Downcast App Reviews

Robust, granular feature set. Incomparable.. Tried overcast for a couple days and came running back to Downcast. There's no comparison. The level of customization and organization possible in Downcast is exhaustive. The gesture based controls are invaluable. The sleep timer can be set for any number of minutes instead of just preset increments. The fact that it's available for a low-cost, one-time purchase versus the subscription model of other apps is also fantastic. That said, I've been using this app for years and just noticed the "tipping" feature in the settings. Happy to send a few extra bucks to the developer for a product that I've been using every single day for about 5 years.

Buggy, unsupported, and can’t import. I used to love this app Did everything I needed in a podcast app. For the last six months to a year, it has been randomly crashing. That’s not too big of a deal, because it’s quick to reload. I have been distressed by the lack of updates from the developer and no place to turn for tech support. The developer’s website has only a few articles on it. But now, the last straw has dropped. The app can no longer import podcasts. I have a lot of archived podcasts on my computer that I want to listen to. I used to be able to upload those to iCloud, download them to the phone via Files, and then import them to Downcast. Cumbersome, but that’s apparently the result of how Apple sandboxes files on iOS for security purposes. Downcast now refuses to accept those files. The app is now 50% unusable to me. Time to find something that works.

Perfect on iOS only. Have beenUsing downcast for years and it is my favorite podcast app on the iPhone. It is especially beneficial for navigation through the different episodes while driving in my car. But, I just deleted Downcast from both of my Mac’s.It has always been very buggy and many times including recently it will delete a complete podcast and all episode’s when it syncs with the iOS version. I have to re-subscribe and download everything available and delete the previously viewed episodes. It’s not a problem with the specific podcast because I do not have any of that kind of issue with apples podcast player. Great for iOS and I will continue using, never again on macOS.

Good, But Buggy. I had this a few years now and for awhile there it looked like abondonware. Lately it seems like the developer has been updating to bring it back to life. But it feels like an app that needs to be rewritten from the ground up because it’s pokey as all get out, syncing is slow as molasses, the search function doesn’t really work, and God help you if you want to AirPlay to external speakers because that is more unreliable than you can possibly imagine. Sometimes if you pause the player will stop everytime your screen auto-locks. On the plus side, it’s a better app than the stripped down one that bundles with iOS, it’s nice to be able to export your podcast list for backup, and if you’re willing to create custom playlists it can save you heartache looking for something to listen to when your podcast list inevitably gets long in the tooth. I’d like to be as enthusiastic about Downcast as I was when I bought it, but the developer *really* needs to roll up their sleeves and open the hood on this thing before it can win a race anymore.

Excellent App Missing Play Next Queue. I’ve used this feature-rich app for a long time. It’s remarkably well laid out, highly customizable, and has everything I need *except* for a way to queue up episodes to play next. If you’re familiar with the app, you may be aware of a cumbersome workaround that get’s close to a Play Next queue (“locking” episodes and creating a playlist that shows locked episodes), but it’s a tedious process, and having to remember to later unlock episodes is a pain. I highly recommend this podcast app and look forward to labeling it a total package when this feature is implemented. Until then, I keep my eyes open for something that checks all the boxes.

The only podcast app you need!. I’ve been using Downcast for years and it is everything I need it to be. The UI, while maybe not as “pretty” as some others, is highly intuitive, practical, and allows for a high degree of flexibility in how episodes are downloaded, organized and played back. I love having variable playback speeds and being able to customize media skip intervals, so you can quickly get past any ads/commercials within a podcast with a single gesture. There are no pop up ads, and in my experience it’s super light on battery usage. Overall a powerhouse of an app and in my opinion should be a no-brainer for the dedicated podcast listener.

My most used app ever. I’m really not sure how long I’ve used this app… I think since 2011. It’s a great podcast app and I have had no need to look for anything else. But recently I got an Apple Watch and was looking for a standalone watch app (this is not that, but where this leads is my review) and I was looking at podcast app reviews for other podcast apps and I was surprised to see the multitude of issues that users reported with other apps. I’ve used this app for over a decade and only rarely has there ever been a problem and the problem is almost always caused by my phone running out of storage and then the app not opening (I long ago discovered that if it gets stuck on the opening screen that I need to delete something because my phone is out of space… can’t claim the app is at fault for that). But yeah… made me glad that I’ve used downcast for the past 13 years instead of anything else.

