Podcast apps are platforms that allows you to listen and save podcasts of your choice and there are many different ones to choose from.
The podcast app you decide to use is based on accessibility and content. Most podcast apps support both Android and IOS but some only support specific systems. Depending on what type of system you have this can determine which podcast app you use. This is the same with content. You will choose the podcast app that has the most of your favourite content.
Table of Contents
1. Apple Podcast
The Apple Podcast app is built into all IOS devices so you don’t have to worry about downloading it. The app offers recommendations based on your listening activity, giving you a personalised discovery to find exactly what you want. The Apple Podcast app has millions of podcasts for you to listen to, choose from thriller stories to relaxing bedtime meditation podcasts. You also get the option to sign up for subscriptions to get access to premium bonus content, ad-free listening and early access.
If you want to listen to the most popular podcasts in the world, Apple Podcast has these for you in “Top Charts” and listen to the curated playlist for podcasts that are specific to your taste and interests. Apple Podcast also syncs with Siri allowing you to say out loud what you would like to listen to and Siri will turn on you favourite podcast without you having to press a button. This podcast app also allows you to download your podcast of choice so that you can listen to it offline. This means you can listen to your podcast at anytime, whether it is in the car or on a plane.
Cost: Free
Availability: IOS
2. Google Podcast
Developed in 2018 the Google Podcast app has a vast range of podcasts for you to enjoy. Choose to listen to podcasts about history, science, health, business, comedy and much more. Similar to Siri with Apple products, you can use Google Assistant to tell Google what you would like to listen to and it will be played off your google device right then and there. You can subscribe to your favourite podcast and Google will give you recommendations on podcasts that match your preferences. There is also the option to stream or download your podcasts which will allow you to listen offline.
If you have more than one google device, Google Podcast will sync up to your other devices, therefore you will not lose your place when switching from different devices. Another great feature that this podcast app has is that you can choose to listen at a faster speed and skip over silences in a podcast. This way you can listen to your podcasts in the shortest amount of time without skipping any of the content. To get you a smooth listening experience can also choose to queue up episodes that you want to listen to. Google Podcast is one of the best podcast apps for Android.
Cost: Free
Availability: Android and IOS
3. Spotify
If you are into music and already have Spotify premium, this may be the best app for you. You won’t have to pay extra to get your podcasts as it is included and allows you to switch easily between podcasts and music. You can listen to podcasts for free on Spotify if ads don’t bother you. If you would prefer less distriburance you can upgrade to Spotify premium. However, some podcasts do have a few ads during episodes, but Spotify gives you the option to skip through them if you wish.
Spotify make it very easy to search up podcasts. Spotify has millions of different podcasts to choose from so you are guaranteed to find a podcast that you will enjoy. You can also download podcasts on Spotify and then listen to them offline. These downloaded episodes go into “Your Episodes” tab which keeps them all in the one place. Spotify also has a great search bar which allows you to search a name, a podcast or an episode to find what you want to listen to. Spotify also offers users the choice to watch video podcasts if they prefer visual podcasts compared to just audio podcasts.
Cost: Free download, Premium £9.99/month
Availability: Android and IOS
4. Audible
Some podcast apps don’t just provide users with podcasts. Similar to Spotify, Audible is a multi-purpose app. Not only does Audible have a great selection of podcasts, it is best-known for its extensive range of audiobooks. If you love to read but don’t have the time and if you enjoy podcasts, audible is the platform for you. Like most podcast apps, Audible also provides offline access so that you can listen while on the go. A useful feature of Audible is its sleep timer. If you like to listen to podcasts at night set a timer to make sure you do not miss any of the podcast when you fall asleep.
The free option for Audible gives users a certain amount of credits every month meaning you can listen to as much podcasts as your credit limit allows. If you want to listen to unlimited podcasts you can pay for Audible Plus to enjoy the extensive library of audiobooks and podcasts.
Cost: Free download, Subscription £7.99/month for Audible Plus
Availability: Android and IOS
5. Pocket Casts
Pocket Casts is a free podcast app that gives you the option to subscribe to Pocket Casts Plus which provides extra features. These features include files where you can upload your own recordings and you can customise the app, choosing from light themes or dark themes. Pocket Casts is a very well-designed platform which has easy to use features. You can create filters to find the exact type of podcast you would like to listen to. Filter names, length of podcast, year and so on to find the perfect podcast for you. Pocket Casts allows you to queue your favourite shows and make an “Up Next” playlist for continuous play in an order of your choice.
