PowerPress Review 2026: Is Blubrry's Free Plugin Enough?
The PowerPress Podcast Episode box after verifying our test MP3 on a test install, version 11.17.11, October 2026.
Our verdict: PowerPress is the most complete free podcast plugin for WordPress, and you don’t need Blubrry hosting to use it. On our test install it built a clean podcast feed with every tag Apple Podcasts asks for, plus Podcasting 2.0 tags, and it adds no scripts to pages that have no episode. Two things hold it back. The setup wizard saved our show as explicit when we chose “No”, and the free players are plain. Pick it if you want full control of your feed. Beginners may prefer Seriously Simple Podcasting.
Below: what PowerPress is, a step-by-step account of setting up a show and publishing an episode on our test site, what the feed and player looked like, what Blubrry hosting costs, and how PowerPress compares with its main rivals.
PowerPress Quick Facts
Facts below come from the WordPress.org listing and blubrry.com, checked in October 2026.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Price | Free on WordPress.org; works with any media host |
| Made by | Blubrry, a podcast hosting and statistics company |
| Latest version | 11.17.11 (October 1, 2026) |
| Active installs | 20,000+ on WordPress.org (Blubrry says 100,000 active users) |
| Rating | 4.6 out of 5 from 231 reviews on WordPress.org |
| On WordPress.org since | August 2008 |
| Feed address | /feed/podcast/ on your own domain |
| Free players | MediaElement.js (default) and the plain HTML5 player |
| Optional Blubrry hosting | $7 to $90 a month, based on hours of audio published, or from $100 a month for Pro |
| Optional Blubrry stats | Free basic stats; Standard stats $5 a month; Advanced stats come with Advanced hosting |
| Best for | Podcasters who run a WordPress site and want to own their feed |
What Is PowerPress?
PowerPress is a free WordPress plugin that turns your site into a podcast publisher. It builds the RSS feed that Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other apps read, adds a player to each episode post, and gives you subscribe tools. Blubrry, a podcast host, has made it since 2008.
The plugin does not store your audio. Your MP3 files can sit in the WordPress Media Library or with any podcast host. Blubrry makes money from its hosting and statistics, but neither is required. Blubrry’s FAQ says it also runs on WordPress.com’s Business plan. WordPress.com now allows plugins on its other paid plans too, as our guide to what WordPress actually costs explains, but not on the free plan.
It also supports Podcasting 2.0, a set of newer feed tags for transcripts, chapters, listener payments and more that some apps can show.
How We Set Up the Test Show
We installed PowerPress 11.17.11 on a fresh WordPress 7.1.2 test site running the Twenty Twenty-Five theme on PHP 8.3, with a few sample posts and pages. For the show we made a 1400 x 1400 px cover image and a 12-second spoken MP3 (99,100 bytes). We then ran the setup wizard, published one episode, and checked the feed, the player and the subscribe page.
This was one session on a local site. We can’t speak to long-term reliability, support quality, or how the plugin behaves under real traffic.
The Setup Wizard: Quick, With Two Traps
Activating PowerPress does not throw you into a wizard. It adds a PowerPress menu with eight items (Settings, Get Started, Live Item, Import Podcast, Migrate Media, Audio Player, Video Player and Tools) and two Blubrry widgets on the dashboard. The Get Started screen offers three paths: Create Podcast, Import RSS Feed, or Skip.
The Create your Podcast step of the PowerPress wizard on our test install, with Explicit Content set to No, October 2026.
Create Podcast is one form: host name and email, show name and description, an Apple Podcasts category, an explicit content choice, and artwork. A handy artwork check confirmed our cover met the 1400 x 1400 px minimum.
Then come two sales screens, Blubrry hosting (“Start Free Trial”) and Blubrry statistics (“Sign up for Stats”). Both have a “No Thanks” link, and skipping them dropped us on the settings page. No account was needed.
Here are the two traps we hit:
- Uploading artwork wipes the form. Choosing a cover image uploads it at once and reloads the page. On our test install, that cleared the name, email, description and category we had already typed. Upload the artwork first, then fill in the rest.