Yup, buggy. Like other reviewers, I have long loved this app but it is now acting weirdly. Specifically, problems with the download function. Downloading from two separate, related podcast today demonstrates the problem. On the screen listing available episodes, on one podcast, touching the episode caused it to download, as usual. But with the second podcast, it would only play, and not download. Since I use Downcast almost exclusively to play already-downloaded episodes, this is a major, major problem. Next to each episode description, there is a series of icons showing possible actions, but these are totally useless because they are tiny. You would need a toothpick to click on one. I have contacted support about this twice, and received no answer.

Buggy, but the power-users only choice. I'm obsessed with podcasts. I'm usually subscribed to 40+, and I must spend at least 20 hours every week listening to them. When you have so many podcasts, you probably want a lot of control over how you listen to them, store them, and organize them. Generally, Downcast is the best in all of these areas, especially the latter two. Unfortunately, the power also comes with a fair share of bugginess and general weirdness: downloads corrupt / mess up more than any other app, I've experienced syncing arrows, and there are semi-frequent crashes. Despite all this, I still use it, because no other podcast app provides the same feature set. That said: presently, iOS 10 support is pretty much nonexistent. It's so buggy that I have had to switch to Overcast, which is killing me. The GUI seems to be laggy and getting downloads to work is a serious issue.

WHAT!? (Updated). No obvious way to access the homepage to discover and add new podcasts, which wouldn’t be an obstacle for me if the search function worked (it doesn’t, at all). So now I’m caged into only one podcast with no clear option to add more. I’d regret this even if it were a freebie. So it’s back to Podbean, at least it worked and the price is right (free). UPDATE: I am amending my original review from one star to four on the basis of not being able to access the homepage was my own oversight after finally locating it with the “+” button, but still subtracting one star because the search function is still a bugger. My apologies to the good Downcast people. 🙃

Downcast used to work great. Overall I have always liked Downcast. It was one of the first Podcast apps that I downloaded to try and it quickly became my favorite. However, recently the newer versions are having problems both on my iPhone and iPod. Virtually every time I pause a podcast (say while running into a store) the app crashes. I have sent several support requests to the developer without any good resolution so far. I receive an automatic email reply that has some links to the Beta Test Program, but these links do not work. It also seems that the last twitter post by Downcast was back in November 2016. If you read the feed for this last tweet, it seems that Downcast is no longer a supported product. I really hope that I am wrong on this but it does not look good. Caveat Emptor.

The best podcatcher. Far and away the very best podcast app out there. I’ve tried about a dozen, so I’m speaking from experience. I always come back to Downcast because it has great options and features, making it the most flexible listening tool I’ve been able to find. I’ve been a consistent user (and financial supporter) for at least 10 years. There’s just nothing else quite like it. That said, there are some missing features that would be really, REALLY helpful: 1. PLEASE add a prompt to confirm deletion of an entire podcast. You already confirm episode deletions (which is mostly just annoying TBH, since they’re easily recovered), but not for deleting the entire show? Why? Inadvertently deleting the whole subscription is definitely a vastly bigger problem. Trust me. I sadly know what I’m talking about. 2. Please give us some kind of an up-next episode queue. Playlists are great, and I use them daily, but they’re not always the most optimal tool for all situations. An episode-by-episode queue would give us much more specificity and control. 3. An “end of episode” option in the sleep timer would be so awesome. Not critical, but super useful. 4. Please resolve your sync across devices issue. I know you say it’s an Apple problem, but this is literally the ONLY content app I use that cannot properly sync my stuff. It’s hugely frustrating, and I know there must be a clean and straightforward solution since every single other viewing and listing app out there is able to do it seamlessly. Please? Thanks for an otherwise great product! I really appreciate you!

