The 8 best free podcast apps

And each app has something unique to offer, whether you're a podcast listener or want to distribute your own podcast. But with all these apps, sometimes you can't see the store anymore. In this jungle of apps and providers, I've compiled my favorite list of free apps, sorted by platform. Happy Listening!

Oh, and don't forget to subscribe to the Daniel Kuipers podcast on all those platforms ;).

Best free podcast apps for Android and iPhone

There are a number of podcast apps available for download on both Android and iPhones. Here are some of the best:

Pocket Casts

Pocket Casts is a great free podcast app for people (like me) who listen to many different podcasts. It has a super UI, both a light and dark theme, a good search function, filter options and much more.

Some of the highlight settings include: Variable speed (anything between 0.5x and 3x), Volume booster, Apple Watch controls and Chapter navigation. Pocket Casts also has a sync option so you can switch between devices without losing progress.

Recently, Pocket Casts went to a Freemium model.

Pocket Casts on iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pocket-casts/id414834813

Pocket Casts on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=au.com.shiftyjelly.pocketcasts

Castbox

Castbox is one of the newer apps (published in 2018) and so the features of this modern app are not lying. The app has won multiple "best of" awards from Google and Apple, so the reviews are rave. Castbox can be found on iOS as well as Android, complete with Amazon Echo support, Apple Watch and CarPlay.

Castbox on iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/app/castbox-radio/id1243410543

Castbox on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=fm.castbox.audiobook.radio.podcast

Spotify

It became difficult for me to make this list without mentioning Spotify at least once. While Spotify is obviously the best-known app for music, they also have an impressive Podcast platform.

Especially for podcast creators, Spotify is a brilliant platform; you are just one simple form away from publishing your own podcast. Free and for nothing.

Spotify on iPhone: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/spotify-music/id324684580?mt=8

Spotify on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spotify.music

Bonus: Anchor

I know this list is mostly about listening to podcasts, but I still want to take a moment to name Anchor. That one is for the podcast creators among us. Completely free, great hosting features and incredibly useful tools make recording your own podcast super easy and get complete support from the major platforms. Recording, editing and publishing, all in 1 app. Top.

Anchor on iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchor/id1056182234

Anchor on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=fm.anchor.android&hl=nl&gl=US

Best free podcast apps for Apple

Apple has some highly recommended apps for podcasts. These are my favorites:

Overcast

Too bad: Overcast is an app with ads. Nice though: All ads are from other podcasts. You can pay to stop hearing them, but in practice it turns out to be absolutely unnecessary. Overcast has some handy features in that regard: Smart Speed (skip in-podcast ads!), Voice Booster, playlist filtering and podcast discovery with a handy twitter implementation.

Overcast on iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/overcast-podcast-player/id888422857

Castro 3

Castro 3 has a number of unique features that give the app its own place in this list of free podcast apps. For example, an amazingly useful inbox that lets you queue or archive episodes, a night mode that can be turned off and on with two-finger swipe, iMessage and Apple Watch support, among others. Castro 3 is a free podcast app with high quality design. And you certainly won't regret it.

Castro 3 on iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/castro-podcast-player/id1080840241

Bonus: Apple Podcasts

Apple Podcast comes free and clear with your iPhone, iPad and Macbook. Nice man. So according to Buzzsprout, 25% of all podcast listeners use this in-house app.

Best free podcast apps for Android

Android, too, has its own exclusive apps for podcast listening. In a row:

Google Podcasts

Google itself, of course, cannot be left behind and has released its own podcast app. Especially as a podcaster, this is an interesting option; you can get badges, templates, various resources and the support of Google's giant brand if you host your podcast here.

Check it out here.

Podcast Addict

Podcast Addict is my personal favorite free podcast app. This wildly popular app has Chromecast support, Sonos support, multiple advanced playback features, a sleep timer, an awful lot of discovery options, and much more. The developers are busy working on it and more interesting features are added every update.

Podcast Addict on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bambuna.podcastaddict&hl=en

Podcast Republic

Podcast Republic is ad-supported with an option to remove the ads, but the ads didn't actually bother me that much. The app supports iTunes and Youtube channels as one of the few apps on this list, it has live radio streaming, you can download podcasts (even with automatic download) and much more. Definitely highly recommended!

Podcast Republic on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.itunestoppodcastplayer.app&hl=en

What is your favorite free podcast app? Let us know!