SHOUTcast Hosting Compared: We Know You Want Good Audio Hosting. We Found It.

Compare SHOUTcast Hosting

SHOUTcast is a proprietary software platform that enables you to create your own radio station and broadcast online. You’ll need a web host that can provide bandwidth sufficient to livestream internet radio.

Shared hosting won’t be adequate. Instead, look for VPS or quality cloud hosting plans with fast servers and SSDs (solid-state drives). Consider your audience size, too. The best SHOUTcast hosting plans can scale as your station grows.

Here’s a quick snapshot of the best five hosts for SHOUTcast hosting:

1. Bluehost – Lots of media streaming features and great support
2. A2 Hosting
3. Liquid Web
4. InterServer
5. WebFaction

How Did We Pick the Best Hosts for SHOUTcast?

Of the 1,500 hosting plans we’ve reviewed, we shortlisted the ones that provide sufficient bandwidth for streaming, high uptime, and solid network support.

To determine the top SHOUTcast hosting services, we checked this list against our database of genuine reviews from real SHOUTcast customers.

SHOUTcast Hosting

What You’ll Learn

Have you ever dreamed of having your own radio station? You can do it today on the internet. SHOUTcast is helping to define this phenomenon.

In this article, you’ll learn what SHOUTcast can do for you or your brand. You’ll learn what you can and can’t skimp on in a SHOUTcast web host.

What is SHOUTcast?

Today, internet radio broadcasting is more popular than ever. Hugely famous streaming sites like Radio Paradise, Pandora Internet Radio, and Last.fm serve to illustrate that fact. They allow users to discover new artists, explore a variety of genres, or just listen to old favorites.

SHOUTcast radio has all that and more.

Why SHOUTcast?

“The leader in streaming audio [with] 77,771 radio stations using our technology.” – SHOUTcast

What makes SHOUTcast stand out from other internet radio station solutions like Icecast is its focus on users and its high level of accessibility.

Unlike stations on most internet radio sites, almost all SHOUTcast stations and programs are streamed live, instead of being queued up for broadcasting ahead of time by either a person or a computer.

Create Your Own Station

Most importantly, anyone and everyone can create their own online radio station simply by downloading SHOUTcast software and broadcasting tools. Those are just the bare bones of what it takes to create a smoothly-running station, though.

What Products Does SHOUTcast Offer?

When getting started, you might find the various SHOUTcast options confusing. Here are the products and tools available to you (though you may not end up using some of them at all):

SHOUTcast Hosting Options

Hosting providers such as VosCast, ShoutCheap, and Server Room provide comprehensive hosting plans which use many features and services to enhance your SHOUTcast streaming station.

Benefits of SHOUTcast Hosting

Here are just a few examples of the kinds of benefits you’ll get if you choose a hosting plan from SHOUTcast web hosts:

• Valuable statistics
• Pre-written codes and scripts
• The ability to stream to a variety of devices
• Control panel access
• 24/7 support

Using a Hosting Plan You Already Own

Of course, in many situations, it is also possible to run SHOUTcast on your existing web hosting plan if you’re not currently in the market to switch or don’t want to deal with the hassle.

Many hobbyists choose this approach, either by reusing a plan they already have or by building DIY web servers for small SHOUTcast stations. This approach makes sense for small ventures or individuals.

It involves a bit of tinkering, but, then again, it allows users to repurpose old hardware or use idle server capacity.

Under the Hood: SHOUTcast Technical Hosting Factors

Here’s what you need to know about technical requirements to get the right hosting for your streaming project.

Hardware and Software Requirements

In terms of hardware, SHOUTcast doesn’t place a lot of load on the server.

It is a very scalable audio streaming solution and you don’t need pricey high-end processors or very fast storage.

The SHOUTcast DNAS Server and Transcoder are available on a range of operating systems, including:

• 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7, and beyond.
• Linux is also supported in 32- and 64-bit variants.
• BSD 8.x and Mac OS X support is also included.

SHOUTcast Versions

SHOUTcast V1 and SHOUTcast V2 are both still in use, but the different versions have very similar requirements.

The biggest difference is the use of a new Stream ID and Ultravox 2.1 protocol in SHOUTcast V2.

SHOUTcast Hosting Requires Bandwidth and Scalability

Just because you can use the cheapest option for SHOUTcast doesn’t mean you should, especially if you care about your listeners’ experiences.

Cheap Hosting for SHOUTcast?

So, if the requirements are so low, why bother with hosting plans designed specifically for SHOUTcast?

The short answer is because bandwidth is important and, more often than not, it is the limiting factor for small operators. Critical factors are bandwidth, uptime, and network support.

How Many Listeners Does Your SHOUTcast Station Have?

The cheapest server hosting plans, usually priced south of $10 a month, can support a limited number of listeners. The exact number depends on the bitrate, but you are usually looking at a few dozen listeners. The average $25 plan supports up to a hundred listeners.

In case you want an unlimited number of listeners, you could get away with a $50 plan, but on a low bitrate — it’s more likely you will end up in the triple-digit territory if you go for a high-bandwidth (or even unlimited bandwidth) plan with more than 1TB of traffic.

Can I Design My Own Hosting Plan for SHOUTcast?

A number of web hosts have started offering custom SHOUTcast plans, allowing the customer to choose different parameters and create a tailored SHOUTcast host package for their radio station.

This approach makes sense depending on the niche you are interested in.

Hardware and bandwidth requirements can be drastically different depending on what sort of video or audio streaming broadcast you plan to host (different bitrate, regional peaks or global reach, talk radio, 24/7 music, etc.).

Dedicated SHOUTcast Servers

Dedicated plans are the best choice for ambitious users. They usually start with limited traffic and basic hardware, but users can customize and cherry pick the upgrades they are likely to need.

Unmetered Dedicated Plans

Unmetered plans typically provide a 100Mbps connection. These plans also tend to feature RAID or SSD storage, along with quad-core Xeons and at least 8 GB of RAM.

What Add-Ons Will I Need for My SHOUTcast Station?

However, bear in mind that many web hosts will also require you to purchase a control panel and license, pay for proper server management, and so on.

Comparing list prices is not enough — you will have to dig a bit deeper in order to accurately compare server hosting plans, as these costs can quickly add up.