Podbean is the best podcast app / podcast player and audio livestream app on Android with 5 Million+ downloads, 120K+ reviews, 300K+ live show hours, 1 Billion+ episodes downloaded, and an average rating of 4.7/5.
Also nominated as one of the “Top podcast player apps, 50 best podcatchers for Android and iOS” by TCC.👍
Podbean Podcast App is an easy to use podcast player for podcast fans, offering a super clean layout and easy to navigate interface. With millions of popular podcasts to choose from, you can stream or download your favorite podcasts anywhere, anytime for free.
⭐️DISCOVERY / RECOMMENDATION
• Subscribe to millions of podcast channels including top networks like NPR, CBC, BBC, HowStuffWorks, The New York Times, This American Life and Gimlet.
• Search by podcast name, episode name, or author name.
• Browse new/trending/top podcasts by topics or categories.
• Get customized recommendations based on your play history.
• Choose audiobooks from bestsellers and classics for FREE.
⭐️PLAYBACK / AUDIO EFFECTS
• Instantly stream or download podcasts to play offline.
• Stay organized with customizable playlists.
• Intelligent speed removes silences from an episode without distortion.
• Volume boost normalize the volume and make shows easier to listen to.
• Advanced playback features like auto-play next and Sleep timer.
• Support mini podcast player widget on your android homepage.
• Support bluetooth, ChromeCast and android auto.
• Integrate with Amazon Alexa.
⭐️NOTIFICATION / AUTOMATION
• Stay updated: Get new episode notification from followed podcasts.
• Automatic download and option to delete after being played.
• Support batch mode to download, delete, and add playlist.
• Settings can be customized by podcast.
⭐️AUDIO RECORDER / PODCAST STUDIO
• Professional podcast recording studio app with easy-to-use interface.
• Rich background music and various sound effects to choose from.
• Powerful post-production including edit, split, merge, and export.
• Free large space, various promotions, and social sharing.
• All-in-one audio recorder and podcast creator to make a podcast.
• Remote group recording, collaborating with invited people.
• Instant interaction and feedback in the live chat.
• Cloud server backup, get originals for future editing.
⭐️AUIDO LIVE STREAMING
• Listen to an exciting variety of live audio shows
• Engage with the host and other listeners with messages
• Send gifts to reward the host
• Call-in to share your thoughts and ask questions
• Fan Club: recurring income from your most loyal fan base with special live stream privileges.
Listen best podcasts 2020 on Podbean – Podcast App & Podcast Player, including This American Life, Serial, The Joe Rogan Experience, S Town, Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History, Radiolab, My Favorite Murder, True crime, Criminal, Joel Osteen, The Dave Ramsey Show, ESPN Radio, The Daily, Dirty John, Up First, The Moth, The Tim Ferriss Show, Freakonomics Radio, Startup, Stuff You Should Know, How Stuff Works, Bloomberg, Revision3, Relay FM, PodcastOne, The New Yorker, Showtime, Slate, TEDTalks, NPR podcasts, Wondery, WNYC, 5by5, KCRW, NASA, CBS Radio, CNET, CNN, CBC, BBC and Bill O’Reilly etc.
Download Free Podbean Podcast App now!
Solidly programmed, smooth operation with nice features. A little difficult to navigate for a first time user, ex: struggled to find where exactly the queue was hiding. Overall ok. My main gripe is being automatically subscribed to/downloading podcasts I have no interest in or signed up for. When I finish an episode of WTYP and then I hear Dim Tool’s voice complaining about liberals before I can get the phone out of my pocket, it’s a bit of a whiplash experience. Would recommend removing that.
I switched from stitcher a few months ago. It’s easy to use and has good features. I really wanted to like this app, but it’s proven too buggy. It was downloading the same episode of a podcast over and over, so I had to unsubscribe to stop it. Then, it auto dowloaded a bunch of old episodes another podcast. I’ve given up, and I’m trying another.
This is my go to app for podcast listening. Over 6000 hours pegged listening with it. What more could I say beyond that. This app is easy to use, keeps playlists, podcasts you’re following, options to choose to use features or not. Works with both wifi and cellular and runs in backround, you can put phone to sleep and listen all night and day without running out of battery charge. Using ver. 9.09 Did not upgrade to the latest version that was released in December based on reviews of the changes.
