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How to move a podcast to a new host without losing subscribers
Last updated 14 October 2026
Podcasters put off changing host because they fear losing their audience. The fear is reasonable but the mechanics are simple: subscriptions live in the apps, not at the host, and the apps follow a feed address. Keep the episode identities the same and send the apps to the new address, and every subscriber comes along. Here is the order that works, with any pair of hosts.
1. Understand what a subscription is
When someone follows your podcast in Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other app, the app stores the address of your RSS feed and checks it for new episodes. Each episode in the feed carries an identifier (its GUID). Apps use that identifier to know which episodes a listener has already heard. Two things therefore matter in a move: the feed address the apps hold, and the identifiers of the episodes in it.
2. Export nothing yet, read everything first
Find the RSS feed address at your current host and open it in a browser. Note the number of episodes, the cover art and whether any episode lacks an audio file. Your new host will read this same feed to copy the podcast, so what you see is what will arrive.
3. Import at the new host with identifiers kept
A good host imports from the feed address and keeps every episode's identifier exactly as it was. Ask before you commit; a host that assigns new identifiers makes every episode look new to the apps, which marks hundreds of episodes unplayed on every listener's phone. Audio, artwork and chapter files should copy across in the background while the feed keeps serving each episode from its old address until the copy is complete.
4. Keep publishing during the move
A move takes days when directories are involved. The new host should keep reading the old feed and adding any episode you publish there until you say the move is complete, so you never have to freeze your schedule.
5. Load your download history
Most hosts let you export download counts per episode or a show total. Load that at the new host so your all time figure carries on. Keep it labelled as imported: it was counted by the old host under its rules, and sponsors should be quoted the numbers measured at the new host.
6. Redirect the old feed
This is the step that moves the subscribers. At the old host, set a permanent redirect from the old feed address to the new one. Every app that asks for the old address is sent to the new one and updates its stored address. Every established host offers this; if yours hides it behind support, ask support. Keep the old account open for at least a month after the redirect so the apps have time to follow.
7. Change the address in the directories
In Apple Podcasts Connect, change the feed address of your show to the new one. If you submitted directly to Spotify for Creators, Amazon Music or others, change it there as well. Apps that read Apple's directory follow it within days.
8. Mark the move complete
Once the directories show the new address and new episodes appear in the apps, tell the new host the move is complete so it stops reading the old feed. Then close the old account.
What listeners notice
Nothing. Episodes keep arriving in the same subscription, played episodes stay played, and the show keeps its reviews and its place in the charts, because none of those belong to the host.
Doing it on Podmaniac
New show, Move an existing podcast here, paste the feed address, preview, import. Identifiers are kept, files copy in the background, the old feed is checked hourly until you mark the move complete, and the download history loads from Show settings. Step by step in Moving your podcast to Podmaniac. Moving in is included from the Smart plan.
Common questions
Will I lose my reviews and ratings when I change host?
No. Reviews, ratings and chart positions belong to the show's listing in each app, not to the host. They stay as long as the directory listing keeps pointing at your show.
How long does moving a podcast take?
Importing takes minutes. Copying the files takes hours for a large back catalogue. The apps follow the redirect over a few days, Apple sometimes longer. Keep the old account open for a month to be safe.
What if my old host does not offer a feed redirect?
Change the feed address directly in Apple Podcasts Connect and at Spotify for Creators; apps that read Apple's directory follow it. Listeners who subscribed by pasting the raw feed address would need the new address, which is why the redirect matters.
Do I need to tell my listeners?
Not for the subscription itself. It is worth announcing if your website address changes with the move.