The Best Apps To Feed Your Podcast Addiction
Do you consider yourself a “podcast addict?”
Here at The Mission, we are passionate about increasing our health, wealth, and wisdom. One way we do that is by listening to podcasts that allow us to keep up with trends and hear fresh perspectives on the world.
And the best way to listen to podcasts… is through a podcast app!
That’s why we’ve compiled this list of our favorite podcast apps. These convenient tools are guaranteed to take your podcast experience to the next level.
Apple Podcasts
This one had to make the list, right? Apple Podcasts has been a leader in podcast apps since it debuted in iOS 4. This tool enables listeners to subscribe to, download, and organize their favorite podcasts. It also includes a convenient “Play Next Queue” for an uninterrupted listening experience. With hundreds of thousands of shows to choose from, Apple Podcasts is an indispensable resource for the avid listener.
Google Play
Google Play is an excellent resource for Android users in search of podcasts, music, movie rentals, and e-books. It can be accessed through the Play Store app, which comes preinstalled on Android devices. Never fear Apple users — Google Play Music is also available on iOS devices.
Spotify
One of Spotify’s best features is that you aren’t limited in how you can listen to podcasts. Whether you want to listen from your iPhone, Android, or desktop, Spotify gives you the ability to listen to your favorite podcasts from anywhere, on any almost any device.
Another great feature is being able to save your podcasts for offline listening. This means you can listen to your favorite podcasts even when you’re not in a location with Wi-Fi or you don’t want to use mobile data.
If you have yet to venture over to Spotify, we recommend you check it out. It may become one of your favorite podcast apps!
Player FM
Player FM is a free, multi-platform podcast app that is also free of ads and uses minimal permissions on your devices.
Two features that Player FM boasts are the ability to set a sleep timer and the ability to download podcast episodes to a micro-USB card. For the sleep timer, all you have to do is set what time you want the app to turn off, and at the desired time, it will stop the podcast wherever you are. With the ability to save your favorite podcasts to a USB card, you will save space on your device!
iHeartRadio
iHeartRadio gives you access to “the best local radio stations and podcasts.” It offers thousands of live radios stations — including music, news, sports, talk, and comedy — in addition to podcasts.
For a fee, you can upgrade your listening experience with iHeartRadio’s Premium Features, which removes ads. You can also play millions of songs on demand and build an unlimited number of playlists.
Pocket Casts
Pocket Casts boasts themselves as “The world’s most powerful podcast player.” A pretty bold statement for sure. Let’s dive into the features and see why they claim this title.
The first thing to note about Pocket Casts is the sheer number of podcasts on their app. They currently have over 300,000 unique shows! With that much to listen to, you’ll never run out of quality content.
Another feature that secures Pocket Casts as one of the top apps for podcasts is the playback speed feature. With this feature, you can change the speed of the podcast from 0.5 to 3x faster. This means you can “power through long episodes in less time.”
With no shortage of other incredible features, it’s clear why people make Pocket Casts one of their top podcast apps!
Soundcloud
“The world’s largest community of artists, bands, podcasters, and creators of music and audio” is at your fingertips with Soundcloud. This app enables you to create a collection of and share your favorite recordings. You can also add notes to specific times during a recording. How convenient is that?! Soundcloud is available on both iOS and Android, making it an essential app for podcast addicts across multiple devices.
Overcast
Similar to Pocket Casts, one of Overcast’s top features is the ability to change the speed of the podcast. They call this “Smart Speed”, and it will shorten the length of the silences in the podcast, without causing distortion in the speaking.
Overcast also has a great feature called “Voice Boost”. This feature boosts and “normalizes” the volume on all your favorite shows. Now, you can listen to your favorite podcasts in noisy cars or in a crowd of people, and you won’t have to turn the volume up to the point of blowing your eardrums out.
Overcast states that they are “a powerful yet simple podcast player for your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.”
Breaker
Breaker calls themselves “the social podcast app,” and that title is a perfect description of what they offer. In the app, you can:
- See what podcasts your friends are listening to.
- Like, share, and comment on your favorite episodes.
- Chat about episodes with friends.
- And even list your favorite podcasts on your profile!
It’s definitely one of the top podcast apps, considering it currently has a 4.8 out of 5-star rating on the Apple Store.
Stitcher
Stitcher has a few unique features that other podcast apps can’t claim. One such feature is the ability to integrate Stitcher with the Amazon Echo. You can listen to your favorite podcasts just by speaking to Alexa! Another unique feature is Stitcher being integrated with over 50 car models! Some of these include GM, Ford, BMW, MINI, Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo, Mazda, Subaru, and more!
Castro 2
Castro 2 has a feature called “Triage”, which lets you follow a lot of podcasts without getting overwhelmed. This feature takes all the new daily episodes of your followed podcasts, uploads them to your inbox (where you can read the description), queues the ones you’re interested in, and archives the rest.
In Castro 2, you can also discover new podcasts with the personal recommendation feature, which allows your friends to (you guessed it) recommend podcasts they love. Plus, if you share a podcast with a friend, and they don’t have Castro 2, the podcast will play from an interface on any browser!
Anchor 2.0
Anchor 2.0 is for those of you who want to create your own podcasts. In fact, the beauty of Anchor 2.0 is that it goes beyond a simple podcast format and into a DIY method of creating a radio station.
As the host, you can live-stream your episodes to Android, iPhone, Echo, Bluetooth, and more. You can even have live call-ins, clip external sound bites, and transition with pre-made interludes.
If you’re looking for the best podcast app for podcasters, you should check out Anchor 2.0.
Podcast Addict
Podcast Addict actually allows you to manage a plethora of feeds right in a single app. For example, you can manage your podcasts, radio, audiobooks, Youtube, Twitch, and Soundcloud channels all from the Podcast Addict app.
Without taking into account all the other channels you can manage from the Podcast Addict app, you can listen to over 550,000 podcast channels. That equates to over 10 million episodes! One reviewer even says that it is “Pretty much the only option for serious podcast listeners on Android!”
Will this become one of your top podcast apps?
NPR One
NPR One isn’t one of the most feature-heavy podcast apps, but if you’re looking for an app that will learn what you like based on your listening trends, then this an app you’ll want to have. By simply listening to what you enjoy, NPR One delivers curated news and stories straight to you.
Downcast
Downcast is an iOS exclusive podcast app. It focuses on being a user-friendly, minimal, and powerful podcast app.
One feature of Downcast is subscription by URL. This means that even if your favorite podcast isn’t on their platform, you can still listen to it!
UCast
Podcast enjoyment isn’t just about the listening experience; it’s also about the interface experience. Ucast lets you be in charge of more than just what podcasts you subscribe to. You can customize the themes, change the colors, and modify many other parts of the platform. This app offers true control for a true podcast fan.
Listening to podcasts is a great way to level up your thinking. Having a podcast app that suits your needs makes it easier for you to focus on the content of the podcast… and focus less on trying to figure out how to get the darn thing to play. 😏
Which podcast apps do you like to use regularly? Share them in the comments below!
