By sagnika sinha
Are you looking for the best podcast app in 2023? Especially when it is a perfect way to absorb audiobooks, documentaries, entertainment broadcasts, discussions, and debates without visually engaging. Read the article to learn more about the podcast apps trending in 2023.
It is a time for streaming services as the listeners have zero engagement, and most services are free! Have you become addicted to podcasts, especially now that there is free streaming?
The podcast applications are perfect for filling up the silent gaps that you might be experiencing on a long drive or trying to go to sleep. It is only sometimes possible to read books, especially if you are driving or there is no light; hence, these podcasts help you manage those boring spots.
Here Are The Best Podcast Apps That You Should Know About In 2023!
As a part of the digital world and a music lover, I have regularly kept a tab on apps that have music services! Through this connection, I discovered podcasts and, from there onwards, developed knowledge about podcast apps.
With the availability of Android and iOS mobile devices, podcast streaming and downloading devices are always accessible. Many of these apps I will list here are free, so you can install the app or open the website on desktop browsers.
My article is dedicated to the best Android and iOS apps with a wide range of music and podcast shows. Many of these applications will entertain your range of interests concerning the choice of shows. So to find and listen to your favorite podcasts, keep reading!
1. PodBean
It is one of the most popular podcast applications, especially because of its unique features. I put it at the top of the list because of the two different characteristics compared to other podcasting apps. It is also considered one of the best android podcast app!
The first feature is intelligent playback speed, where you will find that the app will adjust to the speed automatically based on the content being played instead of depending on the listener. It is helpful when you listen to different podcasts belonging to speakers with varying speeds of background.
The second equally important and unique feature is the ability to listen to live podcasts. It is a different experience compared to other apps considering you can interact in real time instead of waiting for the podcasts to be edited after being recorded.
There are also options for recording your podcasts, purchasing premium content, and reviewing the recommendations. There is a drawback, such as the lack of proper season support leading to confusion for some subscriptions.
The application has a free plan to access 500 MB of content and mp3 formats with a maximum of 3 episodes daily. For the subscription plan, you need to pay $14 every month.
2. Podurama
The podcast application Podurama is one of the best for cross-platform audio listening sync across Windows, MacOS, iOS, web applications, and Android. Some of my favorite features are organizing podcasts into separate folders. Hence, you can create multiple playlists.
The app has almost 30 million podcasts of diverse genres. Hence, you can choose from a miscellaneous section of audio shows. There are also features such as a bookmark or take notes which can be used in audio. There are also smart playlists through which you can also highlight podcast shows.
Podurama is an application that can search for episodes from specific podcast shows. Search alerts can also notify the episodes using a particular keyword. There is also an option to play small snippets of episodes and decide whether to listen to complete episodes.
The application can be synced across desktop, web, and mobile apps. The application has options such as volume boost and Trim silence features, which help improve the overall listening experience.
The basic app can be used without paying any money. Instead, the premium services for the application cost around $0.99 monthly with a trial period of 7 days. One of the negative impacts is that the feature of uploading personal files of audio is only available in the paid version.
3. Offline Podcast App: Player FM
The audio content on this app comprises interviews, audiobooks, and podcasts. It is a service you can use offline with additional features of viewing video podcasts, audiobooks, and content.
The user interface is simple, especially with personalization and navigation with multiple Android devices. There are integration options through which you can use other services such as WearOS, Chromecast, and Android Auto.
The service of this podcast application is mostly free, just like other apps’ basic plans; however, if you take a subscription plan, you have to pay $39.99 monthly. The application can be played offline or downloaded.
4. Google Podcasts
Google Podcasts is another podcast application that is reliable as an option, especially if you are planning to take on a subscription. Once you subscribe to the podcasts, you can start listening to the podcasts, but there are no hard and fast rules once you subscribe to them. You can listen to the podcasts even without subscribing!
The recommendations across the app help you identify your choices and make a list based on your preferences. The user interface is easy to use and straightforward concerning its features.
One of the app’s drawbacks is finding the right podcast queue because of many options. It is easy to use. However, too many features need to be clarified for the users.
There are auto-downloading episodes based on your subscriptions, and accordingly, you can also have the features of a sleep timer, silence trimming, and speed control. The application is synced with Google Cloud. Hence, you can also pick up from where you left off when using the free web browser.
The best part of this app is that the podcast shows are completely free to listen to. Hence, you can subscribe to your favorite podcasts completely free of cost. It is however, considered one of the best free podcast app!
5. Stitcher
The app is an easy-to-navigate service with an efficient, user-friendly interface and useful features. The app gives customized recommendations and provides the best features compared to other apps.
