The 8 Best Podcast Apps for iPhone (2023)

A roundup of the best ways to listen to your favorite podcast

Updated on January 11, 2023

Whether you're listening to podcasts during your morning commute, during a long run, or to coach you as you cook in the kitchen, podcasts cover topics that can pique anyone's sense of wonder and interest.

Some of the best Apple podcast apps for iOS do more than play your podcasts but can help you organize and sort your playlists. Some allow you to manage your subscriptions and make the playback experience more efficient so that you won't miss a word.

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Best Sounding Podcast App: Overcast

What We Like

Smart filters make it easy to organize your playlists.
Loud and clear audio.

What We Don't Like

The search feature is difficult to use.
No introductory tutorials.

Overcast from Overcast Radio, LLC is designed for the curious listener who wants to discover more podcasts. In addition to helping you manage playlists for the podcasts you already love, Overcast will help you discover new ones. Overcast also includes Smart Speed to cut through silent spots, and Voice Boost gives a consistent sound quality so that you can hear quieter voices.

Price: Free, Premium is a $9.99 per year subscription.

Download Overcast on iOS

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Best Premium Podcast App: Castro

What We Like

Keeps track of dates and how much of an episode you've listened to.
Easy-to-navigate interface.

What We Don't Like

iPhone only.
Must subscribe to Castro Plus for some features.

Castro by Supertop puts all of your podcasts into an inbox so you can triage what you want to hear now or later (or maybe not at all).

In addition to trim silence, Castro also includes chapter support and a way to customize settings for each individual podcast.

Price: Free, Premium is $18.99 per year.

Download Castro on iOS

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Best Organized Podcast App: Pocket Casts

What We Like

Simple interface with a desktop version.
Make custom filters to organize your podcasts.

What We Don't Like

To listen to an episode, you must subscribe to a podcast.
Limited search feature.

With its unique tiled design, Pocket Casts is designed for the podcast listener who wants to maximize their time. Designed by ShiftyJelly PTY LTD, Pocket Casts includes a trim silence feature that cuts out silent breaks in the episode so that you can get through your playlist faster. Variable speeds let you adjust the playback speed from .5 to 3x. Volume boost eliminates the background noise while enhancing the sound of voices.

Price: Free, Premium is $.99 a month or $9.99 a year.

Download Pocket Casts on iOS

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Best Customized Podcast Playlists: Stitcher

Stitcher iPhone app showing the downloading of an episode of the Jill on Money podcast.

What We Like

Continuous updates with a newsroom feel.
Developers make frequent improvements.

What We Don't Like

Finding favorite podcasts in the archive is difficult.
Barebones search function.

As the name suggests, Stitcher gives you the ability to stitch your favorite podcasts together to create a custom playlist. With a personalized front page that notifies you of new podcasts as soon as they are available. Stitcher uses your listening history to suggest other shows you may find interesting.

Price: Free, ad-free version is $4.99 a month, or $34.99 per year

Download Stitcher on iOS

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Breaker

What We Like

Get recommendations from friends.
Lots of options for sorting your favorites.

What We Don't Like

Random people sometimes follow you and also offer recommendations.
Search tool could be better.

If you're driven by social media, you'll definitely want to try the Breaker podcast player app, which lets you follow your friends and see what they're listening to. Created by Breaker Inc., Breaker lets you add comments to episodes, share your listening history, and offers the ability to send messages and make suggestions to your Breaker social network.

Price: Free

Download Breaker on iOS

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Best iCloud Integration: Downcast

Downcast iPhone podcast player app — Downcast

What We Like

Mac and iPad versions.
Sync all of your playlists and settings across the iCloud.

What We Don't Like

Difficult to read screens because of the small text.
No recommendations.

Downcast by Jamawkinaw Enterprises LLC is a no-frills old-school podcast player that provides powerful organization and customizing tools. In addition to supporting both audio and video podcasts, Downcast lets you decide which episodes to stream, and which to download, and includes play-back customization features such as starting the episode mid-stream to avoid ads.

Price: $2.99

Download Downcast on iOS

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Best CarPlay Compatibility: Castbox

Castbox

What We Like

Compatible with CarPlay and Amazon Echo.
Thorough search feature.

What We Don't Like

No way to mark episodes as played.
Can't set the play order.

With a clean, intuitive interface, Castbox, by Guru Network Limited, offers an efficient way to organize your podcasts. An in-audio search function uses keywords and phrases within audio files to help you discover more podcasts based on your likes.

Price: Free, Castbox Premium is $0.99 per month

Download Castbox on iOS

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Best Playback Controls: iCatcher

iCatcher

What We Like

Includes VoiceOver support.
Controls let you jump ahead or back.

What We Don't Like

Always sorts episodes from oldest to newest.
Interface can be hard to navigate.

iCatcher by Joeisaner has plenty of features to allow you to build custom playlists, suiting both casual and power listeners. With automatic refreshes, you'll always have the latest episode available. Also has the ability to support video and files, and syncs subscriptions and playback positions between devices through iCloud.

Price: $2.99

Download iCatcher on iOS

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