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Pocketcasts
Pocketcasts: Cross-platform podcast app available on iOS and Android with podcast discovery and playback features.
Overcast
The best podcast app for iPhone
As of 30 August 2026, Overcast has a free plan and paid plans start at $9.95/year. Overcast is an iOS podcast app known for its clean interface, Smart Speed feature for playback speed, and integration with Apple devices. Softwr lists it under Entertainment. Overcast is made by Overcast Inc, launched in 2014, available on iOS, macOS, Wearable.
Overview
What Overcast does
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Overcast.
- iOS and Mac only, with no Android version or plans for one
- No web version for accessing podcasts across browsers
- Dependent on Apple ecosystem, limiting accessibility for Windows and Android users
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Overcast
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- OvercastvsCastbox
Castbox: Podcast player with smart features and multi-platform support including iOS and Android.
- OvercastvsCastro
Castro: iOS podcast app with queue management and discovery features similar to Overcast.
Pricing
What Overcast costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Free
Free
- Podcast playback
- Smart Speed
- Voice Boost
- Ad banners
Premium
$9.95 /yr
- No ads
- Custom icons
- Upload personal audio
Capabilities
Features
Podcast app
Smart Speed
Voice Boost
Sync
Discovery
Apple services
Integration with Apple services
Podcast services
Integration with Podcast services
Privacy-focused
Privacy-focused security feature
Local processing
Local processing security feature
Ios support
Available on ios
Web support
Available on web
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
Is Overcast free or paid?
Overcast is free with ad banners promoting podcasts. Premium subscription of $9.95 per year removes ads, enables custom icons, and allows uploading personal audio files.
SourceWhat platforms does Overcast support?
Overcast is available on iOS (iPhone, iPad) and Mac with Apple M1 or later. It is not available on Android, Windows, or web.
SourceWhat are Overcast's signature features?
Overcast features Smart Speed, which dynamically shortens silences in podcasts while maintaining natural sound, and Voice Boost, which normalizes audio levels across episodes.
SourceWho develops Overcast?
Overcast is developed and maintained by Marco Arment, a software developer who previously created Instapaper and served as CTO of Tumblr.
SourceBehind it
Who makes Overcast
- Company
- Overcast Inc
- Based in
- Distributed
- Founders
- Marco Arment
Timeline
Overcast over time
Keep looking
Where to go from Overcast
- Overcast alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Overcast pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Overcast badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Entertainment softwareThe full category
- Best Entertainment softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Entertainment software for
Compare Overcast with
- Castro
- Castbox
- Apple TV+
- Audible
- Stitcher
- Kodi
- Emby
- Hulu
- Jellyfin
- MUBI
- Roku
- BritBox
- IINA
- mpv
- fuboTV
- Maya
- Apple Music
- Final Cut Pro
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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Overcast, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on Overcast
Overcast alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
Overcast pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare Overcast
Put it head to head with anything we hold
Overcast badge
Its rating, and an embed for your own site
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