Pocket Casts Plus increases subscription pricing to $33.99 from $10

AntennaPod is open source and pretty good if you're on Android. Podcast Addict isn't open source (I don't think) and it's not as pretty but it'll be the most powerful podcast app you ever use.

I mean Pocket Casts is already open source. If they end support for it, you can just fork it.

https://blog.pocketcasts.com/2022/10/19/pocket-casts-mobile-apps-are-now-open-source/

A shame it's no longer owned by NPR

Yeah, this seems like a steep increase. I can't imagine they're expecting many folks to actually pay this amount.

I like podcast republic. Lots of control.

I was surprised to learn that the Pocket Casts apps are open-source (Android GitHub, iOS GitHub).

AntennaPod

As a (now former) Pocketcasts user, I thank you for letting me know about AntennaPod!

Fun fact about Antennapod, if you want to sort new podcast episodes by prioroty, rename the podcast with a number based on your priority for that podcast and then sort the que by podcast title. Now episodes of your favorite podcast will always be up at the top and ready even if a *newer episode of anothet pod is released. Reasons you may do this besides just having a favorite podcast over others is if you listen to timely podcast that you always want to listen to before others that can wait.

Do people really use Spotify for podcasts? I don't find it a great experience. Pocket Casts seems to be solid as a free app along with other alternatives (including open-source).

Spotify is 10 a month for a normal subscription, so Pocket Casts is roughly a third of that for one year. I don't like Spotify for podcasts at all but it is a big part of the service nowadays. Still awfully expensive for Pocket Casts when you consider that it is just for podcasts and no music - unlike Spotify.

You don't need to pay for the subscription to use PocketCasts for podcasts. There is a free version that does everything you would need it to.

@quortez @ijeff That's actually 300%+, it's 100% multiplied by 3. Disgusting.

Eh I doubt it. We are a dying breed at this point 😄

The original plan was 2 years for people who bought it, only after backlash did they give out the lifetime subscriptions.

Remember when they went back on their promise that the $10 would be permanent premium? Then went on a rant about how they shouldn't honor those purchases. I stopped using them right then and there, even if I was grandfathered in.

Ya I bought the lifetime subscription years ago when they still offered it so I'm basically grandfathered into that thankfully. Idk if I could justify a recurring subscription for a podcast app.

Same here. I have lifetime plus from having bought it ages ago, but I've simply just defaulted to listening to podcasts on my Nextcloud News app out of convenience. It has a play and pause button, and that's mostly all I need from my podcast app.

You inspired me to look at antennapod and within 10 minutes pocket casts was uninstalled.

Been using pocket casts since the beginning but starting to get fed up with apps wanting more and more of my money.

The value for the price doesn't seem there to me..

Edit: existing subscribers seem to be grandfathered in at their usual price.

It was fine at $10 because you could sync with desktop.

At $40 it's stupid, plus I already switched to Google podcasts which is at least as good since they changed the ui.

I listen to podcasts daily and have 107 days of listening time in pocketcasts over the span of years, but honestly their premium features just aren't worth the cost, even at the cheaper level. I paid in the past because it's a great app but realized I basically never used the paid features and stopped.

I think a lot of people who were also paying just to support a great app are going to second guess if theyre actually using those paid features with the price hike.

Same. I just had to do a doubletake on my account to make sure I was still a lifetime member though whew!

That was my thought right now. Best podcast app on Android.

Yeah, Addict is great for what it is especially for thr price. Paying that much for basically a nothingburger seems weird?

Tbh you might be able to come back go pocket casts. They added a bunch of functionality back over time. Can't remember what it used to be like anymore, but it works for me.

I have a free account and do have access to the filters. You can filter by podcast, started/not started, duration, etc. It may still not work for your needs though.

Any way to get the logo of the podcast to show like from Pocket Casts?

Edit: Apparently by default it only downloads over wifi, nevermind!

Look at AntennaPod. Pretty app like Pocket Casts but is completely free and open source.

Same! Really glad i did that now :D

I switched to Podcast Addict from Pocket Casts back when the app was first bought out. There were a ton of bugs at the time. I've been happy with Podcast Addict and had no desire to switch back.

Edit: Spelling.

Nothing wrong with it, but here's what they're touting.

The app itself is actually open source. It also works on Android, iOS, and desktop/browser. It keeps all of my content synced regardless of platform. I personally like using the faster playback speed function, automatic skipping of silence, and the overall interface. Supposedly a number of features are available for free, but I bought the app when it was just one-time fee (and was grandfathered in). I personally dislike subscription.

Personally, re. google podcasts, it lacks a lot of useful features that other podcasts apps have.

I've found pocket casts to have the better set of features and functionality (for the unpaid version) compared to other podcasts apps. I don't use spotify, but it's definitely better than the recent and awful implementation of podcasts in youtube music. I tried a couple other podcast apps, most recently podcast republic, and I found podcast republic to be buggy, certain settings don't stick or work as expected.

Man, that beyond pod UI feels right out If jelly bean or kit Kat.

Or a player than syncs to a website or desktop app? I mainly listen on my phone, but would like to be able to listen on my pc from time to time and would like the PC and android app to stay in sync.

Pretty sure Pocket Casts now has a Wear OS app, saw it in their Play Store listing a few days ago.

Is there anything in particular you need from Plus? Also, I believe folks who subscribed before the price increase can keep the original price.

I just subscribe to a bunch of podcasts and it automatically downloads them for me. It handles keeping track of what I've listened to and can queue up a variety of them for easy listening like a customized radio station.

Here's what mine looks like:

It is just easier, and having a simple ui of different podcasts and their episodes along with their progress is a nice QOL -feature. You can probably get the sam, result with a media-player and some tinkering, but is not as easy.

Granted, I see no reason to pay for a podcast app (other to support creators), as free open-source options such as AntennaPod exist.

so you don't have to go to the website and download each episode you want to listen to...

For a legitimate question you sure do keep countering answers with "I don't do it so why do you?"

As for why people use a dedicated app? Convenience. All my podcast are in one place, they get updated automatically, and if I want it they get downloaded to storage automatically too so I can listen to them offline.

If someone tells me about a new podcast I might like, I can search for it and be listening to it within seconds, rather than having to download it from a website. Plus if I'm using Google Podcasts, playback is synced across devices so I can pick up on my phone where I left off on my computer.

Besides there's a ton of open source podcast apps and most don't have ads or tracking.

I've been paying the sub so I can pick up and play on my phone, tablet or PC whichever I happen to be using when I want to listen, but I'll be dropping it if that is indeed the new price!