Podcasts have grown to become a key medium of storytelling, says an article on Forbes. And, creating this content type has been eased with the availability of WordPress plugins. Here are my top 20 podcast plugins.

PowerPress by Blubrry

Powerpress offers both simple and advanced modes. In the simple mode, you’ll find only the basic settings, using which you can begin creating the first episode. More experienced people can use the robust options of PowerPress by switching to the advanced mode.

Podlove Podcast Publisher

A powerful and flexible plugin, Podlove Podcast Publisher helps manage multiple feeds on a single WordPress site. The plugin is suitable for advanced audio and video files. It also includes subscribe buttons for Instacast, iTunes and Downcast.

Smart Podcast Player

With a thoughtfully-designed HTML player, this plugin has easily accessible share, download and subscribe buttons. It also has light and dark color themes to choose from. Smart Podcast Player is a fully responsive plugin that allows you to add multiple speeds with the speed control feature.

Speaker Shortcode

This platform lets you create your own podcasts and listen to the trendiest podcasts in the world. Using Speaker Shortcode, you can easily embed a podcast recorded in your speaker onto your WordPress site. You can take advantage of a variety of configurations via shortcode parameters.

Amazon Polly

If you have text content and you want to convert it into speech, Amazon Polly can come to your rescue. This free WordPress plugin helps you use text-based content to generate audio files that can be directly published on your website.

Seriously Simple Podcasting

Written by Castos, Seriously Simple Podcast is easy to use, operate understand plugin that boasts a streamlined interface. The configuration process is short, so setup is quick. This simple plugin is ideal for beginners. It lets you run multiple podcasts (with unique RSS feed) from the same WordPress site.

Sermon Manager

Pastors today spread their sermons far and wide via podcasts. Using Sermon Manager, you can manage church sermons by adding them on your WordPress site. You can add MP3 sermons to iTunes directories, so that sermons are made available to the listeners of the podcast.

BuzzSprout

BuzzSprout is a sophisticated plugin cum service that allows you to create, host and promote podcasts. This premium solution boasts a simple and user-friendly interface that makes podcast creation blissful. Once uploaded, the audio files are optimized automatically following the best practices in the industry.

Simple Podcast Press

As the name suggests, Simple Podcast Press is an uncomplicated and smooth plugin. It allows you to add and promote podcasts from SoundCloud, Libsyn, Buzzsprout and any other podcasting platform via your WordPress site. You can add iTunes URLs to showcase different episodes of the podcasts on a unique page.

Compact WP Audio Player

A free plugin, Compant WP Audio Player is meant for OGG and MP3 files. To start, upload the audio files in an upload location and then embed them in WordPress, using a shortcode from Compact WP Audio player.

iTunes Podcast Review Manager

Do you already have popular podcasts on iTunes? iTunes Podcast Review Manager can help you grow your audience, allowing the podcasts to reach the masses. Using this service, you can add international reviews from iTunes. Such reviews on your WordPress site act as testimonials of your hard work.

Libsyn Podcasting

Libsyn Podcasting is meant for people who want to host their podcast outside of WordPress (external cloud hosting). The key features include HTML5 compatible media player, custom mobile apps for iOS, Android and Windows devices, and study statistics.

Featured Podcast Widget

Featured Podcast Widget is a versatile, easy to use, compatible and fully functional plugin. It lets you show a featured podcast upon integration with the PowerPress plugin. Featured Podcast Widget is suitable for both small and big podcasts. It lets you include a partial or full episode or an image in the featured episode.

WordPress Podcast Player Plugin by Cincopa

Cincopa offers a suite of products suitable for all multimedia solutions, for embedding music, videos and podcasts. Cincopa’s WordPress Podcast Player Plugin boasts an amazing podcast template, with boxed design and pop-up audio player.

As Heard On

As Heard On is a widget that offers additional tools for WordPress podcast plugins. It helps you beautify the podcast channel with randomized setting and different imagery related to the episode or podcast channel. You can include random album artwork in a sidebar or on the whole page of the site.

MonsterInsights

MonsterInsights is a Google Analytics plugin, one of the best of its kind. It helps a WordPress user examine behaviors and patterns of visitors. Using this plugin, you can find out where people are discovering your podcasting website. Its link tracking lets you discover the most downloaded episodes.

Anchor

Touted as one of the easiest ways to start a podcast, Anchor is a free plugin/app that lets you create, distribute and host your podcast, recorded in highest quality. You can seamlessly record a podcast using this app with multiple people, hassle-free.

WavePlayer Audio Player

If you are looking for a free premium, WavePlayer Audio Player is great. Other than the audio MP3 files, this plugin allow you to add you own tracks and create playlists.

Default WordPress Audio Format & Playlist Shortcode

WordPress offers a default support for audio files and playlists on every theme. You won’t need any additional plugin or service to host your own podcast. However, the features are pretty basic and are not suitable for those who want to take their podcast channel to mass audiences.

WPforms

WPforms is not a podcaster plugin, but it has to be an integral part of a podcaster’s toolkit. WPforms leverages on user interaction. It allows you to create beautiful contact forms, accept payments, create email subscription forms, and develop survey forms on your WorPress site, all of which can help you take your podcasts to the next level.