The best podcast apps for Android

Podcasts seem to be returning as one of the main sources of information and entertainment in the Internet age. It’s a great way to listen to experts talk about the topics you care about, and it’s relatively easy to find great podcasts. Plus, you can find many entertainment podcasts where they relate stories and tell jokes and even documentary podcasts that deep dive into specific topics. If you’re a fan of podcasts and are in the market for a new podcast app, here are the best podcast apps for Android.

The best podcast apps for Android

Spotify for Podcasters 

Price: Free

Most of the apps on this list are podcast apps that let you download or stream your favorite podcasts. We thought we’d include at least one app that helps you make them yourself. Spotify for podcasters (formerly known as Anchor) is a podcast platform that offers unlimited hosting. The app lets you record audio, publish it to various places like iTunes and Google Podcasts, and import audio from other devices to upload. It’s a neat premise with a business model that wants you to succeed. The app and the hosting are free, though, and this isn’t an ad or anything, so try it if you want to make your own podcast.

Castbox

Price: Free / Optional in-app purchases

Castbox is one of a few free podcast apps. It boasts a collection of over one million podcasts scrubbed from places like iTunes and others. The app also includes support for 70 languages, language learning podcasts, Chromecast support, Amazon Echo support, and more. It also provides cloud syncing for multiple device support. Some other power-user settings make it a decent overall app for podcasts. The free version limits how many podcasts you can subscribe to and shows quite a few pop-up ads, which we aren’t a fan of. 

Offline Podcast App: Player FM

Price: Free / Optional in-app purchases

Player FM is a famous cross-platform podcast player known for its offline listening feature, allowing users to download episodes for offline playback. It offers various features, including a vast podcast library, subscription notifications, custom playlists, playback controls, and Chromecast and Android Auto support. The app is free on Android and iOS, but a premium version offers ad-free listening and cross-device sync. However, it has drawbacks, including ads in the free version, occasional bugs, and a relatively high cost for the premium version.

Pocket Casts 

Price: Free / Optional in-app purchases

Pocket Casts used to be one of the most accessible recommendations on any app list here at Android Authority. It’s still an outstanding podcast player, but it’s not the pretty easy recommendation it used to be. The app has an excellent UI, good discoverability features, power-user features, and even customization features like themes. This was a premium app back in its day. However, it went the subscription route a little while back. Hence, it’s difficult to recommend to your average podcast listener since podcasts are generally free to listen to, and this developer charges monthly. It’s an excellent deal for podcast fanatics, but those who only listen to one or two weekly podcasts may be better served with something that doesn’t cost money every month.

Podbean

Price: Free / Optional in-app purchases

Podbean is a reasonably popular podcast app, and it works pretty well. It boasts a metric ton of podcasts organized into various categories. You can subscribe, stream, download, and listen as you choose. It also comes with lock screen controls, different audio effects, Chromecast support, Android Auto support, and integration with Amazon Alexa. That means you can use it virtually everywhere. The app may have a few rare bugs, but it worked fine in our testing. The premium version is $9 per month and it removes ads, gives you unlimited playlists, and lets you change some stuff about the app.

Podcast Addict

Price: Free / Optional in-app purchases

Podcast Addict is one of the most popular free podcast apps. It contains a massive library of podcasts, audiobooks, live-streaming radio, and more. It even has support for YouTube and Twitch channels. The app also features variable playback speed, skip silence options, Chromecast support, and SONOS support. The UI looks a bit old, but it works well with many playlists, playback, and organization opportunities. The app is free, but it also has advertising. There is also a subscription to unlock some additional features, but it is entirely optional.

Podcast Go

Price: Free / Optional in-app purchases

Podcast Go is one of the up-and-coming podcast apps. It features basic stuff like downloading podcast episodes, variable speed playback, sleep timers, and more. It also has a delightful design with Material Design. The app boasts over 300,000 available podcasts. You can search or browse at your leisure and subscribe. Otherwise, it’s a fairly basic experience. The app is free with advertising. You can pay $2.99 to remove the ads. You can use this one free as part of a Google Play Pass subscription if you use it. The only issue we saw was an occasional playback issue and occasionally marking some episodes as finished. 

Spotify

Price: Free / Optional in-app purchases

Spotify is among the world’s best and most popular music streaming services. It also started doing podcasts in early 2016. There aren’t a lot of available podcasts there compared to something like iTunes (which most other podcast apps use for their libraries), but we do not doubt that the number of available podcasts will skyrocket over time. You can download and use the service for free if you don’t mind some audio adverts or you can fork out $10.99/month for the whole, ad-free experience. If you already use Spotify, there will likely come a point where a second podcast app will be redundant.

TuneIn Radio

Price: Free / Optional in-app purchases

TuneIn Radio is among the best radio apps out there. Its focus is primarily on live talk radio. However, the app also includes podcasts, audiobooks, radio stations (AM and FM), and live sporting events. The podcast owners have to make their podcasts available for this one. It doesn’t do things like scrub iTunes for podcast content. Otherwise, it’s a very serviceable podcast app. The premium subscription gives you access to live NFL, MLB, other sports games, and other features. We might not recommend this as a standalone podcast app. However, those who like listening to radio shows from other platforms may find this one better than just a regular podcast app.