Downcast is all you need for Podcasts!. I have been using Downcast for over 5+ years, and it is the only Podcast software I use! It is so easy, and the it provides the User a robust amount of app Settings that allows them to customize their listening experience to what best meets their needs. Some of the podcast I listen too require Passwords, and the “Downcast” App makes it very easy for the User to access their paid podcasts using the Username/Password features. I give the App 5-Stars because I think it is by far the best podcasting App out there. But, it is not perfect - as if I could add of change one thing, I would make the Search for new podcasts feature more robust and show more podcasts than what it provides by default. Sometimes if you do not have the RSS URL link, searching for popular podcasts may not show up in the “Search for new podcast” features. Even though this is annoying, what “Downcast” does overall - this little annoying issue isn’t enough for me not to still give the Overall App 5-Stars. If you want a very customizable podcast listening experience, you cannot go wrong with using this App. Again - I use this App everyday and it really has stood the test of time!! This is my one and o lt podcast listening software experience, and I want to thank the Developers for their awesome work on the App.

Was great years ago, not as great now. I was so excited for an update to Downcast after over a year. Prior to iOS 8, Downcast was THE go-to podcast app for me after suffering crashes during playback with Apple’s Podcasts app. I liked that Downcast had different speeds to fast forward and rewind media, and I liked how I could see the show notes for my podcasts while playing them. There’s nothing wrong with the playback for Downcast. It still works well. My main frustration with the app now is that it’s hard to search podcasts in Downcast without getting some sort of search error popup message. It’s one thing if you’re looking for a popular podcast in the Apple Podcasts store via Downcast. It’s another if you’re looking for a podcast in a language other than English, and especially if there are accented characters in the title. It took me forever to find CNN en Español in Downcast as opposed to in Apple’s Podcasts app, in part because I couldn’t search for the full name of that podcast in Downcast. I’ve decided to leave Downcast in the past where it was the most viable and the best alternative to Apple’s Podcasts app, especially since there are podcast apps that are now just as good, if not better, than Downcast. The revamped Overcast app allows a wider variety of speeds to fast forward and rewind to, not to mention audio boost and a way to speed up podcast silences. And RSSRadio is great for all my video subscriptions. With both, I’ve been able to search podcasts in seconds, not minutes. And I can see the show notes with no problem at all. Thanks for the memories, Downcast, and so long.

Great app - 1 suggestion. So far, this app is very nice. It’s well worth the price and I’ll probably use the tipping option in the future. I only have one suggestion to add. Certainly not worth taking out a star, so I maintain my 5 stars. There is a global setting for new episodes to be marked for download. This should have an override option per playlist. I have 3 playlists with all episodes of fiction drama podcasts starting from the beginning and working to the end. I don’t want to download new entries to those. I only want automatic downloads to my main Queue, which has a variety of podcasts in one playlist. I don’t see any way to override the automatic download setting for this one playlist.

Downcast is the best!. I have used this app every single day since I downloaded it well over 5 years ago. To the best of my knowledge still no “subscription” model (thank goodness) and it shows up in CarPlay and my Apple Watch. Just works awesome and can be customized in so many ways. Searching for podcasts is easy but I also like to bring in my own .mp3 and .wav files and create categories for them. I don’t know of others that can do that cool feature. Honestly, the only things I would suggest for enhancements would be for a way to let me import multiple .mp3 files manually AND also create a bookmark feature that I can add some notations to find things I want to come back to again after I’ve listened through one time. I think this is the most valuable app I have downloaded and contributed a one time fee to. Thanks so much for the great app.

