I’m going to exit on a limb and assume you’ve been on the web earlier than. In that case, you’ve possible stumbled upon a podcast or two. There are virtually 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 best ways to hear in. Whereas Apple and Spotify have made a giant push into the area, and their apps are completely serviceable, they’re not all the time the most effective match for energy customers or individuals who simply need a clear, no-nonsense expertise. The excellent news? There are different choices, and also you don’t must pay a dime to entry them.
Listed below are 5 implausible, and fully free, podcast apps for iOS and Android.
Pocket Casts: Cross-platform king
Should you ask a podcast aficionado for a suggestion, there’s likelihood they’ll say Pocket Casts.
And for good purpose. It’s received a clear, intuitive interface that makes managing your subscriptions a breeze. The free model provides all of the necessities you want, together with variable pace controls, silence trimming, and a volume-boost characteristic to degree 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 yr. With it, you get some power-user options like folders to prepare your reveals, a shuffle characteristic in your “Up Subsequent” queue, bookmarks, entry to quite a lot of themes and app icons, and a few cloud storage in your personal audio recordsdata.
Overcast: iOS app makes podcasts sound higher
Should you’re searching for one thing that’s equal elements easy and absolutely featured, Overcast is a must-try.
Developed by Marco Arment, this iOS app contains options akin to “Good 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 mild, unobtrusive advertisements, however if you wish to eliminate the advertisements and assist the developer, a premium subscription prices simply $15 per yr. With that subscription, you additionally get the flexibility to add audio recordsdata to your personal non-public feed.
Podcast Addict: Android powerhouse
For Android customers, Podcast Addict is an absolute beast.
It’s a feature-rich, extremely customizable app that offers you an virtually overwhelming quantity of management over your listening expertise. You may handle podcasts, audiobooks, dwell radio, YouTube channels, and RSS information feeds multi functional place.
Whereas its interface could be a bit busy, it’s an ideal selection should you’re a tinkerer who likes to fine-tune each element. For the sheer variety of options you get without cost, it’s powerful to beat.
The premium model, which removes all advertisements, begins at 99 cents per 30 days and grants you entry to some further customization choices like completely different app themes, a customized opening display, and a playlist widget.
Castbox: Good suggestions
Should you’re searching for your subsequent podcast obsession, Castbox is a good place to start out.
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 strong, 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, trendy expertise.
Castbox Premium begins at 99 cents per 30 days and removes all of the visible advertisements and video advertisements that play whenever you launch the app. It additionally provides you limitless subscriptions (the free model limits you to 100 channels), a personalised homepage, and superior playback settings that may be personalized for every particular person podcast.
AntennaPod: Android’s minimalist, open-source selection
Should you’re searching for a no-frills, ad-free expertise, AntennaPod is a implausible possibility for Android customers.
It’s a light-weight app with a clear interface that focuses on the core process of listening to podcasts. There aren’t a ton of fancy discovery instruments, however should you already know what you need to hearken to and simply want a easy, dependable approach to handle and play your episodes, AntennaPod will get the job completed.
AntennaPod is exclusive on this checklist as a result of it’s a very free and open-source undertaking, which implies it doesn’t have a paid model or any in-app purchases.
