19 Best Free Podcast Players and Clients
What are Podcast clients?
Podcast clients allow users to download, stream, and manage podcast episodes. While commercial clients like Spotify and Apple Podcasts offer polished interfaces and extra features, they may require a subscription fee and offer limited customization.
Why using Open-source Podcast Clients?
Open-source podcast clients, on the other hand, are free and often provide more customization options, making them attractive to users who can't afford commercial software or prefer more control over their software.
In this post, you will find the best open-source free Podcast clients for Windows, Linux, macOS, Android and the web.
1. Shikwasa (Web Podcast Player)
Shikwasa is a web audio player designed specifically for podcasts, offering features common to podcasts and is ultra-lightweight and dependency-free.
Features
- 🚀 Ultra lightweight
- 🐣 Dependency free
- 🎬 Podcast chapters
- 🏎 Playback speed control
- 🎮 Skip forward/backward
- 👓 Accessibility-aware
- 🌙 Dark Mode
- 📻 Audio stream support
- 💻 SSR compatible
jessuni2. Tsacdop
Tsacdop is a free, open-source podcast player developed with Flutter, offering features like podcast group management, playlist support, sleep timer, speed setting, and OPML file export and import.
It uses ListenNotes & PodcastIndex for its podcast search engine.
Key Features
- Podcast group management
- Playlists support
- Sleep timer / speed setting
- OPML file export and import
- Auto-syncing in the background
- Listening and subscription history record
- Dark mode / accent color
- Download for offline play
- Auto-download new episodes / auto-delete outdated downloads
- Settings backup
- Skip silence
- Boost volume
- Supports Multiple languages
tsacdop3. Podcasts
Podcasts is a free, open-source Linux application that allows users to listen, update, and manage their favorite shows.
It supports various audio formats, remembers playback position, and allows subscriptions via RSS/Atom, iTunes, and Soundcloud links. It also supports importing subscriptions from other apps via OPML files.
The Podcasts developers
4. Podgrab
Podgrab is a self-hosted podcast manager that automatically downloads the latest podcast episodes. It was initially created to solve a specific problem during the COVID pandemic, and it allows users to access mp3 files directly, which most podcasting apps do not offer.
It works best for users who already know which podcasts they want to monitor, but it also includes a podcast search system powered by iTunes.
Features
- Download/Archive complete podcast
- Auto-download new episodes
- Tag/Label podcasts into groups
- Download on demand
- Podcast Discovery - Search and Add podcasts using iTunes API
- Full-fledged podcast player - Play downloaded files or stream from original source. Play single episodes, full podcasts and podcast groups(tags)
- Add using direct RSS feed URL / OMPL import / Search
- Basic Authentication
- Existing episode file detection - Prevent re-downloading files if already present
- Easy OPML import/export
- Customizable episode names
- Dark Mode
- Self Hosted / Open Source
- Docker support
akhilrex5. AntennaPod
AntennaPod is unequivocally the most user-friendly, adaptable, and open-source podcast manager available for Android.
You can download AntennaPod directly from F-Droid and Google Play.
AntennaPod6- gPodder
The gPodder is a free and open-source podcast client that works for Windows (Installable and Portable packages), Linux, and macOS.
gpodder7. Winds
Winds is a self-hosted open-source RSS and Podcast app built with React & Redux and Express.js. It can be customized and run on a personal server, and contributions are welcome.
It uses Stream for activity feeds and discovery, Algolia for search, AWS for hosting, MongoDB Atlas for database hosting, and SendGrid for email, all of which offer a free tier.
GetStream8. Podfriend Podcast Player
Podfriend is a free and open-source podcast player that can run on the Web, desktop, iOS and Android.
It aims to be an open alternative to larger apps like Spotify. It supports the Podcasting 2.0 initiative and aims to offer features like movies, chapters, locations, guests, and interactive content in an open ecosystem.
MartinMouritzen9. castero
castero is a TUI podcast client for the terminal.
xgi10. Newcast
Newcast is a free and open-source Podcast player for macOS, but it is no longer developed.
nbolar11. Poca
Poca is a Python 3 command line podcast client that is fast, multithreaded, and highly customizable. It allows users to set a maximum number of episodes, override metadata, filter feeds based on various criteria, and automatically rename files.
Features
- Maximum amount of episodes management
- Overriding of ID3/MP4/Vorbis metadata
- Feed filtering
- Automatic file renaming
- Option for downloading oldest episodes first
- Download and removal logging
- Configuration with an SMTP server for notifications
- Management of shows via an xml file
- Accompanying tool for show management
brokkr12. VerbaCap
VerbaCap is a centralized podcast manager that allows users to download and listen to their favorite podcasts. It is built with Django and offers an easy platform integration.
Features
- Easy to set up on Linux, Windows, macOS
- Ability to download from Youtube
- Ability to download from Youtube Playlists
- Ability to download from Spreaker.com
- Daily updates of episode lists from all data sources
- Player with automatic resume feature
- Auto-removal of listened episodes
- No distraction Audio Player
- Volume button for quick adjustment on mobile devices
- Fully containerized
- Lightweight
Mirio13. Podcrush
A Podcast player living in your browser. No accounts, no privacy invading tracking, no online persistence.
jnystad14. Kibner (CLI)
Kibner is a command-line utility for managing podcasts. It allows users to subscribe to podcasts, keep them in sync, and play episodes. It is designed to be minimal, tracking subscriptions but relying on other programs for media playback and downloads.
deepilla15. Suno
Suno is a podcast application that features a home screen displaying subscribed podcasts, a search screen for finding podcasts, detailed screens for individual podcasts and episodes, and updates for new episodes of subscribed podcasts.
h4xor716. Poddr
Poddr is a podcast client built with Electron and Angular, utilizing iTunes RSS feeds and Search API for information gathering.
Sn8z17. Kasts
Kasts is a versatile podcast application suitable for both desktop and mobile, featuring episode management through a play queue, sync playback positions with other clients via gpodder.net or gpodder-nextcloud, variable playback speed, podcast search, and full system integration.
The KDE Community
18. Vocal
Vocal is a robust podcast Linux client that offers features such as episode downloading and streaming, iTunes store search, OPML importing and exporting, and automatic library cleaning. It's currently undergoing a near-total rewrite for GTK and libadwaita, with a stable 4.0 release planned soon.
Platforms
- Linux (Flatpak)
- Linux Snap
- Linux Deb package
VocalPodcastProject19. Kodkast
Kodkast is a simple, lightweight podcast client with features such as adjustable playback speed, skip backwards or forwards, and play/pause.
rickykresslein