Time buttons too small and forgets settings. I do love the app however after this last update the time buttons to skip forward /backward became even smaller. I drive while listening and it makes it even harder to skip while driving. Would be nice if there was a "driving" mode display with large buttons. I also had some issues with the next podcast not being heard when it was finished with the previous episode and showing that its playing. I had to disconnect usb to my car radio then reconnect and hit play again. Secondly I had to delete and reinstall and it lost all my setup podcast list! At minimum you should be saving the list of subscribed podcasts either in the keychain or in some user subscription that the server can re download

Best podcast app hands down. A year ago I had trouble with my Downcast podcasts not downloading for hours or days, so I looked into other apps. For a while I tried Overcast, and for 6 months I tried Pocket Casts. While the Pocket Casts syncing between iOS devices is nifty, Downcast is just better. Why? Because I want to easily listen to different things depending on my mood. Pocket Casts has just one playback queue ("Now Playing"). Like Downcast, you can specify which new podcast episodes are automatically put there. But each one of Downcast's playlists functions as a separate, subject-specific queue. If I'm in the mood to listen to current events, I can choose my news playlist. If I want to listen to something lighter, I can listen to my humor playlist. In Pocket Casts, my Now Playing queue is usually full of news podcasts. If I'm in the mood to listen to something else, I have to go into an individual podcast, select an episode and add it to the Now Playing queue. And I have to repeat this for each episode I want to listen to. This is time consuming, and next to impossible when I'm using my hands for something else. The way that Downcast allows me to have different subject/mood-specific playlists/queues is why I love it, and will no longer use anything else!

Love this app. I have used this app faithfully for over 4 years now. I don’t even remember when I started to use it. But it’s been seem less and awesomeness. I don’t recall any glitches or imperfections. They always update and it just works. Very reliable. I have over 100 different podcasts on my list (I’m a driver) I listen usually at 2x speed but I can change. I can automatically download or do it manually it even has an awesome Apple Watch app that works great. I can control the app or listen through my watch ( I think- I always have my phone so I’m. It sure). But it displays the album art on phone and watch! This is one of those apps that I use so often and it works so well I never thought about leaving a review. But I highly recommend this time tested partner of mine

A great podcast app. I moved to Downcast after many years with Overcast, and I'm quite happy with the change. Downcast has all the features you'd expect--playlists, automatic refreshing, manual playlist sorting, OPML support, Siri commands, and more. It does everything well, and has some neat extras. It's also fully accessible with VoiceOver. One standout feature is the playlist creator. You can make a playlist that includes or excludes any podcast, as expected. But you can go further. You can choose to include or exclude locked episodes, select custom sorting that will always apply, and more. The one missing feature I've found is the ability to manually add episodes to a playlist--you can't go through feeds and build a custom playlist on the fly. Playlists work by feed, not by episode. There are other nice little touches, too. Each episode has the total time and time remaining, as does each playlist. Playlists or feeds with no episodes show after the ones with episodes. VoiceOver's magic tap (two finger double tap) plays, even if you perform it in Downcast when media from another app is playing. There are buttons in the player interface to skip by 15, 30, and 120 seconds. The whole "lock episodes" idea is brilliant, letting you save episodes forever that you'll want to list to again without cluttering up playlists or auto-deleting them when they're played. My only two complaints are the lack of support for building a playlist or queue manually by adding episodes, and the app's badge including locked episodes. These are very minor complaints. Obviously, I'd also like to have Overcast's silence removal feature, but that's not easy to add. Oh, the ability to rewind slightly when resuming playback would be great as well.

Great for organization & customization. Poor sound quality.. Downcast is the best for customizing and organizing your feeds. It's always easy to know when you have new episodes waiting. Power user features like deciding which episodes to stream and which to download, starting episode later in to skip ads, and especially the ability to save an episode's audio file to the cloud make this my current choice for podcasts. It can be a little buggy at times, but my only two complaints are difficult to read screens (small text makes quick glances while driving difficult) and poor sound quality, especially at high-speed. I just spent several months using Overcast and fell in love with its sound quality and easy to read screens. Unfortunately that app's organization is horrible. For example, you have to delete an episode in order for it to be considered "played". Because I listen to & save episodes from several Podcasts, this made it impossible to tell when a new episode was available without looking at each and every podcast episode list. This annoyance alone is what finally forced me to give up on Overcast and return to Downcast. I wish I could have Overcast's sound quality merged with Downcast's organization & customization tools. I would gladly pay top price for that.

