The Best Podcast App Alternatives For Android

One of the most enjoyable things you can do on your Android phone is listen to podcasts. It's a great way to learn about new topics, stay abreast on current events, and ultimately give your brain a break from everyday stresses. Whatever your interests are, there is a good chance that there's already a podcast or two discussing them in-depth — all you need is a podcast app of your choice to gain access.

There's a growing list of podcast platforms on the Google Play Store that you can use in lieu of your device's default audio listening app, or Google's own podcast app. While most of them offer the same type of features and probably similar podcast titles to choose from, some options may be better than others. That depends on what other functionalities you are hoping to utilize and possibly merge, that way you only have one app for multiple uses.

Each of the podcast app alternatives for Android devices listed below is free to use at first, but you have the option of upgrading to a paid membership to gain access to more podcast shows and app features.

Spotify, an app with over 1 billion downloads on the Google Play Store, has made a name for itself as one of the most successful audio-listening services to date — thanks in part to its expansive catalog of music and podcasts alike. Looking for new shows to listen to is as easy as looking for songs. There's a useful "Podcasts" genre included in the app's search function, where you can easily browse through new releases, popular episodes, and a variety of podcast categories that are more specific to your favorite topics or interests. When a podcast track is playing, you will also have access to special controls that let you change the playback speed. You can also set up a sleep timer to turn off the app anytime between five minutes to the end of the episode.

Spotify Premium subscribers can listen to podcasts for free, and even download episodes for offline listening — a feature that's useful for plane rides or traveling to places with limited internet connectivity. If your favorite podcast creator offers premium content, you can also purchase a podcast subscription to gain access to bonus episodes, and support the show. To ensure that you retain downloaded podcast episodes, you just need to make sure you go online on the app at least once a month, which shouldn't be difficult under normal circumstances. If you already have the Spotify app for enjoying your favorite music compilations, having a separate listening app for podcasts will probably be unnecessary, since Spotify is constantly growing its library of available shows.

Stitcher is another popular podcast app among Android users, with a 4.7-star rating on the Google Play Store. Positive reviews mention its simple and user-friendly interface as a big plus, as well as the app's wide arsenal of free content. It also has playback controls similar to Spotify that let you speed up the track and enable a timer, making it a good listening companion as you drift off to sleep.

While listening to podcasts on Stitcher is free, you can do so ad-free by purchasing a premium subscription. This should also open the door to a bigger library of podcasts that aren't available through free membership, as well as exclusive content and bonus episodes from the creators you follow.

As of late, the Stitcher app has received a few one-star reviews because of problems that arose from recent updates. However, people who've contacted Stitcher directly to get bugs fixed find that the response time to issues is quite fast, so a lot of old-time users end up sticking with the app despite its hiccups.

Another popular alternative with over 10 million downloads on the Google Play Store, Podcast Addict is a great option for someone who is fairly new to the wonderful world of podcasts. It has a pretty sizable library of titles, has useful playback controls, and most importantly, has an interface that is easy to navigate. Users who listen to a lot of content find it easy to manage their feeds and listening queues, as well as discover new titles that are related to the ones they already listen to regularly.

The app recently got an upgrade that makes it so much easier to search for exact episode titles by using single quotes around keywords. You can use Podcast Addict for free with occasional ads — and pay for a premium subscription to remove them — to listen to not only podcasts, but also live radio and audio books, among other formats. You can also set the app to automatically download new episodes, or use it to stream them directly.

There is a reason why Castbox's podcast player app has over 10 million downloads, is highly rated at 4.7 stars, and was marked as a favorite among Google Play Store editors. It's a simple to use app that doesn't skimp on features. It has a massive podcast library that you can browse, stream, and download episodes from for free. You can also get personalized recommendations for new titles based on your podcast subscriptions and listening history on the app.

Castbox comes with an equally massive and active user community that utilizes the app to comment on their favorite episodes and interact with fellow listeners. People can also enjoy their favorite shows in 70 different languages, and even learn new ones through various language-learning podcasts. Additionally, users who have trouble sleeping can replace their sound machine with this app, as it comes with a cool "Zen Mode" feature that plays ambient sounds when listeners need help turning their brains off at night.

Free use of the app limits podcast subscriptions to only 100 channels, so if you're a certified podcast fan who needs to follow more than that, you can get a paid version of the app. A premium subscription to Castbox also gives you access to advanced playback controls, as well as newly developed features that haven't been rolled out to all users.

If you like straightforward apps with clean interfaces, Podbean is a good option worth considering. It's also one of the highest rated podcast apps on the Google Play Store, and is regularly updated with new features and enhancements. Podbean is armed with a pretty reliable algorithm that bases its recommendations on the podcast names, genres, and authors you search for, as well as the episodes you play and listen to. Offline listening is also possible by downloading tracks, as well as creating personalized playlists of your favorite show episodes.

Podbean's playback settings come packed with useful capabilities, one of which is the "intelligent speed" function that intuitively removes silence gaps from a podcast episode in a seamless manner. It also has a volume booster, a sleep timer, and an auto-play feature that makes continuous listening a hassle-free experience. And if your love for podcasts encourages you to dabble in producing one yourself, you can easily record your own episodes within the app and apply effects, add music, and edit your audio clips with ease.