what's the definitive podcasts app these days?

I switched to Downcast when I finally couldn't handle the accessibility issues I was having with Overcast. I'm very pleased with it so far. My only small complaint is that I'm having some issues with background app refresh not working correctly all the time, but as soon as I open the app all my feeds refresh, so it hasn't been that big of a deal.

I've switched from overcast to downcast.

I am just using the native Podcasts app. Does all I need plus it syncs across all my Apple devices natively.

Downcast is great. I have full control over all aspects of each podcast and it has iCloud sync across devices.

ICatcher! is another podcast app worth having. It has all the features and syncs as well.

Does anyone know if Stitcher is still a viable app for Podcasts? I used to use it back in the day, really liked how it would allow you to "stitch" one podcast to another, for endless streaming. Not sure if any other podcast apps do this?
Thanks in advance. ☺️

I switched from overcast to Downcast a couple of weeks ago. I like it a lot. But I found that to keep your feeds refreshing, you have to leave the app open in the background. But that’s no problem for me. Everything works fine. I was tired of the unresponsiveness of Marco the developer of overcast. I emailed him several times with no reply.

I'm surprised but glad to see the consensus for Downcast! It is perhaps not quite as feature-rich compared to Overcast or PocketCasts, but honestly, what's that compared to pay-once, fully offline software that does the job and does it well? I really appreciate that unlike its competitors (including, sadly, the once-orthodox RSS Radio) Downcast doesn't require any third-party backend server to operate: notifications of new episodes are triggered and sent locally using Background App Refresh, which yes, takes a wee while to warm up, but does so eventually, and works when it does. iCloud Syncing is perhaps the other weak point, given iCloud's not-infrequent unreliability. But, since I listen mostly on my phone, that hasn't proven to be much of a problem either.

So glad you're set with Downcast!

1. When you are in the now playing, clique on épisode info.
2 Swipe Three Times to the Right, and clique on go to the podcast
3. When you are in the podcast screen, you can go back and find the main screem of the app.

Hi all,
I use iCatcher, because it seems to be the only podcast app, and I mean the only one, where you can look at the most popular podcasts by country, and within each country, you can drill down still further into the different podcast categories. So it's an easy way to find podcasts from different places if you need them. I've tried a fair few podcast apps over the years and none of them can do this! You can only look at the most popular podcasts from your location in every other podcast app I've tried. ICatcher is a cheap one-time purchase. And Brian your comments about Stitcher radio reminded me of Castro, with Castro you can queue up episodes from different podcasts at the same time. I liked Castro a lot when I tried it, and I particularly liked this feature. I could listen to multiple episodes in a row from different podcasts, without having to change podcasts every time I wanted a specific episode. Castro is one to look into for those interested. Jonathan Mosen also recommends Castro too. I hate Apple podcasts' interface; the only thing I like about it is the search functionality. You can search for a particular topic, it could be anything from a person's name to a historical event, and Apple podcasts gives you shows and specific episodes from any show pertaining to your search query, and the results are accurate. This is another good way to find new podcasts. By contrast, I've tried searching for specific events and people in the iCatcher app, and the results are absolutely terrible; they have nothing to do with what I've searched for. Edited for spelling.

Hello,
As someone who has paid for pocket casts on android in the past and who enjoyed the device syncing abilities, what are the downsides to that and overcast on iOS? I also would like to know how all three of these apps - downcast, overcast and pocket cast work on apple watch?
I remember back in the day overcast was the bees knees with voiceover. I have to assume that has changed? Very sad to hear.
Also just have to give a shout out to Spotify even if it isn't a great standalone app for podcast, I've been using it to archive all my collected podcasts and then adding them to my podcast app of choice if it turns out I enjoy the series.
Podcast addict on Android is what I'm coming off of now, for what its worth. I love customizable applications.