Want to stream your favorite podcast shows on your iPhone? You're lucky enough as there are plenty of great apps to play podcasts on iOS.
However, if you don't want to search "podcasts" on the App Store and go through the guesswork of which one to choose, we're here to help. Below, we've composed the list of best podcast apps for iPhone that you're going to love both as a newbie listener and a podcast veteran.
So, let's make you wait no longer, and get straight into the top iOS apps.
Apple Podcasts
We guess you're not surprised that we started our list from here. Though exclusively available for iOS users, Apple Podcasts is the global leader according to the number of podcast listeners. One of the great things is that Apple Podcasts are built into every iOS device. And if you have more than one iOS device, it will provide you with an auto-syncing, allowing you to stream favorite playlists on different devices. Apple Podcast has a perfectly adapted interface for iOS. Generally, it's very similar to Apple Music and allows you to search, save, and categorize your favorite shows quickly.
Spotify
Spotify and Apple Podcasts are the two leaders in the podcast streaming industry. In fact, usage-wise, Spotify is even projected to get ahead of Apple Podcasts in 2025. We should state that Spotify offers the bare minimum functionality compared to other podcast streaming apps. However, it provides an excellent listener experience, which is why it's also leading the music streaming industry. If you have a premium subscription to Spotify, you're likely to have all the podcast listening features already. It's great to have all your favorite audio content in one place.
Overcast
Overcast helps you get the most out of your listening experience. It provides all the main features that listeners wish for at just a few taps. Want to customize dashboard controls for your headphones or car? It will take just a few clicks from you. But Overcast's top pick is the robust toolbox for playlist creation. It allows listeners to collect all favorite episodes into separate categories and play them seamlessly whenever they want. In Overcast, you can cluster podcasts by length, or bundle podcast subscriptions in any other way.
Castro
Castro can be beyond your podcast listening app. Better said, it can be your inbox manager, arranging all your favorite shows in a queue. Once you subscribe to a podcast, Castro further allows you to classify the newly released episodes into the archive to listen to later or a queue to stream it the next time you open the app. It also has an audio queue function, which arranges your playlist automatically. The drawback of Castro is that it works only on the iPhone. You can't get it also for your iPad or another iOS device. Castro has iMessage and Apple Watch support, though.
Podbean
Podbean provides listeners with a clean and easy-to-use interface and opportunities to download the episode and stream it offline. Its discoverability features work perfectly, allowing you to find your desired show differently. You can search the podcast by name, episode name, or author name. Further, you get recommendations tied up to your search or listening history.
Furthermore, Podbean is convenient to use thanks to robust playback features. You can use a sleep timer or auto-play the next features for a seamless listening experience.
ListenApp
If you are among those users who get irritated by podcast ads, ListenApp is gold for you. The app provides users with a completely ad-free experience, allowing them not to get distracted by promotional content. On top of that, ListenApp is great for customizing your listener's feed. Once your subscribed podcast account releases a new episode, it gets you notified and lets you easily manage a custom queue. ListenApp is also great for providing recommendations and allowing you to categorize your playlist.
Breaker
Breaker is a unique mixture of socializing and podcast listening experience. It would be no mistake to state that it's one of a kind to integrate social functionality into the app. In Breaker, listeners can socialize with each other. They can see the shows streamed by peers and the shows marked as favorites. On top of that, Breaker users can also communicate via chat and show comments, exchanging opinions and forming a community. The podcasters also love Breaker because it allows listeners to support their favorite shows if they want to financially.
Laughable
As you might get it from the app's name, Laughable is originally focused on comedy genre podcasts. However, don't let it think you can't find here other podcasts if you have a different preference of genres. In Laughable, you can subscribe not only to shows but to podcast hosts themselves, creating a straighter gateway to interacting with your favorite hosts and actors. According to listeners ' interactions, the app has a famous Laughable Artist Graph, honoring the top comedians. So, if you're also looking for some good recommendations on whom to listen to, you can start from there.
Castbox
Castbox is another great podcast listening app that allows you to access shows in more than 70 languages. Further, the app will suggest new episodes based on what you chose to stream earlier. A great feature of Castbox is an in-audio search. The feature allows you to search words or expressions inside the show, which is excellent if you don't remember the episode name but remember a vital show fragment. Furthermore, Castbox is Car Play and Amazon Echo Compatible. And due to the combination of so many great features, it got rewarded by Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts several times.
A wrap-up
In fact, you would eventually use only one app from the list above. There is no point in stuffing your phone memory with more than one app providing a similar purpose. So, we recommend you test all the apps to find your great fit in terms of interface and functionality. All the apps in the list are free to download, so you should have no trouble with testing. Whatever you choose, we hope those nine best podcast apps for iPhone will save the iOS users tons of guesswork and time.
Happy listening!