I have used this app for years. The longer I’ve used it, the more of a problem I have. What happens is, while playing, audio is either completely skipped or goes back sometimes by minutes. I thought it was the podcast, but it happens on all of them. It got to the point where I couldn’t even put together what was happening in one story because it skipped so much.
I am a horror fan and this app has a ton of great short story horror anthology stations. The creep factor from listening to a story in the various formats is a great way to end the day. The commercials are also kept to a minimum even though most stations rely on their advertising. It’s a decent free little app.
I’ve been using this app for 4 or 5 years and for the past year, ALL podcast episodes stop abruptly stating connection error. I have to start the podcast episodes again. This happens everytime I use the app. This is an issue that I’ve brought up before with NO response from customer service or developers or anyone willing to fix the problem. They will ask you continuously to rate 5 stars, they don’t deserve it. The app is trash.
This really is a good app. I was able to subscribe to many gospel churches and listen to the pastor of those churches. I have used this app now for about two months. The only problems (2) I have with this app is; 1. Everything I get a notification on my phone, the sermon stops. It starts back up after the notification stops. But sometimes I have rapid notifications. 2. I did not realize that once I subscribed and clicked the bell for future downloads, it would blow my phone storage up.
My daily go to app for podcasts, so much great content! Review updated November 2022: What was once my favorite podcast listening app has become my least. Constant stalling and pausing or just plain ole won’t play episodes has left me to find other alternatives. Is it my phone or this app?! I have no other issues with Spotify or Amazon. Podbean is by far the simplest app, but I can’t be reaching for my phone every 5 minutes. :-/
I absolutely love using podbean for my podcasts. The only downside with this app is that because it’s not one of the top two or three some podcasts are not listed. But that’s okay, the strengths of the app far outweigh any weaknesses. And I find the focus on podcasts rather than music makes the clarity of purpose that much better.
Just updated the app and all the podcasts marked ‘played’ have disappeared again. Now I have to search to see where I left off 😞 disappointed with this update. UPDATR: I checked the history tab and it only shows the recent episodes that I’ve listened to, not a history. I don’t always listen to them in order due to the length of some episodes.
I tried a trial run, testing the intro music/outro music, I did an introduction segment, and after all that work, I tried the edit section of this app, AND IT SUCKED!!! It wouldn’t fit on my screen and was only giving the option to cut out my voice, instead of dead air. If this company, or any company, is to offer this service, they need to make sure it works. I even went to my laptop, thinking it just needed to fit a bigger screen, outside my phone, but editing wasn’t even available.
Can’t handle the bugs anymore! It stops playing episode halfway through and then gives an episode not found error messages. The only way to hear the rest of the episode is to download it. They say they are aware and working on a fix but I’m just about ready to find another app. Also randomly skips backwards 30 seconds and the suggested for you algorithm doesn’t update enough. It’s always showing me the same handful of podcasts.
I used to love this app, but lately (last couple months) it stops playing in the middle of an episode and then gives an error that the episode can not be found. At first, I thought it was the podcast that I was listening to. I now realize that it’s the app, as it has happened during multiple different podcasts. SO FRUSTRATING! I am looking for a new app. ☹️
This ap is annoying, the only reason I have it is because of all the content. I used to use Google but since it changed platforms to YouTube I’ve been utilizing podbean. It used to crash all the time I am glad that has stopped. But I want to go straight to my content not “what’s trending” or other suggestions. So many commercials for other podcast are excessive and annoying. I am only interested in the podcasts I am already following and want that to be the home page.
Update- The app has had an issue for over a year now with no fix. It randomly skips backwards sometimes 2-3 full minutes and replays some that. Then it skips forward and I miss out on what was said. Also, old episodes revert to new often. Not too happy. “I absolutely love the app! A few new bugs since the last update, already messaged the developer. They’re very responsive so I’m sure it will get fixed quickly. This is one of the few commodity apps that I use daily, its truly entertaining.”
I used to like this app and used it exclusively to listen to podcast. But in the last couple of months it will very often stop an episode abruptly somewhere in the middle and show a message that says “episode not found.” I suspect it’s a problem with the app and not the podcast itself because when I go to another podcast app and play that same episode, it plays just fine all the way to the end. EDIT 9/29/22 No change. Many problems. I’m switching every podcast I’m able to Stitcher.