Best Podcast App That Fits Most of My Needs. Update to my update: I downgraded to 4 stars because of Downcast’s clunky interface. I tried Overcast again and found the newest version to be a better fit for my workflow with its dark interface and better control over podcast priorities. Downcast was taking too long to check my 60 to 70 feeds and it took too many clicks to go between the now playing screen and my playlist. Update: A few weeks ago I gave this app a low rating because it couldn’t read my iTunes playlists. After struggling with the hot mess that Apple made of the stock app and trying nearly every other third party podcast app, I find the Downcast meets most of my needs. Downcast in conjunction with the Mac app pretty much means I don't have to mess with iTunes anymore and after proper setup I can have my daily playlist automatically sorted and ready for me with minimal manual adjustment. I finally can wrap my head around the concept of direct downloads completely untethered to my Mac which means I can update my playlist away from home if needed. A few of my favorite features: O The ability to stay on while plugged in O Gestures to control pausing,and skipping O a volume slider on the player interface O podcast priority levels

Missing 1.75x speed, but otherwise excellent. I have waited approximately six years for incorporation of 1.75 times normal plane speed. I have contacted the developer at least two times about it. The first time that I did, I was told that the next version would have increments of 0.1 for the play speed. I said that was too much, but said that 1.75 was drastically needed. Still, nothing has been done. Otherwise, I have loved the application and have used it since 2012. I especially like that you can have it the access password restricted podcasts. I subscribe to two podcasts which require a paid subscription. Those cannot be accessed for people that do not have a membership. Therefore, access scene password restricted podcasts is really a wonderful capability.

The best podcast player. I believe this to be the best podcast player. I have used Downcast now for several years, it has never let me down. It does everything I needed to do. And one of the things I like the most, it still plays videos podcasts the other thing I really like about Downcast, is that it is inclusive for people with disabilities. As a legally blind person I greatly appreciate this application. It has everything I need to be included while using Downcast, a great big thank you to the developer, I would recommend this podcast application to anyone looking to enjoy the multitude of podcasts out there.

So good! I keep it on my home screen. I’ve listened to literally hundreds of hours of podcasts using Downcast and have only good things to say about this app. The offline download option is perfect since I do a lot of listening while on the road in rural areas where cell service and internet connections are spotty at best. Downcast has good fast forward and rewind options as well as the ability to speed up the pace of playback. The podcast management options mean I don’t miss episodes of the series I follow. I can’t believe it has taken me so many years to sit down and review Downcast, but this app really deserves all five stars. It blows Apple’s podcast app out of the water and I like it even more than Stitcher.

A nice podcast app for CarPlay users. I have tried all the top podcast apps for iOS which have CarPlay support and this one fits my needs the best. I like that I can customize the steering wheel controls to jump forward and back instead of skipping to the next podcast. I also like that my Podcasts download reliably on their own when my iPhone is connected to Wi-Fi and they’re ready to play when I want to listen without having to use any cellular data. I have some suggestions for ways to make CarPlay support for this app even better. 1. It’s sometimes hard to find a podcast if you subscribe to 30+ like I do. The selection of podcasts becomes even more limited if the vehicle is in motion and that can be frustrating. I understand that’s probably a requirement put in place by Apple, but there still ought to be a way to keep at least three top favorite podcasts accessible on the screen no matter what the car is doing. 2. I would like to have an alphabetical picker for podcast titles. Right now I need to organize my podcasts into playlists if I want to have any hope at all of finding “Security Now” which because of it’s title starting with the letter S it is down towards the bottom and often not accessible from the main podcasts list. 3. sometimes I get in my car, hook up my phone and try to resume a podcast that I had started listening to that morning but wasn’t even halfway through and for some reason it’s just gone. That happened today, actually. I do have podcasts set to delete when they are listened to. Finally, not related to CarPlay, It would be nice to receive a notification when certain podcasts are updated. Like I said I subscribe to a lot of them, but I don’t want to get notified of every single one. Thanks for a great app. I wouldn’t want to be without it.

