Best Podcast Apps Guide | Podcast Maniac

Whether you're new to podcasts, or a long time listener, finding the best podcast app (some people call them "players" or "catchers") for your phone or tablet can be tricky.

Also: apps come and go, even with millions of podcasts and listeners out there. Case in point: Years ago, I put together a Podcast App Comparison Guide, all about the 4 top podcast apps, but only two of those apps still exist. It's a fruitless effort to keep something like that up-to-date.

Still, I see this question online all the time: "What's the best podcast app?"

So here's my opinion: POCKET CASTS.

And before you ask: Yes, Pocket Casts is available for Apple and Android users. And no, they don't pay me/I am not an affiliate. Like this whole blog, I'm just real passionate about this topic.

Features & Settings I Use Religiously on my Pocket Casts App

Here are just a few of the things set up on my Pocket Casts app:

Adjustable listening speeds set PER PODCAST. I like to listen at 1.2x speed, but a few podcasters talk so fast that I need to slow them down. I have this set on a per-podcast basis. No fiddling with the phone every time I switch to a new podcast.
Auto-play, so that when one podcast finishes, I move onto the next one that I've queued up.
Auto-download ONLY WHEN I'M ON WIFI. Because I don't want to be walking around streaming (aka, USING DATA) whenever I open my podcast app in the car, at the gym, etc.
Auto-download ONLY ON THE PODCASTS I CHOOSE. And yes, I want to download, because of data (see above).
Auto-queue, on shows that I know I want to be next in line for listening once they are downloaded.
Auto-DELETE once an episode has been listened to, because phone storage. (I have had dozens of people write to me over the years saying that they don't download podcasts because then they are stored on their phone and they can't take photos. Auto-delete, my friends).

These are just the basics. They are my standards for podcast listening.

Pocket Casts wins over Apple's Native Podcast Player

I've been using Pocket Casts for years. At some points it was free, then there was a small annual fee.

Pocket Casts is a full-featured podcast player that doesn't get distracted by the latest trends in video, music, or audiobooks (all things I love, but now when I just want to listen to podcasts).

Pocket Casts is a company that is constantly updating it's app for the user's experience (not true when it comes to the Apple Podcasts player that comes on your Apple device).

Pocket Casts is also TRANSPARENT. They tell you when they're doing updates, they explain when there are bugs (which is hardly ever) and they don't screw around with your settings in the background.

Pocket Casts wins over Spotify

A few years back, Spotify invested millions of dollars into technology and human resources to try to take over the podcast space. And yes, plenty of people listen to podcasts on Spotify now. But to this day, Spotify has not updated its app to serve podcast listeners.

(Listen, I spent a lot of time stewing over this a couple years back, and I actually considered writing an open letter to Spotify here on the blog, but then the pandemic happened, and I realized that life was too short to get into a pissing match with a multi-billion dollar company).

Long story short: Spotify does not have any of the great features that Pocket Casts has for listening to podcasts.

I've tried listening to podcasts in Spotify. The audio is the same, of course, but the podcast episodes just get lost amongst the rest of the stuff in my Spotify account.