2019 has been the year of podcasts. Leading music streaming company Spotify is on a spree to buy podcast companies. Youtubers are opening podcast channels to reach more audiences. And top VC companies are also investing in podcast-related products.
Both Apple and Google have increased their podcast offerings with dedicated apps. Apple has announced that it will transfer the podcast from iTunes to a standalone app on macOS.
Speaking of mobile apps, Pocket Casts has been a go-to for several reasons (especially now that it’s free on mobile platforms). But while researching the Apple ecosystem, I found two capable alternatives, Cloudy and Castro.
We’ve already covered the Overcast vs Pocket Casts comparison and in this post, we’re going to compete against Castro. The comparison will be based on a quick interface review, discovery functionality, listening experience, extra features and price. Let’s jump.
availability
Pocket Casts prefers to pamper their audience. The app is available on Android, iOS, Mac, Windows and the Web. It has been a boon for someone who lives in multiple ecosystems. You will only find Castro on iOS. It still supports Apple Watch though.
User Interface and Navigation
Pocket Casts received a new coat of paint with the 7.0 update. The app uses standard bottom bar navigation to navigate between menus.
The default homepage shows subscribed podcast channels. The Filter tab displays newly released podcasts and starred ones for easy access. You can also change the look with different themes and icon style from the settings menu.
Overall, a nice interface and easy-to-understand navigation with the right items in the right place.
By default, Castro takes you to the Queue tab. It is similar to the playlist feature. You can add podcasts to a queue for continuous listening. The Inbox tab shows upcoming podcasts with top picks.
I like how the Castro settings are accessed from each tab. To change settings in Pocket Casts, you need to review the profile.
I prefer Castro’s interface over Pocket Casts. I like that it already uses the iOS 13 style floating menu in the app.
Explore Podcasts
Both apps offer multiple ways to find a new podcast channel. In Pocket Casts, go to the explore section and discover new channels.
Their categorization is similar to the App Store for iOS. The featured section shows trending channels worldwide. You can discover popular podcasts, major network channels and browse through different categories such as Music, Technology, Comedy, Business, Fiction and more.
Castro’s exploration tab is simple. Displays the relevant banner at the top with a section name. Scroll down and find podcast topics like Art, Politics, Music, TV & Film, Sports, Comedy and more. Tap the ‘+’ icon to add a channel to your collection.
I like Castro’s simple approach here. In contrast, Pocket Casts looks cluttered to me. Castro has only one problem. To change the country you need to go to Settings > Advanced > Category Country. It should be integrated into the Explore tab.
Features That Matter
Pocket Casts is packed with rich functions. You can download podcasts, add notification reminder to a channel, set automatic download for a specific channel and share with others.
The app also supports Siri Shortcuts. For example, you can say ‘Hey Siri, play the Android Police podcast’ and Pocket Casts will open and start playing the latest episode.
The AutoArchive option, which archives the episode being played, is also available. It’s a nice way to keep relevant and unread podcasts under control. You can check detailed statistics on how long you’ve been listening to podcasts and playback history in the Profile menu.
Castro is already compatible with iOS 13 dark mode. When you add a podcast to the Queue, it will automatically download the episode and delete it after removing it from the Queue tab.
With the sideload function, you can easily transfer audiobooks, conference calls from Safari browser to Castro.
Similar to Pocket Casts, Castro also supports Siri Shortcuts. I set it to ‘Hey Siri, Play Castro’ and it will open the app and start playing the first episode in the Queue.
Castro syncs perfectly with Apple’s Handoff function on the Mac. When opened on iPhone, you have the ability to carry on Mac with Handoff functionality and it starts playing in the Safari browser. I miss that in Pocket Casts.
Both apps support iOS widgets and long press app icons to reveal popular shortcuts.
Smooth Listening Experience
If the listening experience is not enough, none of the above functions matter. A premium and clutter-free listening experience is one of the reasons advanced users choose third-party apps over the default Apple and Google podcast apps.
Pocket Casts has nailed the basics here. First, it displays a color in the background that matches the channel icon. It has a nice detail. The podcast player lets you go forward 45 seconds and back 10 seconds with a single tap.
You can increase the playback speed, trim the silence and increase the volume. The app also supports the sleep timer function that will turn off the podcast after the selected time.
You can also use channel customizations like playback effects and skipping the first few seconds to avoid ads. The Statistics section in the Settings menu shows detailed information about how much time you’ve saved using these functions.
Castro is not far behind. You can use Settings in the player to access clipping silence, sound enhancements, sleep timer and fast play options.
You can also share a specific episode of the podcast from the default podcast clipper option.
Castro lacks detailed statistics functionality like Pocket Casts. I hope they consider adding it in the next version.
Price Parity
Pocket Casts has recently made their app free for mobile platforms. If you want access to Mac and Windows apps, as well as a variety of themes and icons, consider paying $10 per year to unlock functions. Oh, and if you’ve paid for desktop apps before, you get the premium version free for life. So clean.
Castro offers basic features for free. But advanced add-ons such as superior listening experience, Apple Watch Sync, various themes and icons are behind the premium paywall. You will have to pay $4 a month or $20 a year to access them.
Upgrade Your Podcast Game
As you can see from the comparison above, both apps offer plenty of reasons to choose them over competitors. Pocket Casts is ubiquitous and detailed statistics functionality is something you won’t find in any app. Castro looks better and strikes a perfect balance between customization and functionality. Of course, you can lock your phone after playing a podcast. However, the biggest advantage of the application is that it helps you save time and consume content more efficiently.
Next: Castbox is another excellent alternative to Pocket Casts. Read the post below to see the detailed comparison.
