So I’m in the process of switching from Spotify to Tidal for my music streaming (since Tidal pays artists like three times more than Spotify does). The only problem is, Tidal doesn’t support podcasts, which is another big thing I used Spotify for.
So what are some good apps for podcasts? I listen both on my PC and my Android phone, and I’m not really thrilled about the idea of paying for another subscription (so now I’m making two payments to cover the functionality I got with a single, cheaper payment). I’m cool with paying a one-time up-front fee, though.
Any suggestions?
I’ve been using Pocket Casts on Android and it works well. I think that I started using it 2 years ago and I haven’t encountered any issues. I use the free version and it hasn’t asked me to pay and hasn’t shown me ads. I’m a light user when it comes to podcasts though.
They have a web player for PC, but I haven’t tried it.
Plus it is multiplatform. Windows, Linux, Mac, Android, iOS, web - and syncs between them.
I also use PocketCasts. Paid 4 bucks for it back in 2013. Highly recommend it.
I’ll add my vote to Pocket Casts. Been my goto podcast app for… Forever. The app is all around solid on every plattform, and you can easily upload your own sound files and they will sync between devices.
I think you pay if you want to use the desktop app. I paid. Works pretty everywhere. 😊👍
I’ll second this. It’s less than $20 USD per year so I think it’s worth it. Also, I’m on iOS and have used it on there, Android and Windows.
I was an early adopter and paid like $20 once, so worth it
I’ve used Pocket Cast for a long time now. I bought it probably about 10 years ago. It recently went open source.
I’ve been using Pocket Casts for like 10 years at this point, great app
This is the one for me. I just checked and I’ve been using the premium version since May 2016 and it cost me £2.50. Only issue I’ve had in that time is the web player was failing to buffer episodes for streaming, but that has since resolved for me.
That was most likely caused by a limitation or rather security feature of the browser regarding cross-domain resources. They offer a desktop Electron-based app that works around this.
Another vote for Pocket casts, been a user since 2011. Best release notes of any app as well.
Podcast Addict is amazing. No complaints.
I like the app and I’ve used it for over a decade. I absolutely hate the UI. It’s extremely confusing.
I just keep the player widget on my home screen, but everytime I go to search for podcasts or to unsubscribe from one it takes me a few minutes to figure out what to do to get there.
That’s a fair criticism. It can be counter-intuitive with forward/back/menus. I’m probably just used-to-it.
It’s never hindered me from adding anything or using the podcast/rss protocol how I need to. That said, there may be some other super-useful podcast apps out there that are better.
Prior to Podcast Addict I used Spotify for my podcasts. So, for me at least, it’s been a big improvement; though I’ll concede that’s a low bar to clear.
Get Fdroid on Android and use Antenna Pod. Idk about podcasts on PC.
I had been using Podcast Addict for a couple of years after switching from BeyondPod which I used for many years.
But now I’m using the open source, community-built AntennaPod. There are a few quirks I had to get used to, but that is true of every app and especially something I use so frequently throughout the day. Performance has been great, especially with audio casting which has always been buggy and inconsistent for me with other apps.
I use AntennaPod, love it but I haven’t got it to work on Android Auto yet. That’s the only gripe I have with it.
On Android, I use AntennaPod. Does everything I want from a podcast app and more.
+1 to antenna pod. Been using it now for about a year and it works very well. App has a nice clean UI and it lets me organize podcasts
I’m using PocketCasts and I paid a one-time fee before it became subscription based (but there’s still a free tier), in order to be able to listen to podcast using the web app on PC. Thus I now have lifetime premium access.
I’m very satisfied with their service, I did not find any problems with both the Android app and the web app, moreover it has almost every feature I need, except voice to text conversion in order to be able to share slices of audio in text format (but there are dedicated apps for that).
I paid too and I don’t get to use the web app. That’s the main reason I stopped using Casts
Paid for the mobile app (back before it was free)? Or paid for Pocket Casts Plus, which inclued access to the desktop/webapp?
I paid before it was free for sure, I know there wasn’t a subscription model back then. I know I tried using the webapp later and it asked for more money. It’s ok, lots of decent free options for all of that, just felt like they were touching my butt feeling for the wallet
I support Pocket Casts because it’s made by Automattic, the makers of WordPress, Tumblr, and WooCommerce. Their CEO, Matt Mullenweg, is someone who seems to really care about the freedom and diversity of the internet. As far as players go, it’s got all the features you’d want for an Android app.
I seldom listen on my PC, but if I want to I can usually find the stream on whatever service the podcast has chosen (their own site, or whichever embedded player they elect to use).
I too love PocketCasts and love what Mullenweg has done, but want to point out that Automattic bought PocketCasts from NPR - https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/16/22580023/automattic-pocket-casts-podcast-app-tumble-wordpress
Automattic themselves didn’t/don’t make PocketCasts.
Edit: Fixed type (lost > love)
I’m throwing in another vote for Pocket Casts. Bought it back in 2015 and the web player as a separate purchase. It’s had ups and downs over the years, but I’ve always returned on the rare occasions I tried something different in hopes of finding something better–granted I’m grandfathered into premium at this point. It ticks all the boxes for me and I’d probably buy it again if I didn’t already have it.
I moved from Google Podcasts (which is pretty good) to AntennaPod, which is FOSS and honestly, pretty damn solid
I use Podcast Addict on Android (both phone and tablet) and it’s excellent. I’m using the paid version so it’s ad-free. It has a good set of widgets too. Five stars.
I used to use Podkicker Pro, but the paid version started showing ads. So I switched to Podcast Addict Pro and it’s excellent.
Podcast addict is both incredibly customizable and feature rich. Absolutely worth trying.
Another vote for AntennaPod for Android You can use MusicBee on PC
Just I don’t think you can sync podcasts or progress between the two
I know it’s kind of niche, but I absolutely love many of the features of Podcast Republic.
Being able to have multiple queues and have them automatically chain together by priority is an irreplaceable feature for me.
Google Podcasts app works well enough for me
And it’s accessible from both your computer and your mobile devices.
Another Podcast Addict user here. But I don’t think they pay the Podcasters anything if that’s your concern. If you’re listening to Joe Rogan, don’t pay him a penny. Pirate the shit out of his podcasts. But maybe you should consider giving to Patreon if you don’t already. They take a cut but at least you know its going to the podcaster.
Also you really should know that Tidal isn’t paying anyone any better, no platform is. They’re all beholden to rights holders, and that is mostly record labels and their parent companies. No platform pays per stream, that’s a myth. Spotify just distributes all the money left after their 30%. Blame the labels for making audio so unprofitable and for the average listener for treating music and podcasts as disposable,
Before you think I’m defending spotify, I’m not. They tried to make an unprofitable product profitable and they did it by selling out to record labels. Spotify could have made them irrelevant but chose not to.
