Compare July 31, 2026 5 min read

Written by Frederick · Founder, RadioSiteMaker

comparison alternatives caster-fm streaming

Caster.fm Alternatives in 2026: When Free Stream Hosting Isn't Enough

Disclosure: RadioSiteMaker and RadioHost Studio are our own products. Method: prices checked on each vendor's own page on 5 November 2026; we list where competitors are the better fit.

Caster.fm answers the first question every new broadcaster asks — "can I start for free?" — with a yes. Its free plan (Yes^[1]) gives you 400 listeners^[2] slots and a built-in station page, paid for by ads on that page. What it does not include is AutoDJ, so a free Caster.fm station is live-only: when nobody is broadcasting, nothing plays.

That is usually the moment people start looking. The question is which ceiling you have hit.

What Are You Replacing?

Nothing plays when you're offline — you need automation (AutoDJ, schedules), either on Caster.fm's paid plans or elsewhere.
The ad-supported station page — you need a website you control. That can sit on top of any stream, including Caster.fm's.
Sound quality — Caster.fm prices its Pro plans by bitrate, so higher quality costs noticeably more.
Support and reliability — a station with sponsors needs uptime someone answers for.

Caster.fm's Own Upgrade Path

Before leaving, price Caster.fm's paid plans; they are the least disruptive move.

Plan	Monthly price	Notes
Free	$0	400 listeners slots; ad-supported page; no AutoDJ
Cloud Plus	$34^[3]	Entry paid plan
Pro Medium	$80^[4] at the lowest bitrate; $340^[5] at 320 kbps	2 GB^[6] AutoDJ storage; bitrate 96-320 (selectable; price rises with bitrate)^[7]
Pro Large	from $120^[8]	Price also rises with bitrate
Pro Extra	from $280^[9]	Price also rises with bitrate

The Pro price you see depends on the maximum bitrate you pick, which is why the same plan costs more than four times as much at 320 kbps as at the lowest setting (our calculation from the two prices above).

Quick Comparison

Platform	Entry price	Model	Licensing included?
Caster.fm	Free	Free/paid stream hosting	No
Zeno.FM	$60^[10]/mo (Prime)	Streaming + directory	No
AzuraCast	Free software + your server	Self-hosted suite	No
RadioKing	$19 / 14€ / £14^[11]/mo	Cloud radio platform	No
Radio.co	$35^[12]/mo	Cloud radio platform	No
Live365	$65^[13]/mo with ads	Streaming + licensing	US, Canada, Mexico^[14]

Alternative 1: Zeno.FM

Zeno.FM used to be the obvious free-to-free move, but its free plan has gone: Discontinued January 2025^[15]. Prime is $60 a month with Unlimited^[16] listeners, 1,000,000 listening hours^[17], 50 GB^[18] of automation storage and 192 kbps^[19]. Prime includes a choice of Monetization or Ad-Free Streaming (choice included); ad-free Zeno.FM microsite^[20].

Best for: stations that want directory exposure and large allowances on a single paid plan.

Alternative 2: AzuraCast — free software, but you drive

Price: free, open-source software; you pay for a Linux server.

Your own streaming server, web-based AutoDJ, schedules and listener analytics, with no plan limits or branding. The cost is skill: Docker, a Linux server, and owning your own uptime.

Best for: broadcasters who have learned enough on Caster.fm to want the keys. Our broadcasting software guide covers how it fits with playout tools.

Alternative 3: RadioKing

Price: from $19 / 14€ / £14 (Discover: 50 listeners^[21], 150 hours/month^[22]). Start is $34 / 29€ / £29^[23] with 20,000 hours/month^[24].

A paid step up with cloud playout, automation and scheduling. See our RadioKing alternatives comparison.

Best for: stations ready to pay a modest monthly fee for automation and support.

Alternative 4: Radio.co

Price: $35 a month on Lite (500 listeners^[25], 2 GB^[26]) up to $199^[27] on Premium.

The most polished interface in cloud radio, with large allowances from Standard up. Details in our Radio.co alternatives guide.

Best for: funded or revenue-generating stations where the team lives in the playout system.

