Chartable Shutting Down: Best Alternatives for Podcasters in 2024

Podmuse

Sep 27, 20244 min read

Since its launch in 2018, Chartable has been an essential tool for podcasters, providing the insights and analytics necessary to track performance, understand audience behavior, and optimize podcast marketing strategies. It quickly became known for pioneering features like SmartLinks and SmartPromos, helping creators measure the effectiveness of both clickable links and podcast-to-podcast advertising. However, as of December 2024, Chartable will be shutting down, leaving many podcasters scrambling to find alternatives.

Though Chartable was a comprehensive service, no single tool can replace all its functionalities. But by combining a few reliable alternatives, podcasters can maintain access to the most important analytics and attribution tools. Below are some of the top recommendations to replace key Chartable services.

Top Chartable Alternatives for Podcasters

1. SmartLinks Alternatives

For podcasters who relied on Chartable’s SmartLinks to track listener engagement, the best alternative is Linkfire for Podcasts. Linkfire offers sleek, customizable landing pages that direct traffic to various podcast listening platforms. Its key advantage is a data-sharing partnership with Apple Podcasts, which provides podcasters with detailed insights into listener actions after clicking through to Apple’s platform. This feature helps creators understand whether a listener follows their show, downloads an episode, or simply plays a snippet.

In contrast, Spotify’s own trackable sharing links—which offer attribution—are limited in scope because they only work within Spotify. However, you can combine Spotify’s trackable links with Linkfire to create a unified solution, directing traffic to all platforms while still tracking how users interact with your podcast.

Attribution is crucial for understanding how your promotional efforts translate into real listeners. Linkfire’s integration with Apple and Spotify provides the most complete data currently available, making it an excellent replacement for Chartable’s SmartLinks feature.

2. SmartPromos Replacements

Podcast-to-podcast marketing has grown in importance, with many podcasters promoting their shows on other podcasts to attract new listeners. Chartable’s SmartPromos helped podcasters track how many downloads resulted from these efforts. One of the top replacements for this service is Magellan AI, which offers comprehensive podcast-to-podcast attribution. After running several tests, Magellan AI’s reporting stood out for being detailed and easy to navigate, making it a strong alternative.

For brands running podcast ads and wanting to track website visits or app installs, Magellan AI also offers pixel-based attribution, similar to what Chartable once provided. This helps advertisers understand the overlap between podcast listeners and website visitors. If your budget is a concern, Spotify Ad Analytics is another option, though it has a steeper learning curve and might require more time to master if you’re unfamiliar with complex attribution systems.

3. Download Tracking Solutions

While most podcasters rely on their hosting platforms for download tracking, Chartable’s Trackable analytics prefix provided an additional layer of insight by offering a pass-through system for download measurement. For those looking for a solid replacement, OP3 is the go-to solution. OP3 is open-source, privacy-focused, and comes with the added benefit of making your download numbers public, contributing to greater transparency within the podcasting industry.

What sets OP3 apart is its ability to make data accessible to developers and businesses without compromising listener privacy. If the idea of making your download stats public feels uncomfortable, it may be worth reconsidering, especially as transparency becomes more common in the podcasting world, with platforms like YouTube and Spotify already displaying follower and listener counts publicly.

4. Chart Measurement & Review Aggregation

If you used Chartable to monitor global podcast charts and track reviews, several services offer similar tools. Some well-known alternatives include Podstatus, Podkite, Podcharts, and Podrover. While these tools help podcasters keep an eye on rankings and reviews across platforms, none of them are a perfect one-to-one replacement for Chartable’s historical data aggregation. However, they are adequate for basic chart tracking and review monitoring.

It’s worth noting that Bumper, one of the industry leaders in podcast marketing and analytics, has its own internal review aggregation system, but this is not available to the general public.

5. Demographic Data

Chartable’s ability to infer demographic information was a valuable tool for many podcasters, especially those targeting specific listener segments. This feature used third-party data to provide insights about listener demographics like age, gender, and household income. If this data was important for your podcast strategy, CoHost offers a prefix that captures similar demographic details, along with firmographic data (information about the companies your listeners work for). This can be especially useful for B2B podcasts looking to reach specific audiences.

For a budget-friendly option, podcasters can use the Spotify for Podcasters dashboard, which provides demographic data for your Spotify audience. While it’s limited to Spotify users and is based on self-reported data, it’s still a helpful, free resource for understanding your audience better.

6. Consumption Data

Many podcasters relied on Chartable for a holistic view of listener behavior, aggregating data from platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Consumption data—how much time people spend listening and how far they get into each episode—is critical for gauging audience engagement. Unfortunately, Chartable lost some of this functionality after its acquisition by Spotify.

However, platforms like Apple Podcasts Connect, Spotify, and YouTube all offer tools to track audience consumption. The downside, of course, is fragmentation. You’ll have to log into several dashboards to get a complete view of your podcast’s performance. If you manage a large podcast network and want to avoid dealing with multiple data sources, you might consider using a third-party tool like the Bumper Dashboard, which aggregates data from multiple platforms into one user-friendly interface.

Conclusion: Moving Forward Without Chartable

Chartable’s shutdown marks the end of an era for podcast measurement and attribution, but fortunately, podcasters have options to fill the void. While no single tool can replace every feature of Chartable, by combining services like Linkfire for Podcasts, Magellan AI, and OP3, you can continue to track your show’s performance, grow your audience, and measure your marketing efforts effectively.

Though Chartable may be leaving the industry, its influence has paved the way for new innovations in podcast analytics, and we expect even more advanced tools to emerge in the future. In the meantime, the alternatives listed above offer powerful solutions that will keep your podcast moving forward in the ever-evolving digital landscape.

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