Apps

Best Podcast Listening Apps For iOS and Android

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Podcasts have gained extraordinary popularity in 2020, there are a staggering number of options for podcast apps - for both iOS and Android.

These apps are available in either one or both iOS and Android ecosystems. They provide features that range from playback options, sharing options, sleep timers, and more. 

Podcast Apps for both iOS and Android 

These following apps are available on both iOS and Android. Some also have desktop apps for Mac, Windows and Chromecast.

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This app doesn’t require an account or login information, you can start listening immediately. It also gives the option of listening to Podcasts offline, meaning no net needed! This is an add free app which gives you the power to support the creators you love through donations. You can bookmark your favourite parts of a podcast, giving you the opportunity to go back and share these moments.

You can also add private RSS feeds (all apps do not allow this) and import and export using OPML. They also have an incredibly responsive customer service team.

This app is perfect for anyone who likes to listen to many podcasts at a time. It has a great user interface, which provides light and dark themes and has search and filter options as well. It provides its users with variable speed choices varying between .5x and .3x speeds along with a volume boost option.

If you want to listen to specific parts of a podcast, it also provides users with chapter navigation. You can start listening to where you left off on a different device as well. The discover page contains curated lists and top charts to help you find podcasts that might interest you. And for the extremely active people, you can access the app through your Apple Watch!

With Stitcher, you can search for specific episodes within a series, create playlists, find new podcasts, listen to the news and do a lot more. You can access the app from your iPhone, iPad, Android devices, PC and smart speaker.

The app is listed as a free app but it offers a premium subscription of $4.99/month that removes ads and gives you the opportunity to listen to original shows. It has also won many awards.

The app is relatively new but has amazing reviews online which earned them “best of” awards from Google and Apple.

You can access the 95 million episodes available on the app through Amazon Echo Skill, Apple Watch and CarPlay. The app also provides users with an in-audio search feature if you’re looking for something specific.

Podbean is easy to navigate and use and has garnered hundreds of 5-star reviews over the years. It comes equipped with Alexa skill and has various plans you can choose from depending on your podcasting needs.

Not only is it a podcast listening app but its also a podcast hosting company as well, meaning you can use it to create your own podcasts! You can record and upload your podcasts straight from the app. It also has marketing and monetization features you can use for a fee to optimize the response from your podcasts.

Laughable, like the name suggests, is focused more on comedy but has podcasts available for different interests as well. It gives you the option of subscribing to podcasts of all genre and also connects you to thousands of specialists in fields like comedy, acting, athletics, music, publishing and others.

The app makes it very easy to find a specific personality and listen to them even if they are just guests. Laughable has also been a featured app in the App Store many times!

Tune In is an internet radio that provides you access to live sports, music, news, podcasts and internet radio.

This app not only works with Android and iOS but it also works with CarPlay, Apple Watch and Chromecast. But the most fascinating part about this app is the availability of MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL with their premium subscription service.

Although Spotify is known for music, they have developed a section for podcasts as well. They offer a variety of genres to choose from and if the podcast you want to listen to is not listed, it’s as easy as filling a request to get it listed!

And if you’re a podcast producer and your podcast is hosted with a well-known company, you can have it listed on Spotify by filling a simple form.

iOS Podcast Apps

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Full disclosure: this is an ad-supported app. But the ads are that of other podcasts so you could consider them to be more recommendations to topics that might interest you. (There is an option to remove the ads as well).

A few features especially highlighted in the app include smart speed, voice boost, playlist filtering and reordering and discovery through twitter followers. 

The most amazing thing about this app: its ad-free. The app is a smart app, meaning it can suggest shows based on what you’re listening to and what is trending. It is also the first podcast app that focusing on design and is gesture-based.

Some other features that excite its users are the easy to create and manage a queue feature, access to previously finished episodes and the ability to save data on what to download and stream. You can also toggle playback speeds and get notifications for new episodes posted.

This app lets you listen to podcasts offline, adjust playback rates and notifies you of new episodes and more. It has a great user interface with easy to use controls. 

This comes with your Apple devices. It has a large selection of podcasts from different genres. With all Apple devices linked, you could pick up where you left off on a different device and gives you the option of listening offline.

This app is specifically designed for podcasts. It lets you queue or archive new episodes which is handy if you don't wish to listen to every episode in a podcast. Its queue design is more compact than the other apps, giving you the chance to see a large number of queued episodes at once.

It also has a night mode which can be turned on and off using finger gestures. Castro is a well-organized app for people who subscribe to many podcasts at once. Its also supported by Apple Watch and iMessage.

It has a bunch of useful features and is an amazing app for organizing your podcasts. The app syncs to your iCloud so you can easily pick up where you left off and includes iPad, Apple Watch and CarPlay support. You can also use the macOS version for $4.99.

PodCruncher offers gestures, playback speed control, sleep timer, landscape view and more.

This is a universal app that works on all Apple devices including Apple Watch. It also lets you download your podcasts so you can listen to them without having internet access.

Android Podcast Apps

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The Google Podcasts has some cool features not only for its listeners but also for podcast producers. You can subscribe to your favourite podcasts, queue episodes you want to listen and add different Google accounts to the app as well.

It provides smarter recommendations and is synced with Google Assistant for more convenience. More information is available on Google’s blog post. 



This app not only supports iTunes but also YouTube channels. It has the ability to save podcasts directly to your device, has live radio streaming, Android Wear support, automatic download and more.

The app does have ads but those can be removed through the in-app remove ads purchase. 



This app has a ton of features that include Chromecast and Sonos support. It can be turned into a widget, has sleep timers, advanced playback and a lot more. 



This app has a great interface and sports a staggering amount of downloads. It comes with Smart Playlist technology that builds playlists for you according to your listening preferences. It is car-friendly, has a one-touch widget control bar, works with Android Wear and is supported by Chromecast.



The app has a lot of good reviews and has also been given many awards. It has fully automated download and cleanup of media files and is supported by Chromecast. You have the option of downloading episodes as well.



Player FM is a great app for custom organizing of your podcasts, syncs to the cloud and keeps your listening history stored for better navigation. You can connect this app to your TV with Chromecast, use it Android Wear and use Android Auto to listen in your car.

You can download episodes to listen to offline and find new podcasts with its smart recommendations.



The app allows you to add your own RSS feed and has had a lot of downloads over the years. You can use the Downloads bar to navigate through your downloaded podcasts. The Episode bar lists up to 200 latest episodes from your subscribed podcasts.



It’s a nice app for your managing podcasts. It comes with password protected feeds and episodes and has OPML import and export. New episodes are automatically downloaded and the app has playback with variable speeds.



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Learn more about all of our podcast production services and hear a sample of our work here. We look forward to adding massive value to your podcast development process.

Conclusion

These are only a few of the many apps available today. Which one do you prefer? Let us know below in the comments if you have any other recommendations.

- By Neha Agarwala