Primcast has been hosting stations since 2007 and runs its own global network. Their entry radio plan and CloudRadio's One plan both sit at $39/month, so this comparison is mostly about what you get inside that price: bitrate ceiling, storage, HLS, and per-stream limits.
Both are single-station shared plans capped at 1,000 simultaneous listeners on the entry tier. The difference is everywhere else.
| Feature | Primcast Premium · $39/mo | CloudRadio One · $39/mo |
|---|---|---|
| Bitrate ceiling | Up to 64 kbps | HLS ladder: 64 / 128 / 256 kbps AAC + Icecast MP3 |
| Listener cap | Up to 1,000 simultaneous | Unlimited listeners |
| Storage | 3 GB | 750 GB |
| Streaming hours | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Adaptive HLS | Not advertised | 3-tier HLS, every plan |
| AutoDJ | Cloud AutoDJ + scheduling | Layered priority stack: live → schedule → rotation → fallback |
| Embeddable player | Player provided | Free player widget, 5 styles |
| Stream monitoring + dead-air alerts | Stats only, no built-in alerting | Free monitoring, 60-second checks, email alerts |
| Support | Phone + 24/7 live chat |
Bottom line: At the same $39, Primcast Premium gives you 3 GB of storage and a 64 kbps stream. CloudRadio One gives you 750 GB and a full HLS ladder up to 256 kbps AAC, plus unlimited listeners. Primcast does offer phone support, which CloudRadio does not.
Primcast caps every standard radio plan at 1,000 simultaneous listeners. Past that, you contact them for an enterprise quote.
| Plan | Price | Listeners | Storage | Bitrate cap | Streams |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premium | $39/mo | Up to 1,000 | 3 GB | 64 kbps | 1 |
| Platinum | $79/mo | Up to 1,000 | Unlimited | 128 kbps | 2 |
| Enterprise | Custom | 1,000+ | Unlimited | Up to 320 kbps | Custom |
Source: primcast.com/radio. Pricing as of early 2026, USD. Annual discount available.
Primcast structures their plans so bitrate scales with the tier: 64 kbps on Premium, 128 kbps on Platinum, up to 320 kbps on Enterprise. CloudRadio One delivers a 64 / 128 / 256 kbps AAC ladder on the same $39 price, so listeners on slower networks fall back to 64 kbps automatically while desktop listeners get the full 256 kbps.
Primcast applies a hard 1,000 simultaneous-connection cap to all their standard radio plans. Past that, you need a custom enterprise quote. CloudRadio One does not cap concurrent listeners on the standard plan.
Listeners are routed to our nearest edge automatically. We don't ask you to pick a region at signup the way Primcast does, because our HLS edges already serve from multiple regions globally.
Primcast advertises native multi-device playback but does not publicly document an adaptive HLS ladder on their radio tiers. CloudRadio runs a 3-tier HLS ladder on every plan, which is ideal for mobile listeners on flaky connections.
Our $5/mo Classic Shoutcast/Icecast plan is the cheapest way to host a stream when you already have playout software. If you want more than a stream URL, CloudRadio One at $39/mo adds an AutoDJ fallback that fires automatically when your encoder disconnects (so the stream never goes silent), unlimited concurrent listeners, silence alerts, and HLS output, without changing your workflow. Your encoder stays the primary source; AutoDJ only kicks in when you go offline.
Same $39/month, but with 750 GB storage, HLS up to 256 kbps, and no 1,000-listener ceiling.