Best Podcast Player, Period. I've been using Downcast since I carried an iPhone 4. I'm now on an iPhone 16 Pro Max and I've never found anything better. Downcast gives you the power to control exactly how podcasts play and what a playlist contains, and it does it LOCALLY ( i.e., no streaming) so you can continue to listen when you're hiking or biking in rural areas with no cell coverage. AND it does everything without the annoyance of "subscriptions". Yes, you need to learn how the options work, and you may need to read a Help page, but in return you get a player you can use across all your devices: phone, tablet, iPod, watch, and laptop. I have a "Daily" playlist I use most mornings, and a "News Only" one that lets my wife listen to the news without being bored by all the tech stuff I listen to; we both appreciate that. Keep up the good work, y'all!

The “Old Faithful” of Podcast apps. Update: 4-1-23—All of a sudden, unplayed podcast episodes are being randomly deleted without my input?? I had over 200 short episodes ready to listen to on an extended road trip, along with plenty of space on my phone. But to my horror, when I went to listen, I discovered that only 4 episodes still remained and the rest had been deleted! They’re still available to re-download, but what kind of bull is this? And today I discovered that the same thing happened to another subscribed podcast: unplayed episodes completely deleted. I have stuck with this app for a long, long time. I’ve been a faithful user and defender of it, and of the developers. And I don’t know if this was a glitch or some “brilliant” new feature introduced with the latest update, but THIS is a deal breaker. I will be the one to decide when my episode storage needs to be cleaned, NOT some automated cleanup program or app update. If this continues to happen, I am DONE with Downcast. Furious and incredibly disappointed. Original Review: The developers of Downcast really do deserve a tip of the hat. -They have never abandoned the app. -They’ve never pulled a bait and switch by suddenly adding a “subscription fee”. -They have never shamelessly disabled formerly free features, locked them behind a pay wall, and then recategorized them as “premium” features. No, ALL these developers have done is constantly—and consistently—provided free updates to the best podcast app in the App Store. And they have done so for a full decade. In an era where customers are being asked to sign up for a “subscription” for every app imaginable—often retroactively—the fact that Downcast has resisted this trend is remarkable. These developers deserve our support for their integrity and for a great app that keeps getting better.

Love this app for several years (but battery killing me). I could not give this app anything less than 5 stars for all of the amazing use I got out of it. This app is simple, reliable and has been improved over the years. My only issue has been with the battery drain. Perhaps this is a necessity to get the data to know whether there are new podcasts available to download. But it feels like this just takes my iPhone down considerably. That said, this is the only complaint and I've used just about all of the major apps including Apple's Podcast app, Instacast, Overcast and others. But I am strongly considering Overcast because of the battery issue. Please address this if you can.

iCloud sync has never worked. This is a great podcast app, I have been using it for at least 3-4 years. The only problem I have had ever since the first time I downloaded it has been iCloud sync. At first when there were problems with it, I just blamed them on Apple and didn’t think there was a problem with this app. But lately, iCloud sync has become extremely good, all the other apps that I use that support it, are able to sync perfectly. But for whatever reason, Downcast still has terrible problems when it comes to iCloud sync. Today after a long time, I figured I should enable iCloud sync so that I could sync the podcasts I have on my iPhone to my iPad, but the app won’t even let me enable the sync. When I enable it, go back to the previous screen, and then come back, the switch is disabled, and the status still says ‘Last synced: never’. Please fix iCloud sync! If all other apps can do it right, why cant Downcast? If you are unable to figure out how to properly implement iCloud sync, could you at least add an option to use some other cloud sync service like Dropbox? Even though I have used this app for a long time, and I love it, I am still giving it only one star because the iCloud sync portion of this app has been broken for years and they haven’t bothered fixing it.

Back to fabulous. Back to 5 stars! I had downgraded this one for some time due to problems with incompletely downloaded podcasts causing interruption in continuous-play of playlists, but this is now fixed, and it's back to wonderfully useful. I easily manage subscriptions to dozens of podcasts (now between 60 and 70), keep several different playlists going at once for different listening situations, and this app just works. The 2 minutes fast forward is great when a podcast has multiple segments and one of them is uninteresting to me. Love this app. Great for hands-off time on the road, in the garden, or other situations where hands get messy or too busy to keep tapping on buttons or on screen, and is back to doing a great job of making sure only downloaded files are put on playlists (if so instructed), so playback is never interrupted because of a wi-fi problem.

