Software · head to head
Pocketcasts vs Transistor

Pocketcasts
Software
The powerful podcast player for serious listeners
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -

Transistor
Software
Professional podcast hosting for businesses and creators
- From
- $19/month
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Pocketcasts has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Pocketcasts two paid tiers above the free app: Plus and Patron, but no figures are shown in the fetchable page content; Transistor starter plan at $19 per month caps monthly downloads at 20,000
- They diverge on capability: Pocketcasts covers Podcast discovery, Transistor covers Unlimited podcasts.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Pocketcasts and Transistor actually diverge.
| Attribute | Pocketcasts | Transistor |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | $19/month |
| Pricing model | freemium | subscription |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Platforms | Ios, Android, Web, Windows, Macos | Web |
| Founded | 2010 | 2018 |
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Pocketcasts
- Podcast discovery
- Variable speed playback
- Silence trimming
- Cross-device sync
- Custom filters
- Apple Watch
- Wear OS
- Sonos
Only in Transistor
- Unlimited podcasts
- Private podcasting
- Advanced analytics
- Team collaboration
- Custom branding
- API access
- Apple Podcasts
- Spotify
Both cover
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Pocketcasts
- Podcast listeningnot Transistor
- Audio content consumptionnot Transistor
- Learning on the gonot Transistor
Transistor
- Hosting and distributing multiple podcasts from one accountnot Pocketcasts
- Running private, subscriber-only podcast feedsnot Pocketcasts
- Publishing podcast websites and inserting dynamic audio adsnot Pocketcasts
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Pocketcasts
- Two paid tiers above the free app: Plus and Patron, but no figures are shown in the fetchable page content
Transistor
- Starter plan at $19 per month caps monthly downloads at 20,000
- Private podcast subscribers are capped at 50 on Starter and 500 on Professional
- Dynamic ad insertion and auto-posting to YouTube require the $49 per month Professional plan or higher
- Removing Transistor branding requires the $99 per month Business plan
- Enterprise plans above 250,000 monthly downloads start at $199 per month and require contacting the vendor
Pricing, plan by plan
Pocketcasts
Free- FreeFree
- Unlimited podcasts
- Cross-device sync
- Playback effects
- Plus$39.99/year
- Desktop apps
- Cloud storage 10GB
- Extra themes
Transistor
$19/month- Starter$19/month
- Unlimited podcasts
- 10,000 downloads/month
- Basic analytics
- Professional$49/month
- Unlimited podcasts
- 50,000 downloads/month
- Advanced analytics
- Business$99/month
- Unlimited podcasts
- 150,000 downloads/month
- Full analytics
- Enterprise$199/month
- Unlimited everything
- 300,000+ downloads
- Priority support
Which should you pick?
Choose Pocketcasts if
- You need podcast discovery.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Ios, Android, Web, Windows, Macos.
- You also want variable speed playback.
Questions people ask
- Is Pocketcasts or Transistor better?
- Neither clearly leads. Pocketcasts starts at Free and Transistor at $19/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Pocketcasts or Transistor?
- Pocketcasts has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Pocketcasts and $19/month for Transistor.
- Does Pocketcasts or Transistor run on more platforms?
- Pocketcasts runs on Ios, Android, Web, Windows, Macos. Transistor runs on Web.
- Can I use Pocketcasts for free?
- Yes. Pocketcasts has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Transistor starts at $19/month.
- What is Pocketcasts best used for?
- Pocketcasts is most often used for podcast listening, audio content consumption, learning on the go. Of those, podcast listening and audio content consumption are not what Transistor is typically brought in for.
- What can Pocketcasts do that Transistor cannot?
- Pocketcasts covers Podcast discovery, Variable speed playback, Silence trimming, Cross-device sync. Transistor covers Unlimited podcasts, Private podcasting, Advanced analytics, Team collaboration. Both handle Web support.
Related pages
More on Pocketcasts
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