There is also a multi-select option so you can select all the episodes from a podcast to add to your playlist. Two practical filters that Pocket Casts provide are Trim Silence and Cross Device Sync. Trim Silence does what it says, it allows you to trim the silence in podcasts so there is no pauses throughout. Pocket Casts also gives you the option to skip intros and outros. Cross Device Sync allows you to sync your podcasts to all other devices so you can pick off from where you left on on any of your devices.
Cost: Free, Option to pay $1.22/month for Pocket Casts Plus
Availability: Android and IOS
6. Overcast
Overcast is a very reliable podcast app that has a wide range of podcast to choose form and unique features that make it stand out from the rest. Like other podcast apps, Overcast allows you to make playlists, search podcasts and gives recommendations on what podcasts you should listen to. Overcast is a free app but there are ads, if you want to get rid of these ads you will have to pay $10 per year. If you wish to subscribe to podcasts on Overcast you will be notified when new episodes are released and get early access to episodes and bonus material. Star your favourite podcasts and then will be added to a playlist for you to easily access.
Unique features that Overcast have that put them ahead of the competition is definitely “Smart Speed” and “Voice Boost”. Smart Speed allows you to listen to podcasts faster without distorting the sound of the podcast. ” Similar to Trim Silence in Pocket Casts, Smart Speed allows you cancel out silences during a podcast. If you want to save time but still listen to the whole podcast Smart Speed is a great feature that allows you to do this. Voice Boost is a feature that projects the volume of a podcast while keeping the original sound. This is great for podcasts that have been recorded via zoom and the voice may be low and not great quality.
Cost: Free Download, Subscription $10/year.
Availability: IOS
7. Stitcher
If you are looking for an easy to use and organised podcast app, Stitcher may be for you. Developers at Stitcher are constantly updating and improving the podcast app to enhance user experience. You can download the app for free and enjoy thousands of podcasts that are waiting to be listened to. Stitcher also offers a choice to pay for premium, which will allow you to access exclusive archives and bonus episodes, ad- free listening, listen to 60,000+ hours of Premium podcasts, early access to podcasts and free shipping on Podswag.com.
Similar to other podcast apps, Stitcher has very helpful features like sleep timer and curated recommendations. Stitcher has over 50 original podcasts for you to discover and enjoy. It also offers playlists called “Groups” where you can put podcasts that you follow and like into specific playlists to make it easier for you find your favourite episodes. Stitcher makes it easy for you to listen to your podcasts wherever you like by being able to connect to other devices. Cooking in the kitchen and Alexa is near? Just ask Alexa to put on your podcast of choice from Stitcher and you can cook while listening to your favourite show.
Cost: Free Download, Stitcher Premium $4.99/month
Availability: Android and IOS
8. Podbean
Podbean is a very easy to use podcast app which has very helpful features to make user experience seamless. It makes creating playlists very simple and if you forget to make a playlist it keeps your listen history so that you return to it. You can also customise your playlist to have your favourite podcasts be organised from newest to oldest. Podbean has many features that you can use for free such as “Playback Effects” which allow you to change the speed or volume for all podcasts. However if you want even more sophisticated features you can upgrade to premium, which allows you to put specific speed and volumes on specific podcasts.
If you are looking for a podcast app that you can not only listen to podcasts on but can create your own, Podbean can do just that for you. Podbean allows you to create and upload your own podcasts and get the chance to earn money from them too. It has a very unique live audio streaming option to allow users to connect with their favourite podcast as the podcast is being recorded. You can comment on podcasts and talk to your favourite podcaster. This feature is what certainly makes Podbean stand out from competition.
Cost: Free, Unlimited Audio $9/month
Availability: Android and IOS
9. CastBox
Like other apps, Castbox also provides tailored recommendations, a variety of playback settings and extensive playlists to its users. This podcast app is free, however it does have a premium subscription. Free users are limited to 100 shows and have to put up with ads but premium subscribers can have unlimited subscriptions, ad-free listening and also enjoy more advanced playback settings. A unique feature on CastBox is there “Community” tab which also you and other users to express their opinion about podcasts.
CastBox is also compatible with CarPlay and Amazon Echo meaning you can listen to your favourite podcasts wherever you are. A CastBox feature that must get recognition is its keyword search bar. This feature allows you to search a keyword and all podcasts where this keyword is mention within the audio, title or description will appear. This gives very detailed results for you in order to find the exact podcast you are looking for. Similar to Podbean, CastBox also allows you leave comments on podcasts that you are listening to with Livecast.
