Just like music apps that do more than playing music, podcast apps are much more than playing podcasts. To have a seamless experience, companies all over the world have created apps that not only play podcasts but also trim those annoying silences, recommend curated podcasts and even let users download podcasts for free.
So here we curated some of the best podcast apps for Android and iPhone also offer sleep timer and Zen mode. These apps can give you so much more! So why settle for something less like Apple podcasts? It is 2021 and the one word that shouldn’t be in our dictionary is ‘compromise’.
Related Article: 10 Best Equalizer and Bass Booster Apps for Android and iPhone/iPad
List of the 10 best podcast apps for Android and iPhone that you will love
Contents [hide]
1. Pocket Casts
Pocket Casts is one of the best podcast apps for Android and iPhone Smartphones. Initially, it was a paid app but now, it is completely free on mobile with all of its features intact. Although they offer a paid subscription plan, the free plan more or less covers everything.
The app is packed with powerful filters that will show you the exact episodes you are looking for. For instance, it has Morning Run, Daily grind and Top Casts filters that help narrow down our search. The app can be played on Sonos and Alexa for a better experience. Moreover, it has variable Speed Playback that can increase the playback speed to suit your needs. Most importantly, this feature saves a lot of time.
Additionally, the Cross Device Sync feature lets us listen without limits. With this feature, you can sync your podcast and its location across multiple devices to access it anytime, anywhere. The Trim Silence feature lets you cut all those annoying gaps and silences in order to save time. To add further, the app comes in three themes i.e., Dark, Light and Extra Dark for OLED lovers. Overall, Pocket Cast is the best podcast app on our list that works for Android and iOS both smoothly.
2. Spotify
Spotify is the most popular apps for music but it also houses hundreds of Podcasts catering to a diverse audience. The podcast is relatively new but that doesn’t affect its collection. In fact, it is considered to be one of the best podcast apps for iPhone and Android both.
The Spotify Original podcasts are diverse with genres as different as horror, documentary, educational etc. The app also supports video and audio podcasts. Spotify is easy to use as it organises its podcasts into groups like Recreational, Storytelling, Comedy, Sports etc. Moreover, users can subscribe to individual podcasts and download them.
Additionally, you can list your podcast in Spotify if you host it with a well-known company. The process is very easy. You just need to fill out a form that takes as little as 10 seconds and voila, your podcast will get listed in Spotify.
3. Laughable
As the name suggests, Laughable mainly focuses on comedy. However, the app also contains a variety of genres. Laughable was initially a podcast app for iPhone but now, it works on Android as well. It calls itself a paradise for podcast lovers and comedy fans and is totally free.
Laughable has the world’s largest database of comedians and popular public figures. For instance, Barak Obama, Oprah, Bill Burr, Joe Rogan and many other famous personalities appear as a host or guest in this app. Additionally, you can find the tour dates, social media pages of the comedians on one page. You can also subscribe to your favourite comedian or public figure to stay updated about their appearances.
The app comes with a Recommendation feature, where it recommends specially curated podcasts and artists as per our taste. You can also change the playback speed from 1x up to 2.5x. It has a sleep timer and also supports offline listening.
4. Google Podcasts
Google Podcast is Google’ own and might be one of the best podcast apps for all smartphones either it will be Android or iPhone/iPad. Although it had a rough start, it works seamlessly well at present. Apart from the app, you can also launch Google Podcasts from Google Chrome on your PC. The app was released in June 2018 and is updated regularly.
It offers a variety of podcasts that are grouped into different categories. Society and Culture, Comedy, Arts, Education, News, Sports etc. are some of the categories found in the app. Google Assistant is integrated with the podcast to give you a comparatively easy experience. Moreover, it includes features like adjusting playback and the ability to skip silent sections.
5. Podbean
Podbean is basically a podcast hosting company. But, it has a podcast app as well. Podbean podcast app enhances our experience with its streamlined interface that is easy to navigate. Hosting a podcast through this app is reliable and secure. You can also collaborate with multiple podcasters in this app to increase your audience.
