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PodThis vs NotebookLM
NotebookLM is the better choice for listening to your own documents for free: it takes more kinds of source and Audio Overview costs nothing. PodThis is the better choice when the episode is for others: it starts from a topic as well as a document and lists every public episode in an RSS feed. Facts as of October 2026.
NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook (notebook.google.com; the NotebookLM address redirects there). Its podcast feature is Audio Overview, which turns the sources in a notebook into a conversation between AI hosts. The facts below are read from the Gemini Notebook help pages.
| Criterion | PodThis | NotebookLM | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free $0. Creator $9/month for 40 credits, Producer $29/month for 150 credits; yearly billing is 20% less. A short episode (about 10 minutes) costs 1 credit, standard 3, deep dive 6. | Sign-up is "free of charge" with a Google account (the Standard plan). Higher limits come with a Google AI Plus, Pro or Ultra subscription; the plans page states no price in USD. | podthis.cosupport.google.com |
| Free tier | 5 credits on sign-up, then 3 every month, no credit card. Every feature is on every plan; the plans differ only in credits. | Standard: 100 notebooks per user and 50 sources per notebook. Audio Overviews generated automatically when sources are added "do not contribute to limits". | podthis.cosupport.google.com |
| Inputs | A topic sentence, pasted text up to 20,000 characters, a link to a public article, or an uploaded PDF or Word document. | PDF, Word, text, Markdown, CSV, PowerPoint, ePub, Google Docs, Slides and Sheets, web URLs, YouTube URLs, audio files (MP3, WAV) and images. "Each source can contain up to 500,000 words or up to 200MB for uploaded files." | podthis.cosupport.google.com |
| Voices and hosts | All 12 styles on every plan. "A full cast, not one robot voice — cast per style." No voice cloning or impersonation of real people, by policy. | "Deep-dive discussions between AI hosts" in four formats: Deep Dive, Brief, Critique and Debate. Interactive mode (ask the hosts a question) is English only. | podthis.copodthis.copodthis.cosupport.google.com |
| Languages | All 70 languages, on every plan. | Audio Overviews in 80+ languages. The Shorter/Default/Longer length control is English only. | podthis.cosupport.google.com |
| Output | Finished episode with chapters, a searchable transcript and generated cover art; 320 kbps MP3 and transcript downloads. | A downloadable audio file per Audio Overview (file type not stated); downloads may be restricted for some publisher content such as Play Books. | podthis.cosupport.google.com |
| Publishing | Public, unlisted or private per episode. Every creator has an RSS feed; episodes open in Apple Podcasts, Overcast or Pocket Casts from the "Listen in your app" menu. | Three sharing options are listed: a link to the audio, sharing the whole notebook, or downloading the file. No podcast feed or directory publishing is listed. | podthis.cosupport.google.com |
| Facts verified 4 October 2026 on the linked vendor pages. A dash means the vendor does not state it. | |||
Where NotebookLM is the better choice
- More kinds of input. PDF, Word, Google Docs, Slides and Sheets, web and YouTube links, audio files and images, each source up to 500,000 words. PodThis takes one text up to 20,000 characters, one public article link or one PDF or Word document.
- Price. Audio Overview is free on the Standard plan. PodThis is free for 5 credits on sign-up and 3 a month, then $9 a month for 40 credits.
- Interactive mode. You can ask the hosts a question while they talk (English only). PodThis has no equivalent.
- Formats. Deep Dive, Brief, Critique and Debate, with a length control in English.
Where PodThis is the better choice
- Starting from a topic. Give PodThis one sentence and it researches before it writes. Audio Overview works from the sources you add to the notebook.
- Publishing. Every PodThis creator has an RSS feed, and an episode set to public or unlisted opens in Apple Podcasts, Overcast or Pocket Casts. NotebookLM’s help page lists a share link, sharing the notebook and downloading the file, and no podcast feed.
- A finished episode. Chapters, a searchable transcript, generated cover art and a 320 kbps MP3. NotebookLM gives a downloadable audio file and does not state its format.
- A cast per style. 12 styles, each cast for its kind of episode, on every plan. NotebookLM’s hosts are Google’s hosts in four formats.
Languages
NotebookLM makes Audio Overviews in 80+ languages; the length control and interactive mode are English only. PodThis offers 70 languages on every plan. Both counts are the vendors’ own.
Which one to use
Use NotebookLM to understand your own material; use PodThis to make an episode someone else will subscribe to. The two also work in sequence: research in a notebook, then paste your notes into PodThis. The PDF to podcast page shows the PodThis side of that, pricing has the credit costs, and NotebookLM alternatives ranks the other tools that publish what NotebookLM does not.
How this page was made
Every fact in the table was read from the vendor’s own pricing, help or product page on the date in the table footer, and each row links to its page. Where a vendor does not state something, the cell shows a dash rather than a guess. We make PodThis, so it is described from its own public pages by the same rule. NotebookLM’s own site is notebook.google.com; prices and features change, so check there before you buy.
Try PodThis on your own topic
Every account starts with 5 credits and gets 3 more each month; a short episode costs 1.