- The explicit setting is saved wrong. We picked “No” for explicit content, but PowerPress saved the show as “Yes - explicit content”. In the form’s code, the artwork Yes/No buttons share the explicit setting’s field name, so answering “Yes, I have artwork” overwrites your explicit answer. Our podcast plugin roundup hit the same bug, and it was still there in version 11.17.11.
Apple Settings right after the wizard: the show is marked explicit and Author Name is empty, October 2026.
The wizard also skipped the Author Name. Our feed’s author and owner name showed the site title, not the host name we typed. A page after the wizard also showed an “Image has an invalid file type” error, even though the cover had passed every check and appeared in the feed.
The fix takes a minute. Go to Settings, then the Feeds tab, then Apple Settings. Set Explicit to “Clean”, type the author name, and pick a Feed Type (episodic or serial). Do this before you submit your feed to Apple or Spotify.
Publishing an Episode
Episodes are normal WordPress posts. PowerPress adds a Podcast Episode box below the block editor. In WordPress 7.1 that box sits in the collapsed “Meta Boxes” panel at the bottom of the screen, so you have to open it.
Without Blubrry hosting there is no upload button in the box. You upload the MP3 to the Media Library, copy its address, paste it into Media URL, and click Verify.
Verify failed at first on our test site with “Invalid media url”. PowerPress checks media addresses with a safety filter that blocks private network addresses, and a local test site uses one. Ticking “Disable server-side request forgery check” under Settings, Advanced fixed it. A normal public site should not need it, since its address is public.
Once verified, PowerPress read the file size (99,100 bytes) and the duration (12 seconds) by itself. The box then opened six tabs:
- Episode Info: episode title, show notes for directories, episode and season numbers, and a Clean/Explicit switch.
- Episode Artwork: a per-episode cover and a video thumbnail.
- Website Display: hide the player or the links on this post, or place the player with the
[powerpress]shortcode. - Advanced: location, copyright, credits for guests and editors, and Value4Value.
- Chapters & Transcript: add a chapters file (there is a built-in Chapter Builder) and a transcript.
- Value Time Splits: send listener payments to a guest or musician for part of an episode.
Only the Media URL is required. The rest is there when your show grows.
The RSS Feed
The podcast feed PowerPress generated on our test install after fixing the explicit setting, October 2026.
The podcast feed lives at /feed/podcast/ on your own domain, so you can switch media hosts later without listeners having to resubscribe. The Feeds tab shows a warning until you publish your first episode, because an empty podcast feed is not valid.
After the Apple Settings fix, our feed was well-formed XML and had what directories check for:
| Feed tag | On our test install |
|---|---|
itunes:author |
Yes, after typing an author name (the site title before that) |
itunes:explicit |
Yes, false after the fix (true straight from the wizard) |
itunes:image |
Yes, the 1400 x 1400 px cover |
itunes:category |
Yes, Leisure with Home & Garden |
itunes:owner and email |
Yes |
itunes:type |
Only after choosing a Feed Type in settings |
enclosure |
Yes, length 99100 and type audio/mpeg |
| Episode and season numbers | Yes, as both itunes and podcast tags |
itunes:duration |
Yes, 12 (seconds) |
podcast:guid, podcast:medium, podcast:podping |
Yes, added by default |
By default, PowerPress “enhances” all feeds, so your main blog feed at /feed/ also carried the episode’s audio file. Blubrry recommends submitting only the podcast feed to directories, and the Feeds tab says the same.
Players and Subscribe Tools
The default PowerPress player (MediaElement.js) on an episode page of our test site, October 2026.
PowerPress put a player under the post content with “Play in new window” and “Download” links. The free choices are MediaElement.js (the default, shown above) and the plain HTML5 player. MediaElement played our file fine but has no speed control or skip buttons. The nicer Blubrry Player, with skip buttons, a speed control and captions, is only for Blubrry hosting customers.
Speed is a plus. On a normal blog post with no episode, PowerPress loaded no scripts or styles at all. On the episode page it added a 3 KB script plus the MediaElement files that ship with WordPress. If site speed matters to you, a light theme from our fastest WordPress themes test will make a bigger difference than the player.
The subscribe page PowerPress created from its template on our test site, October 2026.