No Steers Toward Paid Podcasts. The thing I like best about Downcast is it does not steer me toward 'for pay' Podcasts. I tried the included app when I first bought my device several years ago. I have been using Downcat instead since then. I like the setting options that allow me to download different numbers of podcasts automatically so they are just waiting. Also the option to mark a podcast as 'listened to' is nice if I decide the subject doesn't entice. Suggestions to the developers would be: A)option to set up a playlist by individual podcast rather than the current option which only allows you to select all of the lined up podcasts of a particular source and B)a better search function. Sometimes I do a search for a particular podcast I know is available but the Downcast search comes up empty. I then have to copy and paste the exact URL. All in all it is a workhorse app for me. I use it all the time. I recommend it without hesitation.

Use it above other apps. But I still have feature request that seems to go no where: episode queuing. I subscribe to WAY more podcasts than I can actually listen to, and I seldom listen to every episode of any podcast. I go through my new episodes every time I update looking for new episodes and decide which ones I might be actually interested in hearing. I would like to be able to instruct the app to play any episode NEXT while I’m listening, thus building a queue of various episodes to play from different podcasts based on what I am most interested in hearing. Currently, I have no way to note or designate what I want to listen to next in the app - the best I can do is note what podcast and episode to play next in Notes or jot it down. The lack of such a simple convenience mystifies me. It seems like such a simple thing to be able to string together a queue of episodes to play in desired sequence without having to stop and hunt for a new episode to play after the one I’m listening to ends. I like to listen when I’m doing other things, often with my hands, and it is annoying to interrupt my flow repeatedly to search for and start the next episode I want to hear. Please give me this feature!

Been a User for Years. I have been using Downcast for years and I mean years. It is the best app for listening to podcasts and organizing them. However, I hate I updated to the this very last update. I am so annoyed with the addition of this grey search bar fading when you go type the name of a episode or podcast. I can’t tell if this is a bug or if the app is getting stuck and that’s why the gray area appears when you go to search, but now I think the gray area is an intentional addition and I hate it. You have to close it out and it gets stuck, please remove this and go back to simple interface to search, I absolutely hate the gray fade out step and to close it. Leave well enough alone, simple really is best. I will echo others, the playlist is indeed helpful and yes you can sort the order of podcasts to play within the current playlist, but also having an option to also cue up random podcasts to play next, not in the current list would be a much welcome addition. In addition, I have 100s of podcasts, I really wish I could put a star by podcasts shows I really like and individual episodes I really liked. Currently I have to lock the individual episode I enjoy and for the actual Podcasts show I have to create a Go to Podcasts playlist of shows I really like and a “Try Out”playlist to see if I like or dislike the show. Could you please create a star or rating system for both the Podcasts and individual episodes for the individual user. Thanks!

Fantastic podcast app!. I am so grateful for this app! I have been looking for years for a usable podcast app (since about iOS 12**) that would allow my simple use case of subscribing to one or more podcasts, repeatedly listening to them in chronological order on autoplay, and being able to manually choose when to delete the downloads — without ads, without downloading and/or playing stuff I don’t want, and without massive memory leaks** . This app, by contrast, for $2.99 lets me do all that and more! They provide settings for many useful features (# eps to keep, playback order, playback speed, and more), with the additional ability to both set global defaults and differ from them for individual podcasts if desired. They thoughtfully provide an option to subscribe to lesser-known podcasts via URL! The app is elegant and thoughtful yet intuitive! In fact, the way I would characterize this app overall is “intuitive and well-designed!” Many thanks! ••• ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• (**after which the apple podcast app seems to have created a massive memory leak that, in direct opposition to my settings, takes up 10-20 GB of space continually downloading eps I have deleted and deleting eps I have saved and continually veers off into playing random things despite my having that disabled and in direct contravention of a number of other settings. It’s as if they only use case they implemented is to play the five latest eps of your subscriptions — except my partner says that doesn’t work, either!)

