There are many ways you can use your smartphone as a productive tool. And one of the best examples of this is using it to listen to podcasts. You can learn about various things – ranging from entertainment to real-world situations. With the plethora of podcast apps available on the Play Store, it may get daunting to decide the best one for you. To make this task a tad bit easier for you, here is a list of the 15 best podcast apps for Android you can use in 2020.

1. Pocket Casts

Pocket Casts is arguably the best podcast app for Android, thanks to its gorgeous interface and great features. Right when you open the app, the first screen that appears is that of the featured podcasts. Here, you can navigate to other helpful tabs like trending, top-rated, categories, etc. I find the “Categories” tab very useful. It is something unique and displays podcasts sorted in different categories like arts, business, and comedy. Another tab, “Network”, displays the major podcast stations out there like Radiotopia, Relay FM, NPR, Forbes, etc. These stations have channels with their own episodes. If you are fond of a particular station, this tab may help you find all their channels in a single place.

Install: (Free, $0.99/month for Plus)

With over 5 million downloads and a sweet 4.7 rating under its belt, CastBox is probably the most popular app for listening to podcasts on Android. It not only offers you a vast collection of over 1 million channels (like NPR, BBC, Earwolf, This American Life and CBC), with over 50 million free streamable episodes in 70 different languages but also brings in tow almost all the features you may expect from a podcast app nowadays.

Install: (Free, $0.99 monthly premium subscription)

Being a free app with almost all the features that you expect from a good podcast app, Podcast Addict is one of the best podcast apps for Android. You can search from among tons of podcasts, add a live radio station that may be offered in different languages like English and Spanish, and even add one using an RSS feed. If you have any audio books on your device, Podcast Addict also allows you to import it to the app and play it directly from there. This makes it very convenient to listen to all useful audio files from a single app. In addition to this, if you are a consumer of RSS reader feeds, you can import OPML files within the app.

Install: (Free, $2.99 for ad-free version)

Podcast Republic is another very popular podcast app for Android. It allows you to search not only for keywords in podcasts but also in episodes and stations. Though you may occasionally see a few adverts, you can remove them by an in-app purchase. Like Podcast Addict, you can browse the top charts, add podcasts by RSS feed, import OPML files, and play audio books in the app. Podcast Republic also features radio stations that can either be searched for or added by URL.

5. Google Podcasts

There’s no way we can miss out on Google Podcasts, that made its debut earlier in 2018, when talking of some of the best podcast apps on Android. This app adopts a minimal and straightforward approach to the fledgling podcast scene and it isn’t the most feature-rich app on this list. Instead, it offers a clutter-free, all-white material theme UI with only the most necessary controls and that’s what I love about this app.

6. Podcast Player

If I were to pick a fully-featured podcast app for Android, Podcast Player could comfortably finish right along the top. Yeah, you got that right! Featuring a huge library of thousands of podcasts (around 340K), the app has got both the number and variety to live up to your varied taste. So, whether you are fond of music podcasts, like to tune into comedy programs, enjoy catching up with news podcasts, it’s got you fully covered. Features like sleep timer, the ability to switch between dark and light themes, and easy sharing further enhance podcast listening experience.

In order to use Stitcher, you must sign up on the app first. Once you do that, you’ll have to select at least one from a list of topics and sources to move forward. The app will then show you relevant feed accordingly. You can add more topics later at any time you wish. Several channels or stations can be combined in a playlist to enjoy their continuous playback afterwards. And if there is any particular episode that you would like to listen to at a later time, you can add it you can add it to “Listen Later”.

WithPlayer FM, you can kick-start your podcast-listening experience by selecting a few topics you are interested in. You can select a few for the meantime, as they can be modified later on. By default, the podcasts are set for auto-downloading. If you want, you can change this in the app’s settings. You can discover different podcasts based on topics or filters like popular and trending. If you like a podcast by its description but don’t have enough time to listen to it right then, you can mark it as “Play Later”.

In addition to the podcasts offered by the app, you can add more by RSS feed URLs or OPML files on your device. Furthermore, you can define headphone actions while playback. And to make the app more interesting, you can choose from different themes like classic, dark, and black. Overall, Player FM is a great free podcast app for Android.

Like Stitcher, you must sign up on the app before using Podbean. On the main screen, you can discover various podcasts based on the recommended ones, audio books, and top 100. If you want are looking for a particular one, you can search for it in the app. You can even add a custom podcast using RSS feed URL or import using an OPML file. Like other podcast apps, you can choose to auto-download news episodes and download over WiFi only.

Install: (Free with subscription plan to upload podcasts)

While TuneVu may not be the fully-featured podcast app for Android, you can count on it to enhance your podcast listening experience. The app has got a decent library of podcasts that can comfortably cater to different tastes. You can explore the entire library and subscribe to the ones that you find interesting. With a simple and clean interface, it ensures navigation remains a breeze.

11. Podcast Go

If a pretty lightweight yet efficient podcast app is in your mind, chances are Podcast Go will win you over. The podcast app features a clutter-free interface for quick navigation. With a simple user-interface, you can get a good hang of all the features without having to spend plenty of time learning the tools. Beyond neat UI, it has got a solid library of over 800, 000 episodes so that you always have something really cool to tune into.

If Spotify is the go-to music streaming app on your Android smartphone, then it can also serve as your go-to for podcasts as well. The streaming giant intends to give Apple a run for its money and has now started focusing on the growth of its podcast category. You probably won’t find a collection as huge as iTunes on here, but it’s a decent place to start if you’re looking to get into podcasts.

While all of the aforementioned podcast apps will grant you with a massive collection of podcasts from across the globe, there’s a possibility that you desire to listen to more Indian creators and the content they make available. Well, the Hubhopper app looks forward to delivering the same and boasts that it has the largest publisher and podcast directory in India.

If you use a phone with an AMOLED display, you will love Podkicker. Not only is it a good podcast app but it also has a dark theme that will save your phone’s battery life. While the app already has a few channels set to load on startup, you can remove them or add more using RSS feel URL or OPML file. In addition to this, you can search for any particular podcast and also view channels similar to your subscriptions under the “Match” tab.

DoggCatcher is a simple yet efficient podcast app for Android devices. The first thing that you will notice after installing the app is that it displays a few popular feeds on the home screen. You can find more by tapping on “Subscribe” in the hamburger menu of the app. The podcast channels are sorted as top, networks, and categories. Like other apps, the “Networks” tab displays the major podcast stations on a single screen. Similarly, the “Categories” tab helps finding podcasts easier by categorizing them as arts, business, comedy, etc. There is another tab called “Recommendations”. Initially, there won’t be any results there, but as you add a few subscriptions, you’ll find similar channels here.

DoggCatcher also comes with the useful features like allowing RSS feeds, virtual feeds, and importing from OPML file. You can control the playback using your headset and even define what each click does. The only thing I didn’t like about the app is the search. Like most other apps, you don’t get a search bar at the top of the screen, rather you’ll find it under “Subscribe”. If this is not a problem for you, DoggCatcher will not disappoint you in any other aspect.