The Best Podcast Apps for Android

Depending on how you like to consume podcasts, you might not even need an app. You could, theoretically, sideload all of your favorite shows over to your tablet or phone and listen to them one after the other. More than likely, though, you'll want something that can help you track your podcasts and streamline the process.

If you want to spend less time counting episode numbers and more time listening to your favorite hosts, then you'll want to check out these top five tools.

1. Castbox

Perhaps one of the most popular Android apps on the market today, Castbox has a catalog of over 1 million podcasts that it collects from iTunes and other directories. It supports Chromecast devices and other dongles so you could stream a podcast straight from your phone or tablet to a connected stereo audio system. That being said, this doesn't diminish the app's functionality when it comes to using it directly on a phone or tablet.

2. Player FM

While you can listen to podcasts directly through Player FM's interface, the real benefit of the app is the ability to save shows for offline listening. You can download a large number of episodes and then listen to them even if you've suddenly lost the ability to connect to the Internet. Some users have turned to Player FM to save on their mobile data connections by downloading a large number of podcasts while connected to WiFi and then listening to them as soon as they lose it.

3. Podbean

While Podbean has long been a very popular solution for those who listen to shows through an Android phone, it's support for ancillary devices is what makes it especially useful. Anybody who uses the Android Auto app or has their phone synced up with an Amazon Echo speaker will appreciate Podbean's support for these platforms. They'll also like the fact that you can subscribe to any show with just a few simple taps, making it easy to start listening to any new favorites that you might have just come across.

4. Podcast Addict

Most podcasting apps restrict you to listening to audio-only shows, but Podcast Addict is also able to turn popular YouTube and Twitch channels into their own podcast streams. Many YouTube shows would work great as podcasts, but it's not usually possible to listen to them in this way so Podcast Addict has become as popular as it's name suggests. It even supports variable playback speed and a skip silence option so you can save time when listening to a large number of shows all at once.

5. Anchor

Unlike most of these other tools, Anchor isn't designed to help you listen to podcasts so much as it lets you post them. Considering the fact that many people actually record shows from their mobile devices, they might want to download Anchor so that they could immediately host a show after making it. That's a great option for those who treat their podcasts like vlogs.