Alternative 5: Live365 — when licensing is the real upgrade

Price: $65 a month with ads or $89^[28] with Ad Control (Broadcast 1, 1,500 hours/month^[29]), effective 2026-09-01 (applies at first renewal on or after that date)^[30].

Live365 bundles music licensing for listeners in US, Canada, Mexico, with a UK add-on from $17.99^[31]. For a music station going legal in those territories, that bundle replaces a set of licences you would otherwise buy yourself. Full picture in our Live365 alternatives guide.

Alternative 6: RadioHost Studio (our product)

If the missing piece is automation, RadioHost Studio is AutoDJ, clockwheels, a week schedule, voice tracking and live shows from the browser, with the stream included: $199 a year + tax or $25 a month, 500 concurrent listeners, 30,000 listening hours a month, 10 GB storage, up to 192 kbps. It does not include music licensing. It is a separate subscription from our website product.

When Staying on Caster.fm Is the Better Choice

You only broadcast live. If every hour on air has a presenter, the free plan's lack of AutoDJ does not matter.
You are testing a format. Free is the right price until you know the station will last.
Your format sounds fine at a low bitrate. Caster.fm's Pro plans are cheapest at the lowest bitrate, which suits talk formats.

You can also keep the Caster.fm stream and replace only the station page: RadioSiteMaker reads Caster.fm now-playing data and puts it in a persistent player on your own domain, for $99 a year + tax. Check the stream first with the radio stream tester; other hosts are on the integrations page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Caster.fm still free in 2026?

Yes. The free plan (Yes) has 400 listeners slots and a built-in station page supported by ads, but no AutoDJ.

What's the best free alternative to Caster.fm?

Self-hosted AzuraCast is the free option, if you supply a server and the skills. Zeno.FM no longer has a free plan (Discontinued January 2025).

How much does Caster.fm Pro cost?

It depends on bitrate. Pro Medium is $80 a month at the lowest bitrate and $340 at 320 kbps; Pro Large and Pro Extra start at $120 and $280.

Does any Caster.fm alternative handle music licensing?

Live365 bundles licensing for listeners in US, Canada, Mexico. Zeno.FM, AzuraCast, RadioKing, Radio.co and RadioHost Studio leave licensing to you, as Caster.fm does.

Can I keep my website when I switch stream hosts?

If your website is independent of the host, yes: switching is a stream-URL change. That is the strongest argument for not building your web presence inside a streaming platform.

Sources and verification

Competitor prices and limits change often. Each figure above was checked on the date shown against the vendor's own page. Prices exclude tax unless stated.

