Apple Podcasts is the default podcast app for many iOS users, but it has the latest iOS 14 updates made it an unbearable mess. Users have dealt with bugs, lost subscriptions, delayed episode availability, and poor performance for months, and each patch seems to break as many things as it fixes. It has also made the platform difficult for podcast creators, especially those who rely on Apple Podcast’s new paid subscription features for revenue.
Many of these issues will reportedly be fixed once iOS 15 is live, but the stable build is still months away. Fortunately, if you’re tired of those past headaches, you don’t have to stick with Apple Podcasts – podcasts are growing in popularity, and as a result, there are more podcast managers on the App Store than ever before.
We’ve been on this beat for a while and have a few definite recommendations for the best apps for managing podcasts on your iPhone and / or iPad (and maybe even Android or desktop), as well as a few backup suggestions for those looking for a newer Find a podcast listening experience.
Pocket Casts is the podcast app to beat
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Platforms: Free for iOS and Android; Plus subscription ($ 1 / month or $ 10 / year) for iOS, Apple Watch, Android, Mac, Windows, and the web.
Pocket Casts brings together almost all of the useful features found in pretty much every other podcast manager, as well as many that are unique. The app also makes them available through a sleek interface that is easy to use – and best of all, it’s free.
Some of the great features include audio enhancement options: built-in “volume boost” makes it easier to hear people’s voices while background music or noise is reduced; “Trim Silences” cuts off long pauses; and you can adjust the playback speed between 0.5x and 3x (and this does not affect the pitch).
Pocket Casts users can sync their subscriptions and play position across multiple devices, and the app has robust options for finding new podcasts – including the ability to search for episodes so you can find all the podcasts that talked about a particular topic – and view your listening history. You can also play third-party media files stored on your device and set sleep timers that will pause your podcast if you hear it before bed.
The free version is packed with features, but not perfect. For example, the playlist and filter options could be more robust. You can queue a playlist however you want, or filter your podcast subscriptions and the list of downloaded episodes using a small selection of preset categories, but you can’t sort your subscriptions by topic or create your own self-updating playlists. Given the many features Pocket Casts has to offer, it seems strange that this type of customization is lacking.
Despite this annoying problem, we like the way Pocket Casts looks and feels. Not only does the app cover all of the basics well, but it also has some customizable gesture options (like setting a swipe left to archive episodes) and even a dark theme.
The free version of Pocket Casts is available for Android and iOS and includes all of the features we’ve discussed so far, but there’s also a premium Pocket Casts Plus option if you want access to more features and broader device support. For either $ 1 a month or $ 10 a year, Plus subscribers get access to the Mac, Windows, web, and standalone Apple Watch versions of Pocket Casts, plus 10GB of cloud storage accessible via all your connected devices can access.
Cloudy is a great alternative, although the options for exploration could be better
Platforms: iOS (including Apple Watch) (free)
Before Pocket Casts went free, Overcast was our number one pick among podcast managers. To be clear, it’s still one of the best podcast apps out there, and an excellent alternative to Pocket Casts (let alone the official Apple app).
Overcast has it all – you can slow down or speed up episodes, the app automatically holds your seat if you stop listening in the middle, and you can create an on-the-fly playlist or listen to any podcast you want on a continuous stream with just a few taps downloaded. More importantly, these features are all intuitive and easy to use.
Even information that is normally spilled, like an episode’s show notes – which often includes timecodes and other helpful information – is easily accessible with a single tap. Overcast has the same volume and silence trim settings as Pocket Casts, plus some nice quality of life options like the ability to add Siri shortcuts and adjust headphone, remote, and dashboard controls.
What sets Overcast apart – and its main advantage over Pocket Casts – is its simple and robust playlist creation tools. You can put together individual episodes, group podcasts by length, or simply bundle subscriptions as makes sense to you.
On the negative side, Overcast is ad-supported, but I find their ads low-key and – Hot Take Alert – I actually think they make the app better. Listen to me: if there’s one aspect of Overcast that could be actively improved, it’s the app’s lack of detection options, which is limited to repackaging Apple podcast charts and redesigning a few other podcast publisher hubs.
Overcast’s ads relate almost entirely to podcasts. While they don’t offer a guarantee of quality, they’re really the only way to use the app to draw attention to a show that isn’t yet a hit.
Like Pocket Casts, there is a premium version of Overcast. For $ 9.99 per year, you can remove the ads, get an alternate logo, and upload files that aren’t available through iTunes or RSS.
The best of the rest
While it’s hard to recommend using any other than the above two apps, there are a few apps that deserve credit for their novel features – and for being more reliable than anything Apple does with Apple Podcasts.
Procast
Procast, a relative newcomer to the field, is a good choice if you like to tweet or share your thoughts on your favorite shows – a built-in clip function allows you to cut out a podcast to add to a tweet or text. It also has a handy “swipe to your inbox” feature that lets you add episodes to your queue with a simple swipe. Procast is a solid choice for iOS, but Android users can also take a look.
Breaker
Breaker is a relatively simple podcast player on the surface, but its built-in, time-coded commentary (similar to Soundcloud commentary) gives users a place to discuss podcasts with other fans. It’s a novel concept for a podcasting app, and it gives listeners the ability to chat and have conversations about their favorite shows outside of places like Twitter and Reddit. Breaker is available on iOS and Android.
iCatcher!
Finally, our newest backup pick is iCatcher !. In contrast to Procast and Breaker, iCatcher does nothing “new” in the field of podcast apps; It’s just a solid, reliable podcast player that has many of the features of Pocket Casts and Overcast, albeit in a slightly less slick package. Almost every core playback feature imaginable is available, the user interface is simple, and you can sync your subscriptions and playlists across multiple iPhones or iPads using iCloud. And iCatcher’s unique and customizable gesture controls! we wouldn’t miss it – including the ability to jump forward a full two minutes by tracing an “L” shape on the screen. It’s also the product of a single developer who is easy to contact with bug reports, and it releases performance-enhancing, bug-fixing updates on a regular basis.
This story was originally published on 11/27/18 and updated on 9/19/19 to reflect the fact that Pocket Casts is now available for free and has become our top recommendation. It was updated again on 7/1/2021 with a new competitor pick, iCatcher !, and updated feature information for Pocket Casts, Overcast, Procast and Breaker.
