Server Requirements

Benecaster is a WordPress plugin. It runs on any WordPress hosting that meets the version minimums, and this page covers the part that is not a version number: how much hosting a show your size actually needs.

Minimum Requirements

Version minimums — PHP, WordPress, MySQL and MariaDB — live on one page: System Requirements. They are enforced, not advisory, and Benecaster refuses to activate below them. That page also explains what the refusal looks like and where to read your own database version.

Hosting Type

Feed requests are the primary source of traffic Benecaster generates. Each subscriber’s podcast app polls their private RSS URL periodically. Benecaster caches feed content by tier — 1,000 subscribers across 4 tiers produces 4 cached documents rather than 1,000 separate requests to generate. With a warm cache, a feed request is lighter than a standard WordPress page load.

Object Caching — Redis, Memcached, or LiteSpeed Cache

Object caching is the single most impactful hosting feature for large subscriber counts.

Without object caching, Benecaster stores cached feeds in the WordPress database and reads them from there on every request. This works well at small scale but adds a database query to every feed poll as subscriber counts grow.

With Redis or Memcached (or LiteSpeed Cache on LiteSpeed servers), the feed cache is held in memory. Cache hits become memory reads with no database involvement — effectively zero cost per feed request.

When to add object caching:

• 500+ active subscribers — object caching is strongly recommended. Without it, feed poll volume will noticeably increase database query load, particularly during peak listening hours.
• 1,000+ active subscribers — object caching should be considered a requirement. The load from concurrent feed polls without a memory cache will degrade site performance for all visitors, not just podcast subscribers.

Supported options:

Benecaster uses the standard WordPress wp_cache_* API. Any object cache that hooks into that API works automatically — no Benecaster configuration required.

Download Proxy

If you enable Benecaster’s optional download proxy (for per-download analytics), every audio download generates an additional WordPress request before redirecting to the audio file URL. This multiplies request volume. For shows with large active audiences and frequent episode releases, enable the download proxy only on hosting with PHP-FPM, OPcache, and Redis/Memcached.

Outbound Connectivity

Benecaster validates your license once daily by contacting the Benecaster license server. Your server must be able to make outbound HTTPS requests to benecaster.com. If your hosting or server firewall blocks outbound traffic, license validation will fail silently — the plugin will continue operating normally for up to 30 days before treating the license as inactive.

If you manage your own server firewall, ensure outbound traffic on port 443 to benecaster.com is permitted. Shared and managed WordPress hosts allow this by default.

Membership Plugin Requirements

Benecaster requires one of the following subscription plugins to manage subscriber access:

• MemberPress (any current version)
• WooCommerce Subscriptions (any current version)
• Paid Memberships Pro 2.0 or higher
• Restrict Content Pro 3.0 or higher

Benecaster’s built-in membership (no external plugin required) is also supported as an alternative to a third-party subscription plugin.