Best Podcast Apps for Android – Podcasts are digital audio files that are available for listening over the internet through different Podcast platforms. Like Youtube is designed for viewing videos, in the same way Podcasts are designed for listening audio files.
Podcasts are related to various genres and categories like motivational speech, stories, songs, health, business, spirituality, technology, relationship, performing arts, finance, travel, etc.
Nowadays Podcasts are getting more popular than video contents on Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, Dailymotion, Vimeo, etc. The best part of Podcasts is that you can listen them while you are travelling, at office, in kitchen, or during workout.
There are many Podcast platforms on the internet where you can discover and listen varieties of audio contents. Here in this post I have listed some of the best podcast apps for android.
Best Podcast Apps for Android
Spotify
The company is actually a Sweden based audio streaming company which was founded in the year 2006 with its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. Spotify is one of the largest podcast platform with over 600 million monthly users.
Spotify has a large database of audio files related to music, albums, playlists and other podcasts. At Spotify you can stream music from wide range of genres and artists.
Apart from music, Spotify has other categories of podcasts on various topics like songs, society & culture, lifestyle, health, books, celebrities, comedy, pop culture, movies, science, philosophy, beauty, meditation, etc.
Spotify also allows users to create their own favourite playlists. A user can share tracks, albums, playlists and other podcasts directly to social media platforms Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Till now the Spotify android app has been installed by more than 1000 million users. Spotify is also in the list of top podcast apps for android.
Pocket FM
Pocket FM is a popular podcasts and audio books platform where you can discover stories, FM radio channels, audio books, radio shows, courses, relaxing music, and other podcasts in different categories. It’s an audio entertainment podcast platform built around storytelling with a strong emphasis on drama and fiction.
Some of the popular podcast categories available here are romance, drama, superpowers, fantasy, love, horror, thriller, health, audio book summary, mystery, self help, spirituality, religious, motivational, business, investment, biography and many more.
The platform has huge collection of stories available in short episodes which are liked by millions of users. It hosts a massive collection of audiobooks and user-generated stories, making it a hub for narrative content.
Listeners can leave comments on specific episodes, discussing plot twists, characters, and theories, creating a strong sense of community around a show.
The audio continues to play even when you lock your phone or use other apps. The app’s homepage is tailored to your listening history, recommending new series and genres you might like. Till now the Pocket FM android app has been installed by more than 100 million users.
Youtube Music
As we know that Youtube is the No.1 video content platform on the internet today. Similarly Youtube Music is a major player in the music streaming world, with a unique approach that extends the massive Youtube ecosystem. It contains licensed music from labels and distributors.
Youtube Music has vast collection of user-uploaded music and other audio content including live performances, podcasts, song covers, remixes, audio programmes, and many more. A user can seamlessly switch from listening to the audio track to watching the music video with a single tap.
If you like listening Youtube songs and want to explore the vast collection of music, songs and albums in different genres, then you can go with Youtube Music.
As of now Youtube Music android app has been installed by more than 5000 million users. Youtube Music is also in the list of best free podcast apps for android.
Amazon Music
Amazon music is a popular music streaming platform operated by Amazon. It was started in the year 2008 with more than 90 million songs. Amazon has made a significant push to become a major player in the podcasting industry.
It has various podcast categories like business, workout, music albums, science, fiction, religious, audio stories, etc. Amazon Music has millions of podcast episodes and trending album playlists. You can play Amazon Music through computers, tablets and smartphones.
You can use voice commands with any Alexa-enabled device (Echo, Fire TV, etc.) to play, pause, skip, and resume podcasts. Till now the Amazon Music android app has been installed by more than 100 million users.
SoundCloud
Soundcloud is a Sweden based online audio streaming platform founded in the year 2007. Its headquarters is located in Berlin, Germany. It’s a global community for listening audio files.
You can also upload your audio podcasts here. Overall, it’s a combo of streaming service and a powerful social networking platform for artists and listeners. Soundcloud has more than 300 million music tracks from 30 million artists globally. Here you can discover millions of professional artists, DJs and podcasters.
SoundCloud is the best place to find music that isn’t available elsewhere like unofficial remixes, DJ mixes, live sets, early demos, podcasts, and experimental audio.
SoundCloud also provides in-depth analytics of tracks like total plays, reposts, likes, comments, etc. Till now SoundCloud android app has been installed by more than 100 million users. In terms of best podcast players for android ratings, I would give 4.3 out of 5 to SoundCloud.
Kuku FM
It’s a popular podcast platform where you can discover audio books, audio stories, talk shows, podcasts, horror stories, novels and songs. Today Kuku FM is India’s trending audio stories platform which has 1000+ audio books. Kuku FM is also in the list of best podcast apps for android.
Some of the popular podcast categories here are self help, love, biography, horror, motivation, crime, historical, religion, etc. Kuku FM also provides full audio episodes of famous books. It also collaborate with well-known personalities from Youtube, television, and other fields to create exclusive content.
It also has entertainment audio stories and podcasts. The app is simple, with large graphics and straightforward categorization, making it easy to browse. Till now the Kuku FM android app has been installed by more than 100 million users.