The best power user podcast app for iOS, but frustratingly buggy.. I listen to podcasts at least 3-4 hours per day on a light day. The features in this app are the best available. It does however have an issue where is crashes very regularly and more so as time goes on. iOS 10 seems to have made this issue worse. Using an iPhone 6 and been using the app for a year. Started crashing relatively early on, but now it happens half a dozen times in a day.... And despite this huge hang up I'd rather use Downcast than any others simply because of the power behind it. Also the companion Mac app is a major plus! Everything since to the degree you choose. Pretty great!! If you are looking for something solid and reliable but with fewer bells and whistles then go for Overcast instead. It's easy to use and still fairly customizable.

Hasn’t been downloading all eps lately (July 12, 2020). Before the pandemic of 2020 started, I loved this app. I downloaded it because the latest version of the iPhone podcast app was extremely confusing to use. I suddenly had to hunt down where to find the new episodes with that app. The iPhone app was no longer intuitive, so I gladly paid for the Downcast app which was intuitive. A few weeks after the COVID-19 pandemic began, I noticed that the Downcast app was missing new episodes from a few of my podcasts. I opened up the iPhone podcast app, and there were the new episodes! I don’t know what happened, but I’m sure it has to do with low employee staffing during this pandemic like we’re seeing in many industries. I hope they can fix the issue soon. That’s why I included the date in the title of this review. My rating for Downcast pre-pandemic: 5/5 stars During the pandemic: 2.5/5 stars

Love/Hate relationship. I’ve been a Downcast user for many years and have always loved it. However, I stopped using it and stopped listening to podcasts because I just can’t tolerate all the ads. I always listen when I’m on the go so do not have time to fast forward through ads. I also have not identified podcasts I want to subscribe to individually. I wish Downcast had a general subscription that would eliminate ads and then Downcast would then provide financial support to podcast makers to whom I listen. I REALLY WISH DOWNCAST HAD A .75 SPEED and not jump from .5 speed to full speed. .5 is just toooo slow and sometimes full speed people just talk too fast for me to comprehend well enough to make it work my time to listen.

Best feature set for power users, but..... I've been using this app on and off for 2~3 years. Usually interchanged with Overcast. Overcast's polish has always been much better than anyone's else's but its feature set is weaker than Downcast. For a while feature set (queue for download vs queue for stream, chromecast) and better management interface has won over overcast's polish. Now however, particularly with the batter drain issue; which they claim to have fixed but clearly haven't, is making this app unusable. I can't play podcasts for too long without power connected to the phone, and if I need to be away from an outlet I better not use this app and it better not be on in the background or eat my battery alive. I'm on an iPhone 6 with a new battery, not that that was the issue in the first place because you could feel how hot the phone was getting even though it was locked and playing downcast in the background. I'm switching to overcast because I can't have this keep happening. Fix the issue downcast, or I'm staying with overcast.

It’s not as great as it used to be. Amazing organizational options and fantastic customizability for each podcast download and playback settings. I absolutely love that... unfortunately the app has become almost unusable! Constantly crashes on start-up, I can’t cast to chrome-cast like anymore because the casting will disconnect randomly and the podcast will play simultaneously on the phone and the Chrome Cast OR it will just stop and the app will crash and I will have to restart. Sometimes it takes minutes to get past the loading screen, app won’t remember episode playback status so It’ll play them again from the beginning, the application will also crash as I skip forward to another episode. When I plug in my headphones and press play it’ll take over a minute for the app to continue and when it does it immediately stops playback after a couple of seconds and I’ll have to return to the app to resume playback. I keep waiting for updates that might fix the issues or better it, but each update is making it worse. I’ll have to look for something else in the meantime but I really hope they get the issues fixed. I do love this app otherwise

Stability & Accessibility issues don’t make up for features. I’ve been using Downcast for over half a dozen years, on and off, always checking in after a while away to see if it’s been improved on the stability front. It has not. Constant crashes, unexplainable freezes, and lack of conformance with accessibility guidelines make this app almost unusable for my use case. I listen two primary ways : with a single-ear airpod while I cycle