Top Podcast Listening Apps

Which app do most people use to listen to podcasts? These are the top podcast-listening apps for Apple iOS and Android. The data comes from Transistor podcast hosting and is an aggregate form of podcast analytics for all podcasters on their platform.

These stats are for February 2024

Most popular podcast apps

Best podcast apps

Just because a podcast app is the most popular doesn't mean it's the best! Here are our favorite apps for iOS and Android.

Best podcast apps for Android

1. Pocket Casts

2. AntennaPod

3. Spotify

Best podcast apps Apple iPhone (iOS)

1. Pocket Casts

2. Apple Podcasts

3. Overcast

Pocket Casts

Way more people should use Pocket Casts to listen to podcasts. It's a cross-platform listening experience that works on iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, and the web.

They have great features for power users: increase listening speed, automatically skip intros/outros, trim silences, and boost volume. It also does a great job of displaying show notes and audio chapters. If you're looking for new podcasts, they have a "Discover" section. My favorite feature is the ability to categorize your podcasts into "folders."

Apple Podcasts

Apple Podcasts is the default podcast app for iOS and MacOS users, and they've recently made several improvements. Most notably, they've improved podcast search results: "Listeners will be able to more easily find the podcasts they’re searching for with new filters for Top Results, Shows, Episodes, and Channels." Apple Podcasts also provides good recommendations for other podcasts you might like.

Overcast (iOS)

Overcast is the podcast listening app that most of our team uses. It's only available on Apple's iPhone and is built by an independent developer, Marco Arment. Our favorite features are Overcast's "Smart Speed," which automatically discards breaks and pauses in an episode, and "Voice Boost," which boosts and normalizes the volume of all the shows you listen to. It also has intuitive player controls (skip ahead, support for chapters and timestamps, sleep timer). It's free in ad-supported mode or $10/year without ads.

AntennaPod (Android)

AntennaPod is frequently cited as the best podcast app on Android. It's ad-free and is an open-source project built by volunteers.

Spotify

If you already use Spotify for music, it will likely become your default podcast-listening app. It's available for both Apple iOS and Android and has a good interface for finding and playing episodes. Spotify will also make personalized recommendations based on your listening preferences.