The 6 Best Podcast Apps for Android Tablets | 2024 Edition

Podcasts are an unavoidable part of the pop culture landscape, and it feels impossible to go a day without hearing of a great new one or having a friend recommend you check a podcast out. But with so many out there, how do you keep track of and actually listen to everything? By downloading one of the best podcast apps for Android, of course.

I checked out all the most popular Android podcast apps and found 6 that stood head and shoulders above the rest. So, whether you’re after a sleek, minimalist experience or want an all-in-one solution for your music and podcasts, our list has something for you.

Pocket Casts

Pocket Casts often comes up when anyone asks about great podcast apps on Android, and it’s not hard to see why. For one, it’s a full-featured free app with no visual ads or obvious limitations for users who prefer not to (or can’t afford) to pay. That alone makes it one of the best podcast apps for Android, but that’s not the only thing it does right.

Pocket Casts has one of the best Android podcast app interfaces, with a clean, uncluttered design that feels more modern than many competitors. It also has a dedicated (and apparently human-curated) Discover tab, plus a great selection of podcasts. All the usual names and podcasts are present and accounted for, so you won’t miss out on anything.

Of course, there’s more to a great podcast app than a good interface. Pocket Casts does well here, with playback speed control (0.5x to 3.0x), an automatic silence trimming feature, and a volume boost feature. Unfortunately, Pocket Casts applies these playback adjustments globally. So, you’ll have to change the playback speed manually for different podcasts.

Pocket Casts has an auto-download feature that lets you automatically download new podcast episodes or episodes the app adds to your Up Next queue. It’s not as flexible as other podcast apps, but it’s still a handy feature.

Read: The Best Tablets For Reading E-Books

Pricing

If you want more out of Pocket Casts than the free tier provides, you can opt for Pocket Casts Plus. This costs you $3.99 a month (or $39.99 a year) in the US and adds features such as folders and bookmarks, 20GB of cloud storage for podcasts, and extra themes. Paid users can also download Windows, macOS, Apple Watch, and Wear OS apps.

If you really like the app, you can go for the Pocket Casts Patron tier, which costs $9.99 a month (or $99.99 yearly). This tier gives you 100GB of cloud storage, a profile badge, and early access to new features.

Google Play Store: Pocket Casts

PodBean

PodBean is a great podcast app with a reasonably clean and modern interface and several standout features—such as live podcasts—that make it a great alternative to other podcast apps.

PodBean has a dedicated tab for live podcasts, which allows you to interact with the hosts during the podcast and give them Golden Beans, which are PodBean’s virtual currency for gifts and YouTube-style Super Chats. It’s a great way to feel even more connected to the hosts, although you’re not likely to find many of the usual big-name podcasts here.

Beyond the live podcasts, PodBean hosts all the usual podcast suspects from all the big networks and creators. Finding new ones is also easy, thanks to the Discover tab, which offers an exhaustive list of shows categorized by genre, network, and past listening. 

PodBean has great playback options. Playback speed control (0.5x to 3.0x) is present as always, but PodBean also has an intelligent playback speed adjustment feature and voice boost for clearer dialogue. PodBean can also display text transcriptions of the currently-playing podcast, although this requires the uploader to upload it themselves. 

Read: The Best Free Apps for Android Tablets

One minor UI issue I noticed is that the play screen only displays in portrait orientation. This isn’t a big issue for phones, but I found it annoying when testing on a tablet.

If you’re a budding podcaster, PodBean is also a great way to get your foot in the door. You can create, host, and distribute your podcast through PodBean, letting you focus on developing quality content.

Pricing

PodBean is free, but you can become a “Golden Member” for $9.99 a year. This removes display ads and lets you create unlimited playlists. If you’re a podcaster, PodBean also has several premium tiers for podcast hosting. These tiers add more storage and bandwidth, monetization options, and even the ability to upload video podcasts.

Google Play Store: PodBean

Podcast Addict

Podcast Addict doesn’t make the best first impression, with its cluttered, old-fashioned interface and obtrusive visual ads. However, it has some great features that make it worth considering if you’re seeking a podcast app.

For one, it has the best auto-download options among free Android podcast apps. You can automatically download a set number of podcasts when you subscribe, schedule downloads, and enable auto-downloading of old episodes. Podcast Addict can also perform concurrent downloads, and you can set the limit to suit your internet bandwidth and tablet’s capabilities.

The podcast selection is great, with an exhaustive list of categories and networks to browse. You can also filter by duration, which is handy. Podcast Addict also has a dedicated radio tab that lets you listen to local and international radio. I’m not a radio fan, but I found it a nice bonus.

Unfortunately, Podcast Addict’s playback options are a bit of a mixed bag. On the negative side, the app only offers playback speed adjustment and a sleep timer. However, Podcast Addict has a wide-ranging speed adjustment of 0.4x up to 5.0x and, crucially, lets you adjust playback speed per podcast.

