Both platforms let you run an internet radio station. They take different approaches to pricing, streaming technology, and server control. Here is an honest breakdown to help you decide.
Radio.co uses tiered pricing. Each tier raises the listener cap, storage, and listening-hour allowance. Here is the full breakdown for reference.
| Plan | Price | Listeners | Storage | Hours/mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lite | $35/mo | 500 | 2 GB | 18,000 |
| Standard | $59/mo | 20,000 | 20 GB | 360,000 |
| Plus | $139/mo | 500,000 | 75 GB | 875,000 |
| Premium | $199/mo | Unlimited | 300 GB | 1,300,000 |
Prices checked October 2026 on radio.co/pricing. Every plan has a 14-day free trial. Check radio.co/pricing for the latest.
CloudRadio One ($39/mo) vs Radio.co Standard ($59/mo), plus features available on other plans.
| Feature |
CloudRadio One $39/mo |
Radio.co Standard $59/mo |
|---|---|---|
| Concurrent listeners | Unlimited | 20,000 |
| Listening hours / month | Unlimited | 360,000 |
| Storage | 750 GB | 20 GB |
| HLS streaming | ✓ (adaptive bitrate) | Not listed (separate 16 to 64 kbps AAC mobile stream) |
| ICY / HTTP streaming | ✓ | ✓ |
| Max audio quality | 256 kbps AAC | 192 kbps (320 kbps on Premium) |
| AutoDJ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Scheduled programming | ✓ | ✓ |
| Live broadcasting | ✓ | ✓ |
| Embeddable player | ✓ | ✓ |
| Listener analytics | ✓ | ✓ |
| SSL/HTTPS streams | ✓ | ✓ |
| Team and DJ accounts | ✓ (roles, personal logins for booked DJ shows) | 20 users |
| Station web page | ✓ (station page with QR code) | Website builder add-on ($12/mo) |
| Voice tracking and song requests | ✗ | ✓ |
| Record live shows | ✗ | ✓ |
| AI voice studio | ✗ | 1,500 credits/mo |
| Dedicated mobile app | ✗ | Add-on, $35/mo (included on Plus and Premium) |
| Alexa skill | ✗ (Alexa can play your station once it is on TuneIn) | Add-on, $10/mo (included on Plus and Premium) |
CloudRadio One gives you both HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) and ICY/HTTP streaming. HLS is the same protocol behind Apple Music and YouTube. It delivers adaptive bitrate so the stream adjusts quality based on the listener's connection, working natively in every modern browser and mobile device without plugins. The ICY/HTTP stream covers everything else: traditional radio apps, hardware receivers, and directory submissions that expect a classic Icecast-style URL.
Radio.co streams over HTTP to desktop media players and most mobile apps. From the Standard plan up, it adds a mobile stream: a separate, lower-bitrate AAC stream (16 to 64 kbps) for listeners on weak connections. Its pricing page does not list HLS.
CloudRadio One is $39/month, flat. No listener caps, no listening-hour limits, no overage charges. You get unlimited listeners and 750 GB of storage on a single plan.
Radio.co starts at $35/month for the Lite plan, which includes 500 concurrent listeners, 2 GB of storage, and 18,000 listening hours. If your station grows, you will need to upgrade: the Standard plan is $59/month, Plus is $139/month, and Premium is $199/month.
CloudRadio One includes 750 GB of storage on the base plan. That is enough for tens of thousands of tracks. Radio.co starts at 2 GB on Lite and reaches 300 GB only on the $199/month Premium plan. If you have a large music library, this difference matters.
Radio.co offers branded iOS and Android apps, with CarPlay and Android Auto, on their Plus ($139/mo) and Premium ($199/mo) plans, and as a $35/month add-on on Lite and Standard. You provide your Apple and Google developer accounts, and they build and publish an app for your station. This is a real advantage if a dedicated listener app is important to your audience.
CloudRadio does not currently offer dedicated mobile apps. However, HLS streams play natively in mobile browsers without an app. Every CloudRadio One station also gets a station page: a full-screen player at its own link that listeners can add to their phone's home screen. You can also embed the CloudRadio player widget on any mobile-friendly website.
Yes. You can export your audio files from Radio.co and upload them to CloudRadio. Your playlists and schedules will need to be recreated, but the process is straightforward. Our team can help if you run into issues.
Yes. Upload your music and CloudRadio puts you on the air right away. No software to install, no configuration needed. When you are ready, you can build playlists, adjust track weights, and set a full broadcast schedule. Start simple, grow at your own pace.
Radio.co streams at up to 192 kbps on Lite, Standard and Plus, and up to 320 kbps on Premium ($199/mo). CloudRadio One streams AAC at 64, 128, or 256 kbps on its one plan. AAC is a more efficient codec than MP3, so it sounds better at the same bitrate, and 256 kbps AAC is the format Apple Music uses. Add adaptive bitrate on top of that and listeners on slower connections get a clean lower-quality stream instead of buffering.
Radio.co offers a 14-day free trial on every plan. There is no permanent free tier. CloudRadio also does not offer a free plan, but the monitoring tools and embeddable player are free to use.
Start with CloudRadio One at $39/month. Unlimited listeners, 750 GB storage, built-in AutoDJ, and HLS streaming. No listening-hour caps.