One click under Settings, Website, Subscribe Page created a “Subscribe to Podcast” page with the cover, host, description and subscribe buttons. Our theme added it to the menu by itself. The page’s text told visitors to tap a “Subscribe on Apple Podcasts” button that wasn’t there yet. The Apple and Spotify buttons only appear after you paste your show’s listing links into the Destinations tab, which lists 16 destinations, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, email and RSS. Add those links once your show is approved.
Podcasting 2.0, Imports and Multiple Shows
PowerPress has the broadest Podcasting 2.0 support of the free plugins in our roundup: transcripts, chapters, credits, location, funding links, Live Item (for live audio or video streams), and Value4Value listener payments in cryptocurrency through services such as Alby. The Experimental tab notes that PowerPress adds an automatic 3% split to support the plugin’s development when you set up Value4Value. That only applies if you turn the feature on.
The Import Podcast tool lists SoundCloud, Libsyn, PodBean, Squarespace, Anchor, Buzzsprout and “Anywhere else”. It reads your existing feed and creates WordPress posts for the old episodes. If you are moving a whole site rather than a feed, see our guide to moving a WordPress site to a new host.
For several shows on one site, Blubrry describes two options: Podcast Channels (separate feeds you assign posts to) and Category Podcasting (one feed per category). Version 11.16.0 (April 2026) deprecated the older post type and taxonomy podcasting modes, so new setups should use channels or categories.
Blubrry Hosting and Stats Pricing
Blubrry’s public Plans & Pricing page, October 2026.
You don’t need Blubrry to use PowerPress. But if you’d rather not serve audio from your web server, Blubrry is the host the plugin is built around. Its plans are priced by hours of new audio or video you publish each month, not by storage. Prices below are from Blubrry’s public pricing page as of October 2026.
| Plan | Monthly price | Annual price | New media per month | Stats included |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard 1.5 | $7 | Monthly only | 1.5 hours | Standard |
| Standard 3 | $15 | $155/year | 3 hours | Standard |
| Advanced 6 | $25 | $260/year | 6 hours | Advanced |
| Advanced 12 | $50 | $540/year | 12 hours | Advanced |
| Advanced 25 | $90 | $970/year | 25 hours | Advanced |
| Pro Unlimited | From $100 | Monthly only | Unlimited | Advanced |
Blubrry says Standard and Advanced plans include unlimited downloads and a free managed WordPress website. Pro includes 1 TB of bandwidth a month, then charges 1 cent per extra GB. The plan buttons say “Start for Free”, and the wizard’s hosting screen offers a free trial; check the trial terms when you sign up.
Statistics are sold separately if you host elsewhere. Basic stats are free (downloads, top locations, top apps). Standard stats cost $5 a month and add full location and app lists, trends, demographics and exports. Advanced stats, which add listener retention and IAB certification (the measuring standard advertisers trust), come only with Advanced hosting.
For a small show, $7 a month is cheap, but 1.5 hours is about three 30-minute episodes a month. A weekly hour-long show needs Advanced 6 at $25 a month.
Free vs Paid: How Hard PowerPress Pushes Blubrry
Everything we used on the test site was free. The Blubrry prompts are frequent but easy to ignore: a hosting banner on Get Started, the two wizard sales screens, a “PowerPress works best with Blubrry” box beside every settings tab, an “If you host with Blubrry” box in every episode, two Blubrry dashboard widgets, and a Blubrry Player preview you can’t use without hosting. Watch out for the “Let’s Connect” button in the settings sidebar. It opens Blubrry’s sign-in screen.
Security and Updates
PowerPress is updated often. WordPress.org lists 22 releases since version 11.16.0 in late April 2026, many of them security fixes. According to the WPScan vulnerability database, PowerPress has 26 reported vulnerabilities, 15 of them published since January 2025, and every one is listed as fixed in a later version. Most needed a logged-in user with Contributor or Author rights, and one in late 2025 let such a user upload harmful files.
Keep PowerPress updated and be careful who gets Contributor access. Test big updates on a copy of your site first with one of the tools in our WordPress staging plugin roundup, and keep regular backups (our backup plugin picks can help).
