What’s your favorite podcast listening apps?
From true crime to comedy, there’s a podcast for everyone. You’ve got tons of options! But I’m sure you know this.
But what you might not know is that you also have a whole host of options when it comes to your podcast player. You’re definitely not limited to whatever app came pre-installed on your smart phone! There are some great third-party apps that offer some amazing features.
And we’re going to share 28 of the best podcast listening apps in 2022 with you today!
Let’s see if we can help you figure out which one is right for you.
Best Podcast Listening Apps
Top Picks
PocketCasts
PocketCasts is one of our top podcast listening app picks for both iOS and Android users. This is a third party podcast app that is beautifully designed and easy to use. It’s aesthetically really pleasing. (Yeah, I know this has nothing to do with podcast listening, but you’ll seriously appreciate the design elements of this app, too.) And is just a pleasure to use.
Besides looking great, there’s a ton of other features. From silence trimming to curated lists and advanced discovery features, PocketCasts is a great player for all avid podcast listeners. It’s user-friendly and really intuitive, and just consistently works smoothly.
Spotify
Spotify is still asserting it’s dominance in the podcasting space. This year has been no different. And as much as it’s a popular choice for music listening, many podcast listeners still pick Spotify as their app of choice.
Spotify does offer some great features, besides offering some exclusive shows that can only be found on their app. It’s easy to create podcast-focused playlists, and their recommendation algorithm is pretty top-notch.
Spotify is a great option if you want to keep all your audio content in one place. And with the recent announcement that audiobooks are now on offer on the platform, Spotify is certainly making moves as an audio powerhouse.
Goodpods
Goodpods is unique in terms of podcast listening apps because of it’s social network approach to podcast consumption.
Goodpods grants you access to what others are listening to and enjoying. It’s often likened to the Instagram of podcasts, and this adds a really fun element to podcast listening.
All your favorite shows are there, but by using Goodpods, you also get access to a constant stream of podcast recommendations, ratings, and reviews.
There are also other features that make Goodpods stand out as a podcast listening app. You can directly recommend your favorite episodes to your friends, and you can even chat with others who love your favorite podcasts as much as you do! And there is also the potential to interact with your favorite hosts.
It’s a fun, user-friendly app, and a great choice for the social podcast listeners.
Best Podcast Listening Apps for iOS
Overcast
Overcast makes podcast listening effortless! Overcast has become a really popular podcast listening pick for iOS users for a number of reasons.
The app has a really user-friendly, ergonomic design and a bunch of great features. The Smart Speed feature removes silences between the audio. This can help make your listening super snappy. You don’t notice the alteration, and it really speeds up your podcast listening.
Another clever feature is Voice Boost, which levels out the sound and can significantly enhance your listening experience. There’s also the Smart Playlists feature, which allows you to build different playlists of your favorite shows.
Overcast is free, but this version is supported by small visual ads which promote podcasts.
Alternatively, you can pay $10/year to hide the ads.
Castro
Castro is another podcast listening app with a great, user-friendly design. Castro has all the playback features you need to make your podcast listening experience a dream. But it also boasts a feature called ‘the Queue’ which gives you so much control over what you’re going to listen to and when.
The app also has a host of other handy features, such as the Trim Silence feature to cut out any ‘empty’ or silent spaces in the audio whilst maintaining the quality and integrity of the audio. And, like any of our top podcast listening app picks, there’s also customizable playback speeds, so you can listen however suits you best.
Apple Podcasts
Obviously Apple Podcasts makes the cut for best podcast listening apps for iOS users. This is the OG of podcast listening apps, after all!
And it has recently undergone a make-over, to help it still contend with the other apps on the block. It’s a solid choice for podcast listeners who know the shows they like and want to be able to listen without bells and whistles.
But, like we said, Apple Podcasts has recently had a much-needed makeover. So in addition to improved curation and discoverability features, they’ve also added premium content and subscription options.
So, they definitely still an app to contend with!
Now, let’s take a look at some of the best options for Android users.
Best Podcast Listening Apps for Android
Podcast Addict
Podcast Addict claims the title of the #1 podcast app for Android. Like any stand-out listening app on this list, Podcast Addict has a great range of features. There’s a Sleep Timer, shuffle option, and you can also create playlists, and add bookmarks.
And another perk? You can also leave ratings and reviews of all your favorite shows right on the app! This is something very few of the other podcast apps offer.
The above are our current top picks when it comes to podcast listening apps. But there are some other really great options out there.
Just take a look at all of our honorable mentions below:
Honorable Mentions
Stitcher
Stitcher is a really popular podcast-listening app for both iOS and Android users. It’s user-friendly, and offers the ability to search for episodes, create playlists and just enjoy all kinds of podcast topics. You can customize your listening experience with all sorts of features, making podcast listening a seamless experience.
Stitcher also enables you to leave ratings and reviews for shows and episodes, which is great when it comes to helping users discover new amazing listens.
Google Podcasts
With Google Podcasts, Android users can explore and listen to all their favorite shows. The platform also makes it possible for you to download episodes for offline playback. All your listening is automatically synced across devices so that you can pause on one device and resume on another with the Google Assistant.
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is a music and audio streaming platform with 200 million tracks and counting. Along with being a go-to music streaming app, SoundCloud has now become a popular podcast streaming platform. You can download SoundCloud on a variety of devices as it is available on Web, iOS, Android, Sonos, Chromecast, and Xbox One.