Podbean’s intelligence speed removes annoying silences from an episode without interference. The volume boost feature increased or decreases volume for comfortable listening. You will get suggestions based on your listening history and your customized playlist.
The app auto-updates itself regularly to bring in fresh podcasts and also has the ability to delete podcasts that have already been listened to. Moreover, you will get notifications every time a new podcast is released. In other words, Podbean is one of the best podcast apps for Android if you want to listen as well as host your own podcasts.
6. CastBox
CastBox was founded in 2016 with the aim to offer its users, podcasts and programmes they love. The app boasts of having over 95 million episodes in its library. For this, they have won many ‘best of’ awards from Apple and Google in the last couple of years and is also considered to be one of the best podcast apps for Android and iOS devices.
CastBox has invested heavily in advanced artificial intelligence and robust recommendation engines to bring you the podcast you have been looking for. It has a one of a kind automatic transcribing and indexing tool for podcasts that power their In Audio search.
With CastBox, you can listen to and download your favourite podcasts for free. CastBox is also perfect for podcasters and uploading audios in the app is easy. You can also apply to be featured, engage with your fans and collaborate with other podcasters.
7. RadioPublic
RadioPublic is relatively new as well. The platform offers a good experience for podcasters and listeners alike. Additionally, the app is free of cost and doesn’t even require you to log in. You can just start listening from the go.
You can download the podcasts via WiFi and listen to them offline which won’t require to you subscribe. There are over 600,000 podcasts in RadioPublic. The app contains many podcast stations and curated shows that make browsing and listening easy.
RadioPublic helps podcasters grow and succeed by paying them on the basis of their audience. The audience can also help their favourite shows by sending a one-time contribution in the form of a tip. You can also import and export using OPML and add private RSS feeds.
8. TuneIn Radio
TuneIn Radio unifies podcasts, news, sports and radio stations in one place. It has 100,000 radio stations with more than one million Android users listening to it daily. TuneIn radio is considered to be one of the best Android podcast apps with over 4 million podcasts streaming from all over the world. The app supports commercial-free music and commercial-free news as well.
TuneIn Radio is also a podcast app for iPhone and is also one of the best Android podcast apps. It is available in SmartWatches, CarPlay, Google Home, Alexa, Amazon Echo, Sonos, Chromecast etc. The app has a good collection of podcasts with classics like Stuff You Should Know, TED Radio-Hour, RadioLab and top charts like Wow in the World, NYT’s The Daily etc.
You can stream live sports and on-demand podcasts in this app, but these features come under subscription. The app can be used for free but the premium version contains much more features.
9. Castro 3
Castro 3 is the best podcast app for iPhone with a simple user interface. It is dedicated to making its interface simple and user-friendly. Castro 3 is the updated version of the Castro app. With this app, you can manage a lot of podcasts at the same time. You can download episodes in the background with episodes playing at the same time.
Castro 3 keeps track of all the good stuff and in a way serves as a podcast assistant for its users. You can see new suggestions from the app on your lock screen. It has a Podcast Player that is designed to offer crystal clear audios for a better listening experience.
It is a well-designed podcast with features like a queue where you can archive episodes you don’t like, a night-mode you can turn off and on with a two-finger swipe.
10. Podcast Republic
Podcast Republic boasts of having one million-plus podcast and more than 500M episodes. The app provides us with a number of features that aren’t paid for. The only thing you need to pay for is to remove the ads. It has audiobooks, RSS feeds, online radio streaming along millions of podcasts.
Podcast Player makes it easier for you to manage your podcasts. You can trim silences in the episode to decrease your listening time. Additionally, you can schedule to play your podcasts or radio at a specific time. The Podcast Republic offers numerous features like automatic download, podcast discovery, streaming playback support, Car mode to make listening easier while on the road and many more.
The app has a Powerful Episodes filter so that you can set your own rules while listening to a podcast. You can also store your downloads on the SD card. With all these features, it is clear that the Podcast Republic is the best Android podcast app
