Watch, listen and read5 picks
The best podcast apps for iPhone
Overcast is the podcast app most iPhone users should switch to, and Pocket Casts is the best free one if you listen on several devices.
OvercastPick it if you listen to hours of talk shows each week and want them shorter without sounding sped up.Free to startOvercast trims silences and evens out volume so talk shows finish faster without sped-up voices, free with small ads. Pocket Casts is the free pick if you also listen on a Mac, Android phone or the web, since your queue follows you. Castro suits people who hand-pick episodes, while Spotify and Matter mix podcasts with music and saved articles.
How we chose
- 1Trimming silences without chipmunk voices
- 21 queue across iPhone, Mac and Android
- 3Choosing episodes before they pile up
Compare at a glance
Tap a name to jump to its write-up.
| App | Price | How you pay | Mac | iPhone | iPad | Watch | App Store | Developer | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overcast | Free to start | Free, with paid upgrades | 4.5 | ||||||
 Pocket Casts | Free to start | Free, with paid upgrades | 4.5 | ||||||
 Castro | Free to start | Free, with paid upgrades | 4.6 | ||||||
 Spotify | Free to start | Free, with paid upgrades | Too few ratings | ||||||
 Matter | Free to start | Free, with paid upgrades | 4.6 |
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The picks, in order
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Pick it if you listen to hours of talk shows each week and want them shorter without sounding sped up.
One developer, Marco Arment, writes and runs Overcast on his own, and it still does something Apple Podcasts doesn't: Smart Speed trims the silences in talk shows without speeding up voices. Voice Boost evens out quiet and loud shows, which helps a lot in the car. Most features are free with small ads for other podcasts, and hiding them takes a yearly Premium subscription.
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Pick this if you switch between iPhone, Mac, Android or CarPlay and want your queue and progress everywhere.
Free covers nearly everything here, including smart playlists, silence trimming, voice boost and sync across iPhone, Mac, the web and Android. That cross-platform sync is the reason to pick it over Apple Podcasts, especially if you also listen on an Android phone or a Windows PC through the web app. The Apple Watch app is part of Plus at $3.99 a month, along with folders and bookmarks, so Watch listeners have to pay.
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Pick it if you follow lots of shows and want new episodes held in an inbox until you choose them.
If you subscribe to dozens of podcasts but only want a few episodes from each, Castro's inbox is built for you: new episodes wait there until you send the good ones to a queue that downloads and plays in order. Apple Podcasts shows every new episode from every show instead. Trim Silence, the voice boost and sideloading need Castro Plus at $3.99 a month or $24.99 a year, and the free tier has ads.
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Pick this if you already pay for Spotify and want podcasts and music in the same app.
Free with ads, or $12.99 a month for Premium, Spotify on the Mac plays the same playlists and podcasts you have on your phone. Premium drops the ads, adds unlimited skips, offline downloads and lossless audio, and the Duo or Family plans cut the cost per person. The recommendations are why people stay, but if you already pay for Apple Music, the built-in Music app covers the same ground.
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Pick it if you'd rather listen to saved articles read aloud than to more podcasts.
Save an article, thread, PDF or YouTube video now and listen to it later, with podcasts and videos turned into transcripts that scroll in time with playback. The free tier already gives you an unlimited library, browser extensions and full-text search on iPhone, iPad and the web. Natural voices, newsletter and RSS sync and Send to Kindle need Premium at $79.99 a year, still less than Readwise Reader's $119.88.
Head to head
Stuck between 2 of these? Each comparison lines up price, devices and who should pick which.
- Overcast vs Pocket CastsPick this if you switch between iPhone, Mac, Android or CarPlay and want your queue and progress everywhere.
- Overcast vs CastroPick it if you follow lots of shows and want new episodes held in an inbox until you choose them.
- Overcast vs SpotifyPick this if you already pay for Spotify and want podcasts and music in the same app.
- Pocket Casts vs CastroPick it if you follow lots of shows and want new episodes held in an inbox until you choose them.