Player FM
Player FM syncs up with your iCloud account to help you keep track of your podcast history while organizing your podcasts in any way you’d like. You can create playlists, customize your display themes, and you can even make annotations and add bookmarks.
Podbean
Podbean Podcast App is the perfect podcast player for any level of fan. Its got a clean layout and it’s easy to navigate. Podbean aims to provide podcast listeners with a great listening experience with intelligent speed, volume boost, and customizable playlists.
Downcast
Listen to your favorite podcasts the way you want to with Downcast. This easy-to-use podcast player is packed with features and provides a great listening experience. Downcast is fantastic for organizing your podcasts, and will sync your progress so you always know where you left off.
Audible Plus
Fairly new to the podcasting game is Audible. Although, not new at all when it comes to premium audio entertainment. Audible offers free podcasts with an Amazon membership and an Audible Plus subscription includes unlimited access to thousands of audiobooks, Audible originals, and podcasts.
iCatcher
iCatcher is a great app for podcast lovers. You can either stream episodes live or download them to listen to later. The app boasts an impressive array of settings that you can customize to fit your preferences. With this app, you can organize your shows, control the sound, discover new podcasts, and quickly share your current listens with loved ones on social media.
Amazon Music
Amazon Music lets users find their favorite shows, download to listen offline, and listen on iOS and Android devices. The platform’s interface is similar to Spotify and allows users to access their digital audio and music all in one place.
PodCruncher
PodCruncher is a full-featured podcast app. With this podcast listening app, you can stream episodes, manage subscriptions, and create playlists. It’s also got handy features such as playback control, playback speed control, gestures, landscape view, sleep timer, and a multi-speed slider.
RSSRadio
RSSRadio enables podcast listeners easy access to top shows through easy search features. You can explore the most popular podcasts, or find ones that we think you’ll like based off of your past choices. The app also offers so many features to really customize your listening experience.
TuneIn Radio
TuneIn Radio offers all your favorite podcasts as well as over 100,000 radio stations. TuneIn has the largest selection of sports, news, music and talk radio from around the world. The app offers users the unique ability to stream global radio stations live, as well as enjoy live coverage of sporting events, concerts and more.
BeyondPod
With BeyondPod, Android users can have all of the power and control to decide what they want to listen to. BeyondPod’s streamlined interface and powerful controls give you easy access to millions of audio and video episodes.
DoggCatcher
Another option for Android users is Doggcatcher. Their app makes it easy to find your favorite podcasts, and thus giving you more time to enjoy your favorite and find other podcasts you might like. You will be able to enjoy offline playback, variable speed playback, and categories for feeds.
Castbox
Castbox is an award-winning podcast player. With Castbox you get access to over 95 million audio content including podcasts, audiobooks, FM, radio and more in 27 different countries on your Android device. It’s an easy-to-use app, and offers great share ability features, so you can share all your favorites with friends and family.
Podcast Republic
Podcast Republic lets you have complete and efficient control over your podcasts, radios, audiobooks, YouTube channels, SoundCloud channels, RSS news feeds and blog all in one app. It’s got many of the features of other popular listening apps, and a fairly easy-to-use interface.
RadioPublic
RadioPublic’s free, easy to use podcast player for Android makes listening to podcasts simple, enjoyable, and fun. You can bookmark your favorite moments and make playlists of your favorite shows.
Podkicker
Podkicker is a free app for Android users. It features a minimalistic design, and a number of other useful features. Their Channel tab lists the podcasts you currently subscribe to, the Episode tab lists the 200 latest episodes from all your subscriptions, and the Downloads tab lists the episodes you have downloaded to your device.
Spreaker Podcast Player
Spreaker Podcast Player let’s you can browse carefully curated channels and utilize automatically generated playlists that are just for you. The app also sends instant notifications when your favorite podcast drops a new episode! Spreaker provides curated lists spanning a wide range of new and original podcasts. With a Favorites section and automatically generated playlists such as Listen Later, Likes, Downloads, and History, Spreaker helps tailor your listening experience to your own habits and tastes.
AntennaPod
AntennaPod gives you instant access to millions of free and paid podcasts. Download, stream or queue episodes and enjoy them with adjustable playback speeds, chapter support, and a sleep timer. AntennaPod is built by volunteers without commercial interest, so it respects your privacy while giving you full control.
ListenApp
Listen App is a new audio event platform bridging the chasm between creators and listeners. This app is unique in that it strives to provide the space for communication and engagement between podcast hosts and their listeners, besides being a fun place to consume your favorite shows. It’s still a pretty new app, but there is definitely potential for it to become a much more popular choice.
To Conclude
There are many podcast listening apps available. That’s actually a really great thing! It means that the industry is healthy and thriving! And there’s nothing like a little competition to keep the developments coming.
So again, the fact that there are so many podcast listening apps available is great thing! The only real downside is picking your favorite!
From the ones featuring minimalistic designs to those with social sharing options, podcast fans have plenty of options when it comes to finding the perfect podcast app. Whether you’re looking for a simple podcast player or an advanced podcast manager, there is something out there for everyone.
How do you listen to your favorite podcasts? Let us know which podcast listening app is your favorite!
Related read: How To Find New Podcasts to Listen To [NOT Your Usual Suggestions!]