Podcast Addict
Podcast Addict is an ultimate podcast player for android users with a massive content library. Its functionality and power are unmatched for users who want to take control of their podcast listening experience.
The app has wide range of podcast categories like arts, audio books, business, comedy, education, comedy, fiction, leisure, history, health, fitness, spirituality, science, family, society, sports, technology, true crime, etc.
A listener can set different playback speeds, skip intervals, and notification settings for each individual podcast. A user can create custom, automated playlists based on rules (like, play all news podcasts from today, shortest first, popular today).
The app also has Smart Filters feature where automatically new episodes get sorted into custom categories like “News,” “Comedy,” or “To Listen First.” Till now this android app has been installed by more than 10 million users.
Apple Podcasts
It is a dedicated podcast app that comes pre-installed on every iPhone, Mac, iPad and Apple Watch. Apple Podcasts is one of the largest podcast directories in the world and is seamlessly integrated into the Apple ecosystem.
This podcast app comes with great features. Users can organize their favourite shows using filters like Shows, Episodes, Downloaded, and Recently Updated. They can “Follow” a show to add it to your library and receive notifications when new episodes are released.
Users can set their favourite shows to download new episodes automatically as they are released. Popular categories and genres in the Apple Podcasts are arts, entrepreneurship, self improvement, comedy interviews, true crime, fiction storytelling, health & fitness, crafts, hobbies, philosophy, tech, science, and more. It is also in the list of best podcast apps for iPhone.
Podbean
Podbean has millions of podcast episodes in different categories like arts, business, comedy, education, fiction, health, history, fitness, family, music, leisure, religion, spirituality, science, society, technology, etc.
Podbean is also a podcast hosting and monetizing platform where a user can upload his own podcast and earn money from it. Users can make compelling podcasts right from their smartphone and upload them at Podbean.
Podbean also allows creators to set up a subscription model where listeners pay for bonus content, ad-free episodes, or early access. It also has a basic editor within the platform for trimming audio and adding intro/outro music.
Podbean is a secure platform to grow audience quickly and easily. Now anyone can turn his storytelling passion into a new income stream. Till now this app has been installed by more than 10 million users.
Pratilipi FM
Pratilipii FM is one of the India’s finest audio platforms which has 1000+ hours of audio stories in different categories. It is a popular audio story platform with unlimited audio books and files in multiple languages like Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Gujarati, etc.
You can listen them anytime anywhere like during workout, travelling, driving, cooking or sitting at office. It provides a massive library of audio stories (Audiobooks), podcasts, and serialized shows across a wide range of genres like self help, love, horror, kids, crime, spirituality, business, comedy, prank, and many more.
If anyone likes horror, suspense and drama TV shows and want to experience them in audio format, can go with the Pratilipi FM platform. As of now the Pratilipi FM android app has been downloaded by more than 5 million users.
Audible
It’s an American podcast and online audio book company that allows users to stream audiobooks and podcasts online. It was founded in the year 1995 by Don Katz.
Audible has varieties of podcast categories like fiction, sci-fi, mysteries, fantasy, thrillers, self development, biographies, memoirs, business, adventure, travel, historical, religious, etc.
The podcasts are available with professional grade audio and are typically very well-produced, with high-quality narration and sound design. The app also allows users to create their own audio library. It is also in the list of best podcast players for android.
Audible is perfect for listeners who primarily consume long-form narrative audio (books and narrative podcasts) and want it in a single, familiar app. As of now the Audible android app has been installed by more than 100 million users.
Headfone
This podcast platform is famous for thriller, love, drama, self help, horror and romance stories in audio format. It has some of the best audio shows and drama collection. You can also listen to radio stations, shayari, ghazals, motivational stories and other podcasts related to startups, news, politics, finance, etc.
It also has other podcasts categories like comedy shows, spiritual talks, health solutions, poetry, music songs, education learning, sports, etc. If you enjoy the interactivity of social media but prefer consuming content through audio rather than text or video, then you must go with Headfone.
You can like, comment, follow and share your favourite episodes in social media. You can also be a story teller at Headfone by recording and uploading audio content directly from your smartphone within the app. Till now the Headfone android app has been installed by more than 10 million users.
Storytel
At Storytel you can discover unique audio stories in different categories like crime, biographies, children, fiction, non-fiction, classics, sci-fi, fantasy, business, history, thrillers, short stories, erotica, religion, spirituality, poetry, drama, suspense, etc.
The Storytel app allows its users to seamlessly switch between reading an ebook and listening to its audiobook. Storytel audios are known for their professional quality. Till now the Storytel android app has been downloaded by more than 10 million users. In terms of best podcast players for android ratings, I would give 4.2 out of 5 to Storytel.
Audiobooks
It’s a great podcast platform with over 5 lakhs audiobooks and millions of podcast episodes on interviews, audio conversations, fiction books, audio book clubs, biography, mystery, horror, thriller, literature, wellness, religion, spirituality, self help, sleep relaxation, etc. It also provides audio stories of many famous best seller books.
The app also has audio shows from popular online magazines like New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, etc. As of now the Audiobooks android app has been downloaded by more than 5 million users. It is also in the list of good podcast app for android.
