So I’m in the process of switching from Spotify to Tidal for my music streaming (since Tidal pays artists like three times more than Spotify does). The only problem is, Tidal doesn’t support podcasts, which is another big thing I used Spotify for.
So what are some good apps for podcasts? I listen both on my PC and my Android phone, and I’m not really thrilled about the idea of paying for another subscription (so now I’m making two payments to cover the functionality I got with a single, cheaper payment). I’m cool with paying a one-time up-front fee, though.
Any suggestions?
I’ve been using Pocket Casts on Android and it works well. I think that I started using it 2 years ago and I haven’t encountered any issues. I use the free version and it hasn’t asked me to pay and hasn’t shown me ads. I’m a light user when it comes to podcasts though.
They have a web player for PC, but I haven’t tried it.
I also use PocketCasts. Paid 4 bucks for it back in 2013. Highly recommend it.
I’ve used Pocket Cast for a long time now. I bought it probably about 10 years ago. It recently went open source.
This is the one for me. I just checked and I’ve been using the premium version since May 2016 and it cost me £2.50. Only issue I’ve had in that time is the web player was failing to buffer episodes for streaming, but that has since resolved for me.
That was most likely caused by a limitation or rather security feature of the browser regarding cross-domain resources. They offer a desktop Electron-based app that works around this.
I’ve been using Pocket Casts for like 10 years at this point, great app
I think you pay if you want to use the desktop app. I paid. Works pretty everywhere. 😊👍
@skellener @VoxAdActa @fdisk not if you use web
Yes. Using the web is not using the desktop app, hence it is free. I preferred the app and supporting the developer, so I paid.
I’ll second this. It’s less than $20 USD per year so I think it’s worth it. Also, I’m on iOS and have used it on there, Android and Windows.
I was an early adopter and paid like $20 once, so worth it
Another vote for Pocket casts, been a user since 2011. Best release notes of any app as well.
@fdisk @VoxAdActa love for Pocketcasts
Get Fdroid on Android and use Antenna Pod. Idk about podcasts on PC.
@VoxAdActa AntennaPod. I’ve been using it for years now. Instantly works and has exactly the features you need. No ads, no bullshit.
And you can sync with nextcloud. Thats great.
And it’s Free and Open Source!
(Meaning their primary motivation is making a good app, not monetising through enshitification)
I use AntennaPod, love it but I haven’t got it to work on Android Auto yet. That’s the only gripe I have with it.
Using antennapod on Android, can fully recommend. For other apps and platforms check https://podcastindex.org/apps
Ideally, you would donate to the project you choose :)
After seeing your note, I thought, “damn, I’ve used AntennaPod a LOT, I’ll donate!”
If you go to donate they basically say that all their costs are covered right now, but ask if you can help in non-financial ways (translations, help on the forum, beta test, code if you can, spread the word, UX work). I’ll be honest, that level of transparency makes me love the app more than I already did!
I had been using Podcast Addict for a couple of years after switching from BeyondPod which I used for many years.
But now I’m using the open source, community-built AntennaPod. There are a few quirks I had to get used to, but that is true of every app and especially something I use so frequently throughout the day. Performance has been great, especially with audio casting which has always been buggy and inconsistent for me with other apps.
came here to give the same suggestion
Do you need to host a server to sync? I just downloaded the app. I don’t have a server.
came here to give the same suggestion
Podcast Addict is amazing. No complaints.
I am very happy with podcast addict on android. Powerful, not the cleanest ui though.
Podcast addict was perfect for me, the ability to automatically add things to your queue based on priority was great. I used it to play a 10 minute news podcast every morning then jump back to whatever podcast I was listening to and have other weekly podcasts jump in after that
I stand behind AntennaPod, it does what I need.
I’m throwing in another vote for Pocket Casts. Bought it back in 2015 and the web player as a separate purchase. It’s had ups and downs over the years, but I’ve always returned on the rare occasions I tried something different in hopes of finding something better–granted I’m grandfathered into premium at this point. It ticks all the boxes for me and I’d probably buy it again if I didn’t already have it.
I’m using PocketCasts and I paid a one-time fee before it became subscription based (but there’s still a free tier), in order to be able to listen to podcast using the web app on PC. Thus I now have lifetime premium access.
I’m very satisfied with their service, I did not find any problems with both the Android app and the web app, moreover it has almost every feature I need, except voice to text conversion in order to be able to share slices of audio in text format (but there are dedicated apps for that).
💯 this. Pocketcasts is and has been outstanding for the years I’ve had it. Great UI, and will remember your position on a specific episode cross-platform.
Spotube, as it is open source, respects privacy, and is multi-platform. If you run owncloud, you can also install an app to have your listening history synced across devices:
I just use Google podcasts. It’s simple, it works, hail corporate.
I’ve been using Pocketcasts for years, and I’ve been very happy with it. Works on Android, PC, and through web browsers. I’ve never had to pay for it.
I’ve also been using the app for user and got grandfathered into a lifetime membership, although I think it’s been inserting ads in my podcasts. I only say that because I have a VPN on my phone and suddenly my phone will play a Swedish ad I can’t understand.
Fwiw I don’t think pocket casts is doing that, but rather your podcasts themselves. A lot of podcasts use dynamic ad insertion that allow them to inject ads into the podcast at download time as opposed to them being baked into the episode. It lets the hosts have relevant ads in their entire backlog of episodes rather than just ones released during the campaign window.
I use AntennaPod, Mainly because it’s open-source and supports RSS podcasts.
They are also on fediverse! https://fosstodon.org/@AntennaPod
Another vote for AntennaPod for Android You can use MusicBee on PC
Just I don’t think you can sync podcasts or progress between the two
