Pocketcastsvs
Buzzsprout
Buzzsprout: Simple and powerful podcast hosting made easy
Pocketcasts
The powerful podcast player for serious listeners
As of 30 August 2026, Pocketcasts is free to use. Pocketcasts is a premium podcast player and discovery platform that helps users find, subscribe to, and listen to podcasts. Softwr lists it under Podcasting. Pocketcasts is made by Automattic (Pocketcasts), launched in 2010, available on iOS, Android, Web, Windows.
Overview
What Pocketcasts does
Pocketcasts is a premium podcast player and discovery platform that helps users find, subscribe to, and listen to podcasts. It offers advanced playback features like variable speed, silence trimming, volume boost, and cross-device syncing. With powerful filtering, episode archiving, and custom playlists, Pocketcasts is designed for podcast enthusiasts who want complete control over their listening experience.
What people use it for
- Podcast listening
- Audio content consumption
- Learning on the go
Related searches
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 Pocketcasts.
- Specific pricing for Pocket Casts Plus and Patron tiers not published on website
- Free tier features not clearly delineated
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Pocketcasts
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.
- PocketcastsvsTransistor.fm
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- PocketcastsvsApple Podcasts Connect
Apple Podcasts Connect: Manage and distribute your podcast on Apple Podcasts
Pricing
What Pocketcasts costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Free
Free
- Unlimited podcasts
- Cross-device sync
- Playback effects
- Episode filters
Plus
$39.99 /yr
- Desktop apps
- Cloud storage 10GB
- Extra themes
- Folder organization
Capabilities
Features
Podcast discovery
Variable speed playback
Silence trimming
Cross-device sync
Custom filters
Apple Watch
Integration with Apple Watch
Wear OS
Integration with Wear OS
Sonos
Integration with Sonos
CarPlay
Integration with CarPlay
Android Auto
Integration with Android Auto
Ios support
Available on ios
Android support
Available on android
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.
How much does Pocket Casts cost?
Pocket Casts offers a free version described as 'the world's most powerful podcast platform, now available for free.' Premium tiers like Pocket Casts Plus and Pocket Casts Patron are available, but specific pricing is not disclosed on the main website.
SourceIs there a free version of Pocket Casts?
Yes, Pocket Casts offers a free tier with 'next-level listening, search and discovery tools' and access to curated podcast recommendations. Premium features require upgrading to Plus or Patron plans.
SourceWhat premium features does Pocket Casts Plus include?
Pocket Casts Plus includes wearable app access, folders for podcast organization, Up Next Shuffle, bookmarks, cloud storage, and themes with custom icons. Specific pricing for this tier is not published on the website.
SourceBehind it
Who makes Pocketcasts
- Company
- Automattic (Pocketcasts)
- Based in
- Adelaide, Australia
Keep looking
Where to go from Pocketcasts
- Pocketcasts alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Pocketcasts pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Pocketcasts badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Podcasting softwareThe full category
- Best Podcasting softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Podcasting software for
Compare Pocketcasts with
- SoundCloud
- Podcast Addict
- Transistor.fm
- Buzzsprout
- Adobe Podcast
- Apple Podcasts Connect
- Podbean
- Blubrry
- Fireside
- Glow.fm
- Hindenburg Journalist
- Captivate
- Castmagic
- Castos
- Chartable
- Cleanfeed
- Transistor
- Blubrry
Other Podcasting software
The podcast host built for professional broadcasters
Free, then $19/mo10 researched notesManage and distribute your podcast on Apple Podcasts
Free plan7 researched notesProfessional podcast hosting for businesses and creators
Free, then $19/mo11 researched notes
Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Pocketcasts, 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 Pocketcasts
Pocketcasts alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
Pocketcasts pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare Pocketcasts
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