Good app for the most part, but there are still a number of bugs that happen rather consistently, such as the status that the episode has been played is always changing to not being played. Also, from time to time the app will out of nowhere begin to show ads even though you are a VIP member and then you have to complete a work around to fix it.
I downloaded this and emmiediatly deleted it again because my earbuds wouldnt work with it. Every time I opened the app my Bluetooth would turn off causing my earbuds to disconnect. Since I didnt get a chance to use the app I have no idea how the rest of it works (hence the one star) Either way I was disappointed to find out I wouldnt be able to use my earbuds to listen. Not saying this will happen to anyone else but it’s definitely something to consider.
In the past week there have been multiple stoppages of various podcasts with the pop-up message “episode not found (2008).” If this is not fixed, I will have to go to a different podcast app. 10/19/22 OK, since the recent update this problem has not recurred. Thanks for fixing the bug…..
This has been my preferred podcast listening app since 2016. It has lots of great features including next episode autoplay, and it saves your place in case you need to come back to an episode later. I’ve also used this platform to record some episodes of my own show. The into/outro music feature is great for that.
I don’t know if there was a new update but I can’t get through any episodes of a podcast w/o errors popping up all throughout. It will stop playing and I have to get back into phone to hut play button and shows error code occurred. Then will just continue. Still have to go thru and do my batch check offs since once I listen to something and it’s marked “played”, that will still usually disappear on certain podcasts STILL.
This is a pretty good app with one glaring exception. Silent Video ads play on the screen while you are listening to a podcast. So, if you are listening to a podcast with your phone in a holder on the dash in a cop sees this video ad playing, you will get a ticket. It’s a rather dumb feature. This prevents me from using the app a lot more than I would.
EDIT 10/4/22 I used to love this app but I’ve had multiple persistent issues the past year. The episodes will randomly jump to the next episode before I’ve finished listening to the first one. The audio will just suddenly drop down to a whisper despite my phone settings being the same, it’ll stop in the middle of episodes, it’ll not go on to the next episode and it doesn’t retain episodes marked as played. PLEASE FIX THESE PROBLEMS. ITS BEEN 10 MONTHS.
This is the only podcast app I have ever used so I can’t compare. I’m not very podcast savvy. That said, the app is EASY to use. Never had any issues. I don’t think some realize you can delete the downloads with one touch in settings. I do it once a week….or when I get to double digit g’s.
If you have any questions they respond incredibly quickly. But not always completely accurately. I wanted a podcast player that would handle a paid subscriber feed. Podbean appears to do that. Click search, then click +feed and there is a place to enter a URL. I did that and received a failed message. I was first told it was a problem with the people who put out the podcast. Then I was told that Podbean does not handle paid subscription feeds. For me, that means I need a different player.
Podbean is great for finding and downloading podcasts, but not for playing them. (Podbean will continue to try and load the file you last played even after you delete it.) Best option is to use podbean to find and download your fav podcasts, then use VLC to play them. UPDATE: Thanks for fixing the downloads “batch delete” function. The rest of rating still stands though. Every time I start the app the same unwanted file that was deleted from tablet and play history is back again.
All of the customization abilities are stellar. I just renewed membership. I would LOVE to be a Beta tester! BEST!!! This app has all the attributes important to me. Ability to save episodes on SD card, search function is robust, and overall it is extremely user-friendly. I will be joining as a paid user next month. After using 6 other podcast apps…. I am overjoyed to have landed pn PodBean. It’s simply the best
Almost perfect. (I will revise this to 5 stars if Podbean adds features.) I love this app, but I would love it if they added a repeat 1 time for listening to the same podcast over and over (I would use it on stuff I study on here) AND a repeat all function for playlists. It would allow me to sleep better when I relax to my favorite list for sleeping. Bonus: add a sleep timer, I wouldn’t use it, but I know folks who would.
I sincerely regret to change my rating from 4 to 1 star. There’s a bug thats been causing loading & playback issues for a while now so I tried to wait for a fix. Unfortunately, it instead has gotten worse. Now I can’t load more then half of the shows I like without an episode error, or error in loading it at all. 🙁 ill keep an eye on the comments and hope to see it fixed. Its free, so I understand its worth it to try again if it gets resolved. 🙂
It’s a great set up and I love the calling in and live features, But it would be so nice if they offered pay per certain amount of listens. Every way they offer you to get paid. It’s a catch. How to add your own advertising is hard to figure out if your not good at that kind of thing. Maybe adding (how to videos) on how to set up everything that’s offered for our podcast would be nice.
