Best app for downloading podcasts on android

There are a variety of ways to access podcasts, but listening on a smartphone is one of the most popular. Therefore, if you have an Android device, you might want to take advantage of one or more of the many podcast apps on the Google Play Store.

Our top picks offer different content, features, and playback controls, with options to listen to both online and offline, so you could soon be listening to content either live or on-demand.

Most of our best podcast apps are free, although some have in-app purchases IAPs for additional features or services. These podcast apps are in no particular order, but we have to say that Castbox is one of our favorites. It has a very high user rating of 4. Over 50 million episodes of podcasts, audiobooks, and radio channels are on offer for free, and podcasts can be streamed or downloaded for offline listening.

Features include ChromeCast support, cloud syncing, and Amazon Echo support, all great for general users. On the other side of the coin, Castbox is good for podcasters who can upload audios via desktop or mobile devices with no hosting fees and no restrictions on audio uploading. Download Castbox. It has many of the inclusions of other podcast apps and some great features such as customizable playlists, an intelligent speed that removes unnecessary silences, and a volume boost to enhance your listening experience.

The app also offers notifications for new episodes from the podcasts you follow, while audio recording functions include user-friendly audio recording, the ability to mix voice and background music, and auto-posting to Twitter and Facebook. Download Podbean.

Podcast Addict is entirely free without any in-app purchases. The app works well as a central hub to manage content that includes podcasts, radio, YouTube, SoundCloud, Twitch, audiobooks, and more, with millions of podcasts and episodes available to browse. Searching is available with keywords or podcast name, and you can receive recommendations according to your subscriptions. As we mentioned from the off, everything with Podcast Addict is free. The app is a boon for podcasters as well as they can simply record audio or upload their podcast episodes via the app or desktop without any hosting fees.

Podcast Addict Being a free app with almost all the features that you expect from a good podcast app, Podcast Addict is one of the best podcast apps for Android. You can search from among tons of podcasts , add a live radio station that may be offered in different languages like English and Spanish, and even add one using an RSS feed. If you have any audio books on your device, Podcast Addict also allows you to import it to the app and play it directly from there.

This makes it very convenient to listen to all useful audio files from a single app. The latter section shows some default suggestions initially, but keeps updating as you use the app. With its ability to manage playlists, podcast downloads, and channel subscriptions, Podcast Addict is one of the best podcast apps to use. The only downside to using the app is the small advert banner that appears at the bottom of the screen. Podcast Republic Podcast Republic is another very popular podcast app for Android.

It allows you to search not only for keywords in podcasts but also in episodes and stations. Though you may occasionally see a few adverts, you can remove them by an in-app purchase. Podcast Republic also features radio stations that can either be searched for or added by URL. If you are looking for offline listening, the app allows you to download episodes and even arrange them in different playlists.

As the name suggests, this comes in very handy when you are driving and want to control your podcast playlist. Google Podcasts is a companion to the main Google app and is sized at under kb. It presents you with your podcast subscriptions at the top, followed by downloads whose expiry time you control and a ton of categorized suggestions for simplified discovery.

Some popular features like OPML file import and export or adding podcasts via RSS feed are missing here and it may be a let down for hardcore podcasters. Google is, however, steadily bulking up their feature set and you can even use it on the web.

Google Podcasts could soon become a one-stop destination for podcasts. Install: Free , no in-app purchases or subscription fees. If I were to pick a fully-featured podcast app for Android, Podcast Player could comfortably finish right along the top. Yeah, you got that right! Featuring a huge library of thousands of podcasts around K , the app has got both the number and variety to live up to your varied taste.

Features like sleep timer, the ability to switch between dark and light themes , and easy sharing further enhance podcast listening experience. The app features thousands of radio stations for free. If you like to tune into your favorite radio stations to stay updated with the latest news, relish music, or get the latest sports scores, the ever-growing library of radio stations could come in really handy for you.

Install: Free , in-app purchases available 7. Stitcher In order to use Stitcher, you must sign up on the app first. The app will then show you relevant feed accordingly. You can add more topics later at any time you wish. One of the useful things with Stitcher is the ability to search for episodes, not just entire podcasts.

You can create playlists, find new podcasts, listen to news, and more. Laughable is focused on comedy but will take your podcast listening to the next level whatever your interests. Laughable lets you subscribe not just to podcasts of all genres, but also directly to thousands of comedians, journalists, actors, athletes, musicians, authors, politicians, and other people worth hearing. They also have unique features and data like the Laughable Artist Graph that shows how audiences overlap for top comedians and podcasters.

If you host your podcast with some of the more well-known companies, you can easily request for your podcast to be listed on Spotify. My podcast is hosted with Buzzsprout and it took 10 seconds to fill out a simple form and get on Spotify. Free on iOS. Overcast is ad-supported, but the ads are other podcasts you might be interested in, and are targeted by category. You can also pay to remove them. Castro 3 is a unique iOS podcast player — in a good way. There is a night mode you can turn on and off with a two-finger swipe.

This is a well-designed podcast app that works great, especially when you are subscribed to many different podcasts. ListenApp is an ad-free podcast app. They are also about to release social-features with a new update. Downcast is a great app for organizing your podcasts and offers a bunch of useful features. It also has iCloud sync so you can pick up where you left off. Podcast Player lets you download and listen or watch your podcasts. Last, but definitely not least, is Castaway. You can download and stream podcast episodes, adjust playback rate, get notifications for new episodes, and more.

Anchor is a podcast platform that offers unlimited hosting. The app lets you record audio, publish it to various places like iTunes and Google Podcasts, and import audio from other devices to upload. Castbox is one of a few free podcast apps. It boasts a collection of over one million podcasts scrubbed from places like iTunes and others. The app also includes support for 70 languages, language learning podcasts, Chromecast support, Amazon Echo support, and more.

It also includes cloud syncing for multiple device support. The free version comes with everything and has no ads. The in-app purchases are basically optional. DoggCatcher is one of the older podcast apps. However, the app does get frequent updates. Additionally, it boasts a massive library of podcasts, playlist support, variable speed playback, themes, and various automation and customization features. The app even has Material Design. However, there are no ads and no additional in-app purchases.

Google is doing to their podcast selection what they did to their messaging selection.