists to connect directly with listeners and gain organic exposure. The platform supports a wide variety of genres and underground music scenes, which are often underrepresented on mainstream platforms. It also provides diverse features like playlists, reposting, and comments to enhance user interaction.

Recommended for

  • Emerging musicians and artists looking to share their work.
  • Listeners interested in discovering new, indie, or underground music.
  • Podcasters and audio creators seeking an accessible platform for distribution.
  • Fans of diverse musical genres not readily available on mainstream platforms.

Captivate videos

Captivate Podcast Hosting Review (2021) | Grow Your Show!

More videos:

  • Review - Adobe Captivate Review
  • Review - Captivate Podcast Hosting Review & Walkthrough (2020)

SoundCloud videos

Spotify vs Soundcloud - An Honest Comparison

More videos:

  • Review - Is Soundcloud Free | How It Works and Is Soundcloud Right For You
  • Review - Is Soundcloud Go Worth It?

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Captivate and SoundCloud)
Podcast Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Music Streaming
0 0%
100% 100
Podcast Hosting
100 100%
0% 0
Music
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Captivate and SoundCloud

Captivate Reviews

23 Best Podcast Hosting Platforms in 2022 (Free and Cheap)A Collection and Review of the Top Platforms to Host Your Podcast
Unfortunately, Captivate doesn’t offer a free plan. However, you can sign up for a 7-day trial to take it for a spin, if you want to try out their impressive features. Paid, yet still relatively cheap podcast hosting plans with Captivate start at $19.00/month, so it’s not the cheapest option on the market today.
Source: www.ryrob.com

SoundCloud Reviews

  1. Maksym Moskalenko
    · Founder at Mixcode.io ·
    The best audio streaming service on the market

    Great for both music producers and music labels. It's robust and very convenient.

  2. FaizaAdeel
    · Owner at Peacock.collection11 ·
    Diverse Music Community

    SoundCloud stands out as a unique platform, fostering a diverse music community and providing a platform for emerging artists. Despite minor drawbacks like ad interruptions and discoverability challenges, it remains a valuable resource for those seeking a wide range of musical content.

    🏁 Competitors: Spotify
    👍 Pros:    Unlimited uploads|Community engagement|Free tier with ads|Versatile content
    👎 Cons:    Ad interruptions in free version|Discoverability challenges|Quality disparities

Spotify Vs. Others 29 Music Apps-which One is The Better?
SoundCloud is a unique platform that allows users to upload, promote, and share their music. It is particularly popular among independent artists and creators, offering a diverse range of genres and tracks that may not be available on mainstream platforms. SoundCloud’s community-driven approach enables users to discover new music through reposts, comments, and interactions.
The Best Spotify Alternatives In Music[Top 10]
SoundCloud is a unique music streaming platform that focuses on independent artists and creators. With a vast library of user-generated content, SoundCloud offers a diverse range of music, podcasts, and audio tracks. Its “Discover” feature uses machine learning to recommend music based on user preferences, while its “Upload” feature allows artists to share their own music...
Best Spotify Alternatives In The World [Top 10] 2024
SoundCloud hosts over 200 million files, including songs and podcasts, making it a hotspot for emerging indie artists. While Spotify offers a curated experience with mainstream artists, SoundCloud fosters a vibrant community for discovering new talent and engaging with user-generated content.
Top 10 Spotify Alternatives (Free/Paid) – 2024
Yes, you can find new music with Spotify alternatives and with options such as SoundCloud. You can check the genre and find new music for your taste.
9 Best Free Music Download Sites in 2022
As a professional tip, we recommend you use Soundcloud and Geekersoft YouTube to MP3 to download music for free. However, the final choice is entirely up to you! If you have any suggestions, please share your feedback with us.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, SoundCloud seems to be a lot more popular than Captivate. While we know about 95 links to SoundCloud, we've tracked only 9 mentions of Captivate. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Captivate mentions (9)

  • podcast host that aren't Spotify
    I only recently started a podcast but I did considerable research on hosting. Even though I am in the U.S., I found that the service with the best combination of features is captivate.fm out of the U.K. So far I have been quite pleased. They are geared toward growing your podcast but have been very helpful even with the initial launch. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Best Distribution Service
    I've been vocal about issues I've had with the platform over the past few months, but Captivate has gone over and above improving their service and feature set over the past few weeks and have blown me away with honestly fulfilling nearly every feature request I've made since I first started the service. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Adjusting Loudness for podcast - RX9/Reaper
    I actually had this question - when uploading to a host (say, captivate.fm), what format should you use? Source: over 2 years ago
  • Tips on releasing my narrative podcast?
    Amazing work getting your whole first season completed and edited! I'm pretty new to audio drama so others probably have better advice, but I've used two platforms before - I moved from podbean to captivate.fm because podbean had a really frustrating interface. I've found captivate to be really easy to use, great analytics figures, helpful tools to get started with advertising and they submit to all the usual apps... Source: about 3 years ago
  • Which Podcast Host Has 1 Click Submission?
    I know captivate.fm and anchor.fm/ do have this 1 click submission. Source: over 3 years ago
View more

SoundCloud mentions (95)

  • Stream Miror B's Grav Drive Spool by Third Cow
    Https : // soundcloud . Com / third-octave / miror-bs-grav-drive-spool. Source: over 1 year ago
  • How can I get the soundcloud downloading of a playlist to sleep?
    Yt-dlp --add-header Authorization: "" https://soundcloud.com/. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Bi-Weekly Discussion Thread - Find language partners, ask questions, and get accent feedback - July 12, 2023
    Go to Vocaroo, Soundcloud or Clypit and record your voice. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Recent DNS issues?
    Seems like after the update to 2023.4 I am unable to access certain websites. It may have nothing to do with the latest release. But I cannot access (for example) soundcloud.com or arcboosts.com from any server I try from. Never had this issue before, and not happening on other devices with vpn turned off. Tried with both dns ad blocking on and off within the mullvad ui. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • 403 Error?
    The app works fine, along with w.souncloud.com links which are embeds. All help links work, but the moment you try to go to the normal soundcloud.com, it gives that error. Source: almost 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Captivate and SoundCloud, you can also consider the following products

Podbean - A better way to discover and play all your favorite podcasts anywhere, anytime.

Spotify - Map shows when two people play same song at same time

Simplecast - Say hello to the modern independent podcast management platform.

Deezer - Deezer is a music streaming app created in France. It is available in 180 counties and gets 16 million users a month. 6 million of the users have paid subscriptions. Read more about Deezer.

Libsyn - Podcast Hosting

Last.fm - The world's largest online music service. Listen online, find out more about your favourite artists, and get music recommendations, only at Last.fm