Years ago I bought the app for android, iPhone, and web because for work I needed it on different devices. When they changed the pricing model I got a email saying because of my support and having paid them that many times, I was given lifetime premium for free. They were owned by a different company back then, but I really appreciated the move and have it to this day.
I’m migrating from Pocketcasts and Audible to a self-hosted Audiobookshelf instance. It’s got all the audiobook features I would want, but the podcast features are not quite there yet. The two big ones that I miss from Pocketcasts are an automated “up next” playlist and auto-downloading new episodes to the phone. That being said, there is active development and new features and bugfixes come out regularly. I wouldn’t be surprised if it had feature-parity with Pocketcasts within the year. I know self-hosting isn’t for everyone, but if you’re interested in playing around with something like that, audiobookshelf is a good place to start.
I’ve been using pocket casts for a while now, but never got the plus. The free version seems to have everything I need. What’s the most useful plus feature?
Been using it for a few years without paying, never felt the need.
It looks like their paid plan adds cross-platform (including desktop) syncing, folders, some cloud storage for uploading files, a watch app, and some more themes.
Made the switch from Podcast Addict recently and I’m pretty happy. It’s much more stable (especially with casting) and I like the queue system, but I do wish I had a bit more flexibility in applying download/update rules to whole categories instead of only one show at a time.
I haven’t gotten any sort of notification about this and I use the app every day. I would hope they say something directly to users through the app and not just do it.
Honestly, my biggest use case is listening on the phone and listening on my PC while at work. The two sync together extremely well and it’s pretty seamless. No idea if Apple Podcasts can do that (or plays that nicely on a Mac) but that’s my biggest use case for their sync capabilities.
I guess I gotta start looking at self-hosted aggregator solutions. I hope one of them has per-podcast playback speed settings/autoskip capabilities. I use the heck out of those.
Yeah I was looking at a few options. A few people recommended Audiobookshelf. I tried out airsonic-advanced and it has decent podcast support but the software itself feels a bit outdated, but it works
I wish plex would bring back plugin support. If my podcasts and audiobooks could live there easily I’d open their app a lot more. Maybe watch some of those old TV and movies they’re so excited about.
I use pocket casts since years. Never felt like needing the plus. Just checked the benefits and I think I am still good. Before a flight I download dozens of podcast to my phone via WiFi and use the list of downloaded podcasts to keep track of them.
I see no need for the following features for me:
Folders Organize your podcasts in folders, and keep them synced across devices.
Desktop Apps Take your podcasts to more places with our Windows, macOS and Web apps.
Cloud Storage Speed up your lectures. Burn through other content. Be your own Podcast DJ.
Watch Playback Ditch the phone and go for a run – without missing a beat. Apple Watch stands alone
Themes & Icons Fly your true colors. Exclusive icons and themes for the plus club only.
This is a bummer because PocketCasts was my go-to for a long time. The Stitcher for Podcasts app might be a good option. I’ve heard positive mention of it, and it has a 4.8 on the App Store.
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