Pricing

Podcast Addict is a free app supported by visual ads and sponsored podcasts. The app offers two paid options: a one-time $6.99 payment that only removes ads or a $0.99 monthly ($9.99 yearly) subscription.

The subscription adds features like extra themes, a custom opening screen, and the ability to hide sponsored podcasts. If you’re keen on paying, you may as well get a subscription and unlock the app’s full feature set. But I’ll let you decide that.

Google Play Store: Podcast Addict

Player FM

Player FM is a good podcast app with one of the best setup processes I experienced. When you first open the app, it asks you to choose topics you’re interested in so that it can recommend a bunch of podcasts that you can immediately subscribe to. If you’re just getting into podcasts, this is a great way to get a headstart.

The interface is slightly cluttered but still sleeker than most, with a visual ad that generally stays out of the way. Playback options are also on par with the best, with playback speed adjustment (0.5x up to 5.0x), silence skipping, volume boost, and a rarely-seen noise reduction feature. 

Read: The 10 Best Android Tablets Tested

Player FM’s auto-download feature is quite flexible, with the option to set download limits and enable auto-deletion of played episodes. The latter will help free up space, although the Premium subscription also adds a “space saver” mode that saves “up to 70%” of your device’s storage.

Pricing

Player FM’s free version is slightly feature-limited, with the main omission from the free version being playlist support. It’s arguably not the most essential feature of a podcast player, but it’s still a nice feature to have that you don’t get on the free version. The free version also shows visual ads. 

Player FM Premium costs $3.99 a month or $39.99 a year. It adds those playlist and “space saver” functions, cross-platform sync, custom themes, and a “Turbo Fetch” feature that polls all your subscribed podcasts and downloads them when new episodes become available.

Google Play Store: Player FM

CastBox

CastBox isn’t the prettiest Android podcast app out there, but look beyond that, and you’ll find a podcast app worth checking out for its community focus and original podcasts.

CastBox has all the podcasts you expect to find on a podcast app, but it offers a few original series you won’t find anywhere else. While I won’t claim that they’re worth downloading the app for all on their own, it’s certainly worth checking them out if you’re trying CastBox.

Playback features are on par with the best podcast apps for Android, with playback speed (0.5x to 3.0x), volume boost, automatic silence removal, and a sleep timer. Sadly, the free version only allows you to apply these settings globally, so you’ll want to remember that every time you switch between podcasts.

CastBox’s most interesting feature is its community focus. You can leave comments on podcasts and individual episodes, letting you converse with other fans. The app also has a Community tab that shows what other users are talking and posting about. It’s not always great content, but it’s a nice little bonus that could help you discover new podcasts.

Pricing

CastBox is free to download, but the free version shows occasional full-screen ads and has limitations, such as restricting you to 100 subscriptions. CastBox Premium costs $2.99 monthly, removes the ads, and provides unlimited subscriptions. Other paid features include per-podcast playback settings, a personalized home page, and priority email support.

Google Play Store: CastBox

Spotify

Spotify may be better known as one of the best Android music apps, but it’s also a great place to get your podcasts. If you already have a Spotify account, you may not need to download another app if you want to keep up with all the best podcasts around.

Since it’s a multi-purpose app, Spotify doesn’t have the most exhaustive podcast playback options. You have playback speed (0.5x to 3.5x) and a sleep timer, but that’s about it. The playback speed option applies globally, so you’ll have to adjust it every time you change podcasts.

Podcast discovery also isn’t as great as a dedicated app. While Spotify’s recommendation algorithms do a great job once you start listening, its initial discovery is limited. It doesn’t offer any categories to browse and just offers a bunch of podcasts it thinks you’ll like—seemingly based on location. It’s great if you know what you want to listen to from the get-go, but not quite as good if you’re just exploring.

One of Spotify’s best features is Spotify Connect, which lets you stream music and podcasts to other devices in your home and use your tablet (or phone) as a remote control. Spotify also makes it easy to continue playback across different devices. This is handy if you’re the type that starts listening on your computer at home before switching to your phone or tablet when you leave.

Pricing

Spotify has a free tier, so you can listen without subscribing. The free tier plays audio ads on top of any in-podcast ads and doesn’t allow offline listening. You’ll have to pay $10.99 monthly for Spotify Premium to get around these. 

Spotify Premium also improves audio quality, although it’s debatable how important that is for podcasts.

Google Play Store: Spotify

Conclusion

Of the dedicated podcast apps I tried, I thought Pocket Casts offered the best overall experience. I liked the clean, ad-free UI, and I didn’t mind only having global playback speed adjustment. However, if you do need individual playback settings, then Podcast Addict is probably the podcast app to try out first.

That said, I ended up sticking with Spotify for my podcasts. I only listen to a few podcasts (and stick to them), so the sub-par discovery isn’t a massive issue for me. I also feel it’s a lot more convenient to have a single app for music and podcasts, and don’t mind giving up some specialized features for that convenience.