Changes to the Free Plan
Since Zencastr’s founding in 2015, having a robust free plan for creators in all stages of their podcasting journey has remained a core commitment. With last week's launch of monetization for all creators, the future of Zencastr lies in helping podcasters succeed in their journey to grow and monetize.
With this, we are making some changes to the Recording offering on our Free plan to ensure that our development efforts are focused on helping you grow your podcast and make more money.
The changes to the Free plan, which are effective March 18, 2023 at 00:00 UTC (convert to your timezone here), are:
- 2 hours of audio and video recording per month
- Recording masters storage of up to 31 days
- File sync to Google Drive and Dropbox no longer offered
- Access to Zencastr Classic no longer offered
Recording Allowance/Limit
What does “2 hours audio and video recording per month” mean? How is that calculated?
We calculate your recording allowance based on the total time recorded in the month. For example, if you have 1 host and 2 guests (3 participants total), and you record one session for 1 hour, this will only count as 1 hour towards your allowance.
What happens if I run out/go over my hours during a live recording session?
We understand how important having a smooth recording session is and therefore we won’t ever force cut off/stop your recording session while it’s in progress. Instead, 5 minutes before you reach your monthly allowance you will get an alert on your Recording Page that your time is running low.
If your recording ends up putting your total recording time over your monthly allowance, you will need to upgrade to a paid plan to download your files immediately or wait until your next monthly period.
When is this effective? When does my “month” start and end?
This change is effective for all recordings started after March 18, 2023 at 00:00 UTC (convert to your timezone here). We know that you may already have recordings scheduled and this will affect your plans. Therefore, as we move to this new system, there will be a 14-day transition period during which you can record the same 2 hours that would normally be allowed in a month’s period. This 14-day transition period is from March 18, 2023 to April 1, 2023 at 00:00 UTC (convert end date to your timezone here). Recording time for recordings started prior to March 18th, 2023 will not count against your allowance for the transition period.
Recording Masters Storage
What is “Recording Masters Storage”?
Recording masters storage refers to how long the local recording files for each participant are available to download from your Recording Pages.
What does “Recording masters storage of up to 31 days” mean? How does this affect my files?
Recording masters storage is calculated on a rolling 31 days basis. This means that you can download your recording files for any recording done within 31 days. For example, on March 18, 2023, you can download files for any recording done between February 15, 2023 and March 18, 2023, but cannot download files for any recording done on February 14, 2023 or prior.
What happens to my files after 31 days? Are they deleted?
Files are not deleted. If you do not regularly download your files after recording and need access to older recording files, you can upgrade to a paid plan to download them.
Dropbox and Google Drive File Sync
I have a Dropbox or Google Drive account connected to my account. What is going to happen to this?
Because this is no longer supported on the Free plan, if you have a Dropbox or Google Drive connected to your account it will be disconnected effective immediately and files from future recording sessions will not sync there. If you would like to reconnect it, please upgrade to a paid plan.
I have my files in my Dropbox and Google Drive from previous recording sessions. What’s going to happen to them?
We do not have access to the files in your Dropbox and Google Drive so this change will not affect files already in your cloud storage account in any way. This change only applies to files from future recording sessions no longer syncing there.
Zencastr Classic Access
What is Zencastr Classic? What are the changes to it?
Zencastr Classic (classic.zencastr.com) is the first iteration of our platform with audio-only recording and postproductions. On February 16, 2021, zencastr.com replaced classic.zencastr.com as our main platform and our main site has been continuously updated and improved since then. Nevertheless, we understand that a small group of our creators are still occasionally using classic.zencastr.com. Effectively immediately, classic.zencastr.com will no longer be available to free users.
What if I already have recordings scheduled to record in Zencastr Classic? What can I do?
Our main site, zencastr.com, has the ability to record in audio-only mode as well and additionally is more stable. You would need to resend any guests the invite links so their recording link is updated to go to zencastr.com instead of classic.zencastr.com. If you would prefer to keep your recordings done in classic.zencastr.com, please upgrade to a paid plan to access it.
Other
Are these changes affecting other areas of the platform? What about postproductions? What about hosting?
As of this announcement, the changes to the Free plan are primarily related to the recording offering in our platform and are detailed above. Produce will still be available to Free users as a paid add-on feature via the purchase of postproduction credits. The Free plan also still includes unlimited audio hosting with basic analytics. A full list of current features and a plan comparison can be found on our pricing page.
Alternatives
We find the new usage amounts on the Free plan work for most creators. If you need more, we have two options for you:
- Upgrade to our free Creator+ plan to join our monetization network and have access to unlimited audio and video recording.
- Upgrade to a paid plan and enjoy a coupon of 15% off 3 months* for unlimited audio and video recording, unlimited recording storage, cloud drive sync, WAV files, and more!
*Coupon Terms & Conditions
Get 15% off the first three months of any paid plan, monthly or yearly, by clicking on the upgrade or coupon code links above or entering upgradeboost at checkout. This deal is valid until 11:59 pm PST on June 30. The coupon is not valid for other plans or prior subscriptions. Discount is only available to current Free or Free/Creator+ users and is not transferable to prior subscriptions.