PowerPress Pros and Cons
Pros
- Free, and every feed feature works without Blubrry.
- Works with any media host, and the feed lives on your own domain.
- Deep feed controls and broad Podcasting 2.0 support.
- Loads nothing on pages without an episode.
- Import tool, subscribe page, multiple shows and video podcast support built in.
- Very frequent updates.
Cons
- The wizard saved our show as explicit and left the author name blank.
- Busy settings, with eight tabs plus six more in each episode.
- No upload button in the episode box without Blubrry hosting.
- Plain free players; the good one needs Blubrry hosting.
- A long list of past security fixes, so updates matter.
PowerPress vs Seriously Simple Podcasting
Seriously Simple Podcasting (SSP), from the podcast host Castos, is PowerPress’s main free rival. In our podcast plugin roundup, SSP was the best pick for most people. Here is how the two compare, using WordPress.org figures as of October 2026.
| PowerPress | Seriously Simple Podcasting | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Active installs | 20,000+ | 30,000+ |
| Where episodes live | Normal blog posts | Its own Podcasting menu (posts optional) |
| Upload button without paid hosting | No, paste a URL | Yes, Media Library button |
| Best free player | MediaElement.js (basic) | Album art player with speed and skip buttons |
| Setup | One long form plus two sales screens | Five-step wizard, the easiest in our roundup |
| Paired host | Blubrry, from $7/month | Castos, from $19/month |
Choose SSP if you want the easiest start and a nicer free player. Choose PowerPress if your episodes should be regular blog posts, you want every feed option, or you plan to run several shows. Either way, both work with any host.
PowerPress Alternatives
- Podlove Podcast Publisher: free and open source, with chapters, multi-format feeds and privacy-friendly stats, but more manual setup.
- Buzzsprout plus its free plugin: let the host build the feed and just embed episodes on WordPress.
- Libsyn: a long-running host that can post episodes to WordPress from its own dashboard.
Our full podcast plugin comparison covers each of these in detail. And since every episode is a blog post, a good WordPress SEO plugin helps your show notes get found in Google.
Verdict: Is PowerPress Worth It in 2026?
Yes, if you run your podcast from a WordPress site and want full control of the feed. PowerPress is free, works with any host, and built a complete, valid feed on our test install with more Podcasting 2.0 options than the free rivals in our roundup.
Just check Apple Settings right after the wizard, because ours saved the show as explicit. Expect to paste media URLs by hand and to live with a plain player unless you pay for Blubrry hosting. Brand new podcasters will find Seriously Simple Podcasting easier. If you outgrow your web server, Blubrry hosting from $7 a month is the smoothest upgrade.
FAQ
Is PowerPress free?
Yes. PowerPress is free on WordPress.org and works with any media host. Blubrry sells optional hosting from $7 a month and Standard statistics for $5 a month. The Blubrry Player and the episode upload button are only for Blubrry hosting customers.
Do I need Blubrry hosting to use PowerPress?
No. On our test install we used an MP3 from the WordPress Media Library with no Blubrry account. You paste the file’s address into the episode box and click Verify. A dedicated host is safer for a popular show, since every download from your own server uses its bandwidth; if you self-host, pick a solid plan from our managed WordPress hosting roundup.
Where is my PowerPress RSS feed?
At /feed/podcast/ on your site, for example yoursite.com/feed/podcast/. You’ll also find it at the top of Settings, Feeds. Publish at least one episode first; an empty podcast feed is not valid.
Why does PowerPress mark my podcast as explicit?
On our test install, the setup wizard saved the show as explicit even though we chose “No”, because the artwork question overwrites the explicit answer. Go to Settings, Feeds, Apple Settings and set Explicit to “Clean”. Check the Author Name and Feed Type while you are there.
Can PowerPress run more than one podcast?
Yes. Blubrry describes Podcast Channels (separate feeds you assign episodes to) and Category Podcasting (one feed per category). The older post type and taxonomy modes were deprecated in version 11.16.0.
Is PowerPress better than Seriously Simple Podcasting?
PowerPress has deeper feed controls and Podcasting 2.0 support. Seriously Simple Podcasting is easier to set up, has a nicer free player, and was our top pick for most people.