I’m going to exit on a limb and assume you’ve been on the web earlier than. In that case, you’ve doubtless stumbled upon a podcast or two. There are nearly 5 million of them on the market, in spite of everything.
The issue isn’t discovering a podcast, although—it’s discovering one of the simplest ways to hear in. Whereas Apple and Spotify have made a giant push into the house, and their apps are completely serviceable, they’re not all the time one of the best match for energy customers or individuals who simply desire a clear, no-nonsense expertise. The excellent news? There are different choices, and also you don’t should pay a dime to entry them.
Listed below are 5 incredible, and fully free, podcast apps for iOS and Android.
Pocket Casts: Cross-platform king
When you ask a podcast aficionado for a suggestion, there’s a superb probability they’ll say Pocket Casts.
And for good cause. It’s obtained a clear, intuitive interface that makes managing your subscriptions a breeze. The free model gives all of the necessities you want, together with variable velocity controls, silence trimming, and a volume-boost characteristic to stage out inconsistent audio.
Higher but, it syncs your listening progress throughout iOS, Android, and the online, which is a giant deal should you like to leap between your cellphone and your laptop.
There may be additionally a premium model, Pocket Casts Plus, which prices $40 per 12 months. With it, you get some power-user options like folders to arrange your reveals, a shuffle characteristic to your “Up Subsequent” queue, bookmarks, entry to quite a lot of themes and app icons, and a few cloud storage to your personal audio recordsdata.
Overcast: iOS app makes podcasts sound higher
When you’re searching for one thing that’s equal elements easy and totally featured, Overcast is a must-try.
Developed by Marco Arment, this iOS app contains options reminiscent of “Sensible Pace,” which shortens silences dynamically with out distorting the audio, and “Voice Enhance,” which normalizes and enhances quantity throughout all of your reveals.
The free model has some gentle, unobtrusive advertisements, however if you wish to eliminate the advertisements and assist the developer, a premium subscription prices simply $15 per 12 months. With that subscription, you additionally get the power to add audio recordsdata to your personal personal feed.
Podcast Addict: Android powerhouse
For Android customers, Podcast Addict is an absolute beast.
It’s a feature-rich, extremely customizable app that provides you an nearly overwhelming quantity of management over your listening expertise. You possibly can handle podcasts, audiobooks, reside radio, YouTube channels, and RSS information feeds multi function place.
Whereas its interface generally is a bit busy, it’s a fantastic selection should you’re a tinkerer who likes to fine-tune each element. For the sheer variety of options you get at no cost, it’s robust to beat.
The premium model, which removes all advertisements, begins at 99 cents per 30 days and grants you entry to some additional customization choices like totally different app themes, a customized opening display screen, and a playlist widget.
Castbox: Sensible suggestions
When you’re searching for your subsequent podcast obsession, Castbox is a good place to begin.
Its AI-powered suggestion engine does a surprisingly good job of serving up new reveals based mostly in your listening historical past. It’s a stable, all-around participant with a big library, and it additionally contains some nifty options like in-audio search, which helps you to discover particular key phrases inside an episode. It’s out there on each iOS and Android and supplies a easy, fashionable expertise.
Castbox Premium begins at 99 cents per 30 days and eliminates all of the visible advertisements and video advertisements that play while you launch the app. It additionally offers you limitless subscriptions (the free model limits you to 100 channels), a customized homepage, and superior playback settings that may be personalized for every particular person podcast.
AntennaPod: Android’s minimalist, open-source selection
When you’re searching for a no-frills, ad-free expertise, AntennaPod is a incredible choice for Android customers.
It’s a light-weight app with a clear interface that focuses on the core activity of listening to podcasts. There aren’t a ton of fancy discovery instruments, however should you already know what you wish to hearken to and simply want a easy, dependable solution to handle and play your episodes, AntennaPod will get the job performed.
AntennaPod is exclusive on this record as a result of it’s a very free and open-source undertaking, which suggests it doesn’t have a paid model or any in-app purchases.
