Apple Podcasts May Not Be the Best Platform for Listeners. Try These Alternatives.

For the past two years of my life I got to experience what it was like to be the guy with a Google Pixel 2.

A pretty nice phone, in all seriousness, but still not a very popular one.

As a podcast producer, the main (and maybe only) issue I had with my Pixel was that it was difficult to keep up with my own podcasts, and my clients’ podcasts on the Apple Podcasts app. The grandaddy of them all.

Now I recently upgraded to the iPhone 11, and I was thrilled to have the Apple Podcasts app back in my pocket.

That is… until I actually started using it.

Apple Podcasts Has Only Become More Confusing Over the Course of Time.

I’ll go ahead and say that I was genuinely shocked and disappointed seeing how much Apple’s podcasting app has changed since I last had an iPhone.

All things considered, it has really just become a pain in the rear to try and use.

Whenever you click on anything an episode will start playing.

That can get really annoying, really quickly.

It’s also strangely difficult to find the shows that you are actually subscribed to, and on top of that, I still haven’t figured out why certain episodes of certain shows seem to just download themselves.

Then lastly, it’s also a struggle to binge anything on this platform because shows like to play in backwards order by default.

Meaning if Episode 76 of whatever show ends while you’re still on your commute, Apple will gladly play Episode 75 for you next… even though you’ve already heard it.

With all of that being said, I will point out the fact that I am aware that there a fixes to all of these problems, and it might just be a learning curve for me.

However, I have found that it makes more sense to start listening to my podcasts on other platforms that are more intuitive, rather than waste my time adjusting to the platform that Apple has created.

Here are the Three Best Alternatives to Apple Podcasts.

1.) Spotify

I’ve actually had some beef with Spotify in the past as well, for listening to podcasts, but now the times have changed, and I would recommend Spotify to anyone that needs a platform to listen to podcasts on.

Here are the pros and cons for Spotify.

Pros:

• The vast majority of podcasts are going to be available on Spotify.
• Spotify is designed to be used on all devices.
• Spotify is a major player in audio streaming, meaning the quality of the app should improve continuously over time.

Cons:

• There are still smaller problems that arise with Spotify, such as the order that episodes will autoplay in.
• You may have to deal with pesky advertisers if you do not have Spotify Premium.

Ultimately, I’ve decided to switch over to Spotify as my main source for listening to podcasts because I know podcasts will be available on this platform, it’s easy to keep track of what shows I’m following, and I can click around easily without episodes starting and stopping and so on.

I also have a ton of confidence that Spotify has a lot of potential that they will tap into, and ultimately wipe Apple Podcasts off the map. Spotify is making major moves in the podcasting space, and I have no doubt that they will do what it takes to become the King of audio streaming.

2.) Google Podcasts

As a Google Pixel user for the past couple of years, it is only natural that I had gotten used to using the Google Podcasts app.

This was my choice even over Spotify when I had that phone, and in terms of ease of use, Google might actually have one of the best podcasting apps, despite it’s lack of popularity.

Here are the pros and cons for Google Podcasts.

Pros:

• Extremely easy to use.
• Easy to download episodes, and keep track of where you are in each show.
• Available across devices.

Cons:

• Some podcasts really struggle to find themselves available on this platform. Google uses a different system for adding podcasts to their platform.

It is also EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to note that Google Podcasts is a SEPARATE app from Google Play Music, or Google Play anything.

So as long as the shows that you want to listen to are available on Google Podcasts, I would recommend this be your go-to podcast streaming platform.

3.) Stitcher

Last on the list is Stitcher.

Stitcher is independently their own podcast streaming platform. There are a lot of these independent companies, but Stitcher seems to be the one that takes the cake for people looking to stay away from Google or Apple (or Spotify, of course).

Here are the pros and cons for Stitcher.

Pros:

• Easy to use. Designed specifically for podcasting.
• Popular platform for podcasts to distribute too, and easy for podcasters to submit their show to.

Cons:

• Will be another app on your phone. Just a little clutter.
• Does not show much more potential than where it already is.
• Lack of popularity.

If you are looking for something that just says “Hey, here’s a place to listen to podcasts.” Then Stitcher might be the way to go.

Most podcasts are going to be available on this platform, and if they aren’t it is extremely easy for the producers to submit their shows to Stitcher.

Since Stitcher is designed to be a podcast listening platform, it is very easy to navigate and locate everything that you need to.

The Bottom Line.

The bottom line here is that it doesn’t really matter what podcast streaming platform you decide to go with, but I wanted to raise awareness to the fact that there are way more platforms out there than just Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

As a matter of fact, here is a list of all of the ones that you ought to check out.

• Stitcher
• Breaker
• Overcast
• RadioPublic
• Pocket Casts
• Deezer
• iHeart Radio

And the list goes on and on and on.

So find what works for you, what you like best, and then go with that.

Most podcast hosting platforms now will also distribute podcasts to most if not all of these platforms, so you don’t have to worry too much about what shows will be available where.