Cost: Free, Castbox Premium $24.99/year
Availability: Android and IOS
10. Castro
Castro is a very easy to use app which offers a range of useful features for you to enjoy. The archive and history features make finding your favourite podcasts and ones you have previously listened to much easier to locate. You can also choose to “Queue” your podcasts which puts them into a playlist so you can have a range of different podcast genres in the one list that is easier for you to access. Like many other podcast apps, Castro also has the “Trim Silence” feature which allows you to listen to a podcast in the shortest time by skipping all pauses, making the podcast flow continuously.
Castro also allows you to choose the pace at which you want to listen to a podcast with playback speeds from 0.8-3x and you can also choose to remove intros of podcasts. Castro is free but you can opt for the paid subscription, Castro Plus, offers a higher audio quality with voice boosts and customised audio filters. A unique feature of Castro’s is their engaging podcast notifications. You will receive push notifications from the podcast app for new podcast releases and you can choose to play the podcast straight from the notification.
Cost: Free, $19.99/year
Availability: IOS
As you can see there are many different podcast apps for you to choose from. The podcast app you decide to use depends on whether it is available on your device, for example, Castro and Apple Podcast are only available on IOS devices, therefore if you have an Android device these are not available to you. You will also look at the type of content that a podcast app has when choosing which app to use, for example, some podcast app originals may only be available on that specific platform. The appearance and the usability of podcast apps also has an impact on what one you choose.
Why Should You Use Podcast Apps?
Easy Accessibility
Podcast apps allow you to have all your favourite podcasts on the one platform which makes it easy for you to access them. Having all your podcasts in the one place means you will have no problem finding the podcast of your choice as you can just simple search it in the discovery bar.
Subscribe to Podcasts
You can subscribe to specific podcasts and be notified when a new podcast is released. This way you won’t miss any of your favourite podcasts. A podcast app allows you to create playlists to put your favourite podcasts into. Having all you podcasts in one place will ensure you to don’t lose or forget about any of them.
Broadens Choice
Many podcast apps will give you recommendations for other podcasts you may like to listen to based on what you are interested in. These curated-recommendations find other podcast that best match your interest based your listening history. The more you use the same podcast app the better the app algorithm can get to know you and the more accurate the recommendations will be.
On Demand
You can download your podcasts to listen to them whenever and wherever you want without the worry of internet connection. This is very useful for when you are out walking or driving the car, you can listen offline and connect your podcast to carplay.
Seamless Experience
A podcast app makes listening to a podcast a much more seamless experience. When you leave the app everything you have listened to saves therefore you don’t lose your progress or have to worry about trying to remember where you stopped listening. How frustrating is it when you are 20 minutes into a podcast and you realise you have already listened to it before, podcast apps take this problem away and let you make the most of your time.
Why You Should Start Listening To Podcasts
Increase Knowledge
There is a wide range of podcasts that you can listen to educate yourself. If you want to keep up with politics and foreign affairs there are many podcasts that cater for this or you can learn a new language from podcasts like duolingo. No matter what topic you want to learn more about there is guaranteed to be a podcast that will cover it.
Multitask
The great thing about podcasts is that, unlike tv and books, you can listen to podcasts on the go. You can be cooking the dinner, commuting to work or hiking a mountain all the while listening to a podcast. Being able to listen to podcasts whenever and wherever is probably the number one thing we love about podcasts. You do not have to take time out of your day to listen to one, you can just integrate seamlessly into your day.
Reduce Time Screen
We spend far too much time mindlessly scrolling on our phones and not learning anything. Podcasts are a great way to pass the time while at the same time being entertained and informed. Podcasts allow you to reduce the amount of time you spend looking at your phone and instead allows you to close your eyes, relax and listen.
Broaden Views
The vast range of topics and opinions on podcast apps allows you to see every point of view on certain issues in the world. We are so used to hearing objective or one-sided views on news. Podcasts are very refreshing in their truthfulness and freedom of speech. The beauty of podcasts is that you can discover all of these different views on the world and make judgement yourself. Podcasts certainly open our eyes to what is happening in the world.
Improves Focus
Podcasts are a great way to improve your focus as you have to pay attention to what is being said. If you are not listening to what is being said in the podcast you will miss it. When listening to podcasts the only sense you are using is your hearing therefore it become heightened. This in turn can make you become a better listener as you will take in exactly what someone is saying to you.
Hopefully this article as helped you decide which podcast app is best suited to you so that you can begin listening to your favourite podcasts.
Other ProfileTree articles that you may be interested in: Start a Podcast for Your Business I Podcasts for your Business
ProfileTree
Noha Basiony // 31st January 2024 
