Migrate from SSP/Castos to Benecaster
Castos Caps Subscribers and Transcriptions. Benecaster Doesn’t.
Castos is built on Seriously Simple Podcasting (SSP) — a free WordPress plugin — with Castos as a paid hosting and private-subscriber layer on top. The model works at small scale, but the pricing caps both private subscriber count and monthly transcription volume, and either cap can force you up a tier. At 110 subscribers or 12 episodes a month, you’re on Castos Growth ($490/year) regardless of the other dimension.
Benecaster runs on your WordPress site with no subscriber cap at Growth and above and no transcript limits. If you’re already on WordPress, switching is closer to a plugin swap than a platform migration.
Full Benecaster vs. Castos comparison →
Moving Your Audio
Castos offers audio hosting as part of its platform. If you’re leaving Castos entirely, move your audio files to a host you control (Buzzsprout, Libsyn, Transistor, Captivate, or similar) and update your episode audio URLs before closing your Castos account. Castos-hosted audio URLs stop resolving once the account closes.
If you’re keeping Castos for audio hosting but switching to Benecaster for private subscriber feeds, no audio change is needed — Benecaster’s RSS feed points at your existing Castos-hosted episode URLs.
How to Migrate from SSP/Castos
Step 1: Export your subscriber list
Export your subscriber list from your Castos dashboard. This gives you a CSV with your subscriber emails, names, and tier assignments.
Step 2: Get Benecaster set up
Install Benecaster on your WordPress site (SSP is likely already installed — Benecaster is a separate plugin that handles private feeds and subscriber management). Connect Benecaster to your subscription plugin and configure your subscription tiers to match your Castos tiers.
Step 3: Run the Migration Wizard
Upload your Castos CSV to the Migration Wizard. The wizard’s visual field mapper lets you assign your CSV columns — email, tier, name — to the corresponding Benecaster fields. Confirm the mapping and the import runs: user accounts created, private RSS feeds generated.
Step 4: Set your grace period and send the email sequence
Choose 30, 60, or 90 days. Every imported subscriber retains full feed access throughout — no gap in service while they complete payment setup on your site. The email sequence goes out automatically: welcome email with their new feed URL on day 0, a mid-period reminder, and a final notice before the deadline.
Step 5: Track completion and close Castos
The Migration Dashboard shows your full funnel in real time. Run both platforms during your grace period — your subscribers receive their new Benecaster feed URL in the migration welcome email, and as they switch, you can watch completion rates in the dashboard. Close your Castos account when migration completion has plateaued.
For detailed export and field-mapping instructions: Migrating from Castos →
If you’re moving a large audience: The Migration + Setup Service handles SSP/Castos migrations hands-on — the technical steps are managed for you.
Start free — up to 10 paying subscribers at no cost →
Migration + Setup Service — handled for you →