5 Best Podcast Apps [2023]

Last updated on November 27th, 2023 at 08:25 am

Podcasts are currently the culmination of audio-centered content to offer substance to listeners of all tastes and preferences through a myriad of genres. The topics could vary from simply briefing about the current events to breaking them down to see where the crumbs would lead. Depending on the subject and the podcaster, they could be scripted or improvised.

You’ve come to the right place if you’ve been on the lookout for a podcast app. With several great options to choose from, you can subscribe to your favorite podcasts and enjoy them. If you don’t have time to download podcasts regularly, consider trying RadioPublic, a relative newcomer to the best podcast apps list. This app offers subscriptions through Google, Facebook, Twitter, and offline playback. Premium tier users can also stream their subscriptions via Amazon Echo and Chromecast. This podcast app also prioritizes customer service and new features, making it ideal for those who want a great customer support experience. RadioPublic also pays its authors to attract more listeners, a part that makes it a good choice for those who’d like to be able to download.

They could be about cooking in the jungle or how to caress your 13-year-old German shepherd in her last moments. There’s no restriction to the genre, just as there’s no limit to the imaginations and expectations of the audience wishing to get informed or entertained.

You can download the content and listen wherever you want, assuming you follow the land law, and that’s bad news for radio! No wonder the podcast industry keeps growing and changing because they are making people listen! Notable, isn’t it? We humans, who like to run our mouths, can listen for long periods, and podcasts soundly proved that without the need for visual thrill.

However, just too many platforms provide unending content, which could sit anywhere between majestic peaks and egregious valleys. If you’re wondering which podcast platform you should jump into to get your mouth tied and ears cured, I’ve written below my top 5 podcast apps one should give a chance.

Without further wait, let’s dive into our handy little list:

1. CASTBOX

Castbox offers a friendly UI that’s fast and lets you find content from mainstream to topics you never knew existed. Castbox covers as many genres as you’d expect, from the latest news and education to sports and pop compilations. You can upload or download podcasts without limit for free, but it does limit you on subscriptions. And, of course, there are the ads that keep popping up in the free version. Now you know why this is in fifth place. While it’s good overall, it’s a little slow when it comes to catching up with the ever-changing trends of the podcast world.

Nevertheless, it’s still much better than most podcast apps that don’t just disrupt but irritate user experience, sometimes with every click. If you aren’t bothered by the normalized disruptions apps these days have, you will enjoy what this app offers.

2. PACKET CASTS

Accessible on all platforms with a user-friendly, universal interface that doesn’t demand much of a learning curve, and with powerful searching, filtering, trim silencing, and navigating options,

Pocket Casts, without a doubt, sticks to basics and delivers. Compared to most other apps that try to bite more than they can chew, this app humbles you with its humility and no-nonsense approach. It’s not perfect, but it doesn’t try to be over-smart.

3. Player FM

If you’re an Android user, you will like playing with this app. Not only are its effects cool and unique but also its features, such as raising volume and canceling noise or how the newly downloaded podcasts play automatically once the episode you’re currently listening to finishes, make this app stand out.

The user interface offers more than your average consumer can ask for, which makes this app excellent, so it is highly recommended.

4. SPOTIFY

Spotify gets second place for giving a wide range of genres encapsulated by a simple user interface and accessible on mobile, tablet, and desktop software, and their official website. Though it started as a music-only platform, it’s been pushing hard into podcasts as of late and expanding vigorously. If you want to use one capable app that covers your music, news, sports, poems, podcasts, and TV shows, or you want to listen to live discussions and participate in them, you must give this one a try.

Though it’s free to download, offline playback is available only for premium. There’s a three-month free trial, so do check it out.

5. PODCAST ADDICT

The only app that covers podcasts, audiobooks, radio, live streaming, Twitch, YouTube, SoundCloud channels, and even RSS Newsfeeds boasts a significant amount of content and the backing of responsive developers. The ads won’t pop up and annoy you like the ad-crazy apps. You can also easily navigate and listen to whatever content in whichever language you desire, either online or offline.

It fixes its upgrade mistakes, if it has any, and makes for a smooth consumer experience by remembering your existence and the choices you’ve made. Is there anything more we can ask for than that? Well, we can still ask them to make everything accessible, but many souls survive on the premium some users pay, so that’s that.

There are others also which provide good content:

If you’re on a tight budget, you may want to consider Google Podcasts as a free alternative. This premium podcast app is available for Android devices. Premium plans are available for users who wish to ad-free audio and premium content. A free version comes with some ads, but premium plans are wholly ad-free and have no ads. Plus, premium subscriptions offer exclusive content and curated channels. There are also paid subscriptions for podcast creators, but most of these services provide a free trial.

Pocket Casts is another ad-free podcast app. It allows you to browse through recommended episodes and listen directly to them. This app’s other great features include iCloud sync, volume boost, and cut-silence. Pocket Casts still has a great podcast listening experience for iOS and Android devices despite its free model. Pocket Casts is the best option if looking for a premium podcast player app.

Wrapping up

If you are looking forward to downloading such good podcasts from SoundCloud or even Instagram, you can check out 4Hub. All said and done. There’s no perfect podcast app because we all have different preferences and these apps also constantly keep updating, which can sometimes go seriously wrong. Nevertheless, every good app has a better something than others, so check all the ones I’ve listed above, and hopefully, you’ll find one that best fits your taste.