The podcasts are organized along with features such as speed controls, sleep timers, and silence trimming. There is also season support for the different episodes of a podcast show. The parts are well-defined across the app.
The basic plan of the podcast app is free of cost. However, there are limitations to the podcast shows you can access. If you subscribe to the premium services, you must pay $4.95 or $34.99 monthly.
6. Castro
This is one of the most efficient podcast players that helps manage and listen to audio files and shows on iOS devices. The Castro podcast application is free, giving you complete control of your listening experience.
The best part of the application is that it identifies the type of shows you listen to and automatically downloads and adds similar presentations to the playlist or queue. You can manage the audio individually compared to other apps that contain applications on general categorization.
The application also chooses shows specific to the genre you listen to and recommend to your inbox, which you can later check! The podcasts you have subscribed to will be highlighted with new episodes on your feed. This app can be considered as a podcast app for iphone!
Due to this feature, you can easily review the best option accordingly, select your favorite and disregard others. The app also only tries to cram a few features making the interfaces more complicated.
The application’s features include allowing mono mix; users can enhance voices, a podcast sharing with iMessage, support of Apple Watch, and dynamic chapter artwork. The quality of Enhance Voices or Trim Silence is only available in the subscription plan.
The application is mostly free with its basic application; however, for premium services, you need to pay $2.99 monthly or $18.99 yearly! You can skip parts of the podcasts by using the feature Pre-selection chapter.
7. Spotify
The app Spotify is one of the most popular and in-demand podcast players for music and shows. You can access the application on mobile devices and web services on the desktop. It is my favorite podcasting app, especially for the features it provides.
Features such as music discovery features, favorite songs, creating playlists, and editor picks are significantly efficient compared to other podcast apps. The application is available on Android, iOS, MacOS, and Windows devices.
The Spotify podcast application can also be USD to stream online, whether music or audio for shows. The podcasts and song playlists you can make consist of unlimited songs or podcast shows. There are many categories, such as news, stories, education, comedy, and others.
The different podcasts and their categories are displayed on the main feed or page, helping you sort through them. The basic application is free to use. However, the premium services require you to pay $9.99 monthly. You will also get a trial period of 30 days when you subscribe to the premium service.
The podcast application caters to more than 50 languages. One of the application’s drawbacks is that the free version of the app on mobile devices is limited. It also needs to improve in audio quality. It is because the audio is played at a low bit rate.
8. Castbox
Another significant podcast application is Castbox which is full of features. However, Castbox was quite difficult to navigate because of its complex interface. There are also advertisements in the app’s free version, which could have been more annoying.
The application has much to offer, even with all the drawbacks I highlighted. The application allows its community of listeners to like, comment, and interact with each other while listening to podcasts.
You can also record your podcasts in this application. There are also customized recommendations based on your choice of podcasts that you always listen to! A free version of the app limits the podcasts to 100.
It is more than just a podcast playback app but is also efficient regarding features such as a sleep timer, a volume booster, silence trimming, and speed controls. The app is customized and easy; you can also find transcribed podcasts. The monthly subscription is $5.
Podcast Addict: Podcast Player
The application is quite a service with features that can be accessed on multiple platforms. For example, you can use SoundCloud, YouTube, and other platforms to access audio content to play on this application.
There is also another interesting feature where you can use your favorite podcast to set as an alarm clock! It is funny and cute, especially when the application is very generous. The Podcast Addict is also efficient in encouraging users to subscribe to the premium version.
The basic plan for the app is free; however, if you opt for the premium version, which is called ‘Podcast Addict PREMIUM,’ you have to pay $0.99 a month or $9.99 a year.
Pocket Casts
It is considered one of the most popular and favorite applications, with intuitive and easy-to-use features. The features are diverse and are supportive of subscriptions and recommendations. You can also directly listen to the audio content on this app without any subscription.
There is a feature called volume booster which can be used to make the audio quality better. When listening to the audio content, you can use a volume booster, silence trimming, a sleep timer, and speed controls.
The application provides you with 10 GB of cloud storage, access to desktop apps, a web player, and extra themes.
The Pocket Casts Plus subscription costs around $1 monthly, helping you access more content along with downloading the content.
Keep Listening!
With streaming services worldwide becoming so affordable, I give you some of the best apps for podcasting where you can run your personal preference. Along with that, you can customize settings.
Further, you can implement algorithmic recommendations to discover other episodes and shows for podcasts. There are excellent options with great audio quality and boosters for further enhancement.
Comment below regarding your favorite podcast app and why you like them!
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