Caster.fm · Free: Free plan available — Yes. Source, checked 2026-11-05. 400 listener slots, up to 96 Kbps (MP3 and Opus), Icecast 2.5, built-in radio website; no AutoDJ on Free.
Caster.fm · Free: Free plan listener slots — 400 listeners. Source, checked 2026-11-05
Caster.fm · Cloud Plus: Cloud Plus monthly price — $34 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05
Caster.fm · Medium: Pro Medium monthly price (at 96 kbps) — $80 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05. Price depends on selected max bitrate (inline packagesPricing JS): m: 96->80, 128->150, 192->220, 256->280, 320->340 USD/month. $80 is the 96 kbps price.
Caster.fm · Medium: Pro Medium monthly price at 320 kbps — $340 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05. Read from the page's inline JS that updates the displayed price when bitrate is selected.
Caster.fm · Medium: Pro Medium AutoDJ storage — 2 GB. Source, checked 2026-11-05. Unlimited listener slots, bandwidth and data transfer; no HLS streams on Medium.
Caster.fm · Medium: Pro Medium selectable max bitrate — 96-320 (selectable; price rises with bitrate). Source, checked 2026-11-05
Caster.fm · Large: Pro Large monthly price (at 96 kbps) — $120 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05. l: 96->120, 128->250, 192->320, 256->380, 320->440. 5 GB storage, 2 mount points, 2 HLS.
Caster.fm · Extra: Pro Extra monthly price (at 96 kbps) — $280 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05. xl: 96->280, 128->350, 192->450, 256->490, 320->550. 10 GB storage, 4 mount points, 4 HLS. 50% non-profit/religious discount on Pro.
Zeno.FM · Prime: Prime monthly price (monthly billing, regular) — $60 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05. From the page's Nuxt payload (/pricing/_payload.json): Prime monthly-billing price 60.00. Yearly billing: 50.00/mo = $600/yr regular. Page on 2026-11-05 still displayed a 'Spooky Sale 40%' yearly price of $30.00/month ($360/yr) although the banner says 'until November 1'. 'Prices may vary by country' (localized).
RadioKing · Discover: Discover monthly price — $19 / 14€ / £14 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05
Radio.co · Lite: Lite plan monthly price — $35 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05. Page also offers GBP 31 / EUR 35 (from embedded pricingData).
Live365 · Broadcast 1: Broadcast 1 monthly (With Ads) — $65 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05. Also shown on https://live365.com/broadcaster/pricing ('Broadcast 1 $ 65 / mo'). Effective at first renewal on/after September 1 (2026).
Live365 · All Broadcast: Licensing territories included — US, Canada, Mexico. Source, checked 2026-11-05. US via ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, GMR, SoundExchange, AllTrack, Word Collections; Canada via SOCAN and Re:Sound; Mexico via EMMAC/SACM and SOMEXFON. Coverage depends on real-time metadata.
Zeno.FM · Free: Free broadcasting plan — Discontinued January 2025. Source, checked 2026-11-05
Zeno.FM · Prime: Prime concurrent listeners — Unlimited. Source, checked 2026-11-05
Zeno.FM · Prime: Prime total listening hours — 1,000,000 listening hours. Source, checked 2026-11-05. Zeno.FM does not state the period for this allowance.
Zeno.FM · Prime: Prime automation storage — 50 GB. Source, checked 2026-11-05
Zeno.FM · Prime: Prime max bitrate — 192 kbps. Source, checked 2026-11-05
Zeno.FM · Prime: Prime ad-free option — Monetization or Ad-Free Streaming (choice included); ad-free Zeno.FM microsite. Source, checked 2026-11-05. No separate 'Prime ad-free' price; one Prime price covers 3 stations. Starter regular $35/mo (400,000 TLH, 128 kbps); Premier $280/mo (2,500,000 TLH, 320 kbps, 100GB). Mobile app add-on $59/mo + $500 development fee.
RadioKing · Discover: Discover simultaneous listeners — 50 listeners. Source, checked 2026-11-05
RadioKing · Discover: Discover listening hours — 150 hours/month (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05
RadioKing · Start: Start monthly price — $34 / 29€ / £29 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05
RadioKing · Start: Start listening hours — 20,000 hours/month (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05
Radio.co · Lite: Lite concurrent listeners — 500 listeners. Source, checked 2026-11-05
Radio.co · Lite: Lite storage — 2 GB. Source, checked 2026-11-05
Radio.co · Premium: Premium plan monthly price — $199 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05
Live365 · Broadcast 1: Broadcast 1 monthly (Ad Control, formerly 'No Ads') — $89 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05. Ad Control yearly $890. Ad Control packages are ad-free by default with a Dashboard Ad Toggle.
Live365 · Broadcast 1: Broadcast 1 total listening hours — 1,500 hours/month (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05
Live365 · All: 2026 pricing effective date — 2026-09-01 (applies at first renewal on or after that date). Source, checked 2026-11-05. Article 'Modified on: Fri, Jul 31, 2026'. Annual subscribers who switched before Aug 31 keep legacy price for their 12-month term.
Live365 · Lite / Starter / Scale / Pro: Optional UK licensing add-on (PPL & PRS) price from — $17.99 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05. Tiers: Lite $17.99 (150 UK TLH), Starter $29.99 (500), Scale $169.99 (1,800), Pro $329.99 (5,000). 'Legal coverage via our local PPL and PRS for Music agreements.' Article modified May 5, 2026.

Written by

Frederick

Founder, RadioSiteMaker

Founder of RadioSiteMaker. Passionate about making professional radio station websites accessible to every broadcaster. Builds and runs the RadioSiteMaker website platform and RadioHost Studio, the browser-based 24/7 automation suite, and writes these guides from that day-to-day work with independent stations.

Frederick → LinkedIn

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