I’ve used this app on multiple devices for the last 3 years with very few issues. Lately, the podcasts just stop at random places (on any device);and won’t resume. Have to restart app and/or phone to fix but it doesn’t take long before it happens again.
I love the setup of this app! Very easy to use. But the whole reason I have it is to listen to podcasts offline. The downloads used to work fine, but since I got a new phone they don’t load all the way! The app will Say it is downloaded but 30min in it just stops. When I try to play it again it says “check your network connection” and will only play if I am connected to wifi. It is extremely frustrating. If not for this I would rate it 5 stars.
The menus and functionality of them are good, but the main thing I use it for, listening to one podcast that isn’t hosted elsewhere, it is not good. In a playlist, it won’t automatically play the next episode, even though it’s set to. It’s a hit or miss whether I can come back where I was in an episode or whether it will hesitate for a moment then start the entire thing over. Most egregiously, playback will randomly stop completely, take the app back to the main menu without a crash, and totally remove what was playing, forcing me to open it back up and play it again. Sometimes the previous bug happens during this and it starts all over when I open it again. It’s extremely hard to swallow that a podcast app has so many issues with just playing back a podcast.
Extremely feature rich. I listened to over 600 hours of content in 2018 in this app, and I keep coming back to podbean from other podcasting apps because I miss many of the features. Unfortunately, it only takes a week or so for the app to begin randomly crashing and losing my progress within an episode. This app used to be unquestionably excellent, but the performance of core functionality has become inconsistent in the last couple of years. I guess I’ll try again in another few months.
This podcast app works better for me than the others. After using the app pretty heavily for the past year, I have to remove a star. Technically, this app works great. But it seems that a design rule was to “make something play” at every turn. It drives me nuts. You can’t even look at an episode without it blasting out. There needs to be a preference setting for disabling auto-play entirely. I often select an episode wanting to leave a like, or comment, or read the description, and the thing immediately starts playing. I avoid exploring because of this. I don’t want anything to play until I hit the “play” button. I’d appreciate it very much if this option could be offered in the Settings. Thank you.
This is the most thoughtfully designed podcast app I’ve found. However, there are two key features that either I can’t figure out, or don’t exist: 1) I don’t seem able to select which of my “followed” shows contribute episodes to my “new” list. Some do, some don’t – seems random which ones. 2) Other than creating a Playlist or following, there’s no way to flag shows you want to remember to check out, but not necessarily have clutter your “following” page. Any workarounds welcome!
Wonderful app! The only thing I don’t like is the button that skips back or forward 10 seconds doesn’t work. And if I want to restart my chapter, or skip ahead, it doesn’t let me. I have to listen to the entire chapter before starting at the beginning, still unable to relisten to the part I wanted to hear again without going through the entire chapter.
I’ve been using podbean for a good while and really like it for the most part. Recently though, I’ve been having an issue with it using a lot of processing power. It’s only been the last few months, but my Galaxy S10 has been reporting the app as overloading the system. Likewise, running it for a few hours, which is easy to do when listening to a 3+ hour program, consumes about 10% battery an hour with the screen off. I’ve listened to the same program on other apps and not had this issue.
It’s an ok podcast player but has some issues. First off it kept turning on notifications by itself. I had to block notifications via android to get them to stop. Second even though it does have a playlist function, unlike most other players, you can’t edit the play order easily. All you can do is move an episode to the top one at a time. So you have to decide the play order, and move them to the top in the opposite order. Why is creating a podcast playlist so difficult?
Not great. Too much clicking around to find pods I subscribe to and it stays open all the time; even after I “X” out of it, it won’t close. I’m taking recommendations for a replacement podcast app. Edit after your reply: As stated, tapping the “X” does not work to close the app once it is open. New S10 phone is not the issue. Others have had same prob.
Started out great, now it keeps telling me of “new” downloads even though I have already played them. I also have not been able to play some podcasts that have been “downloaded” if this keeps up, I will find another app. Oh yea now as of June of 2021 the track backs up 5 seconds or so and reruns that portion of the podcast, this is not done by me, nor am I wanting it to do that. Doesn’t matter what podcast. As of February 2030 nothing has been fixed. But it’s free I guess