Castopod

Castopod is an open-source, self-hosted podcast hosting platform developed by Ad Aures for podcasters seeking data sovereignty and direct audience engagement. Users deploy the software on their own servers or cloud infrastructure, retaining full ownership of their content, audience data, and analytics rather than relying on a third-party commercial host. The platform is built on the CodeIgniter4 PHP framework and licensed under AGPL v3.

Castopod provides RSS-based distribution to major platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Deezer, alongside built-in analytics that follow IABv2 guidelines and comply with GDPR, CCPA, and LGPD regulations. It integrates with the Fediverse, enabling episodes to be shared, liked, and commented on within a decentralized social network. The platform supports Podcasting 2.0 features such as transcripts, chapters, location tags, person tags, and funding links.

Additional tools include video clip and soundbite generation for social media promotion, an embeddable player, and multi-tenant, multi-user support for managing multiple podcasts and contributors. Monetization options include premium subscriptions, micropayments, value4value/WebMonetization, and listen-to-click ads. Castopod serves independent podcasters, media organizations, and developers who want an alternative to centralized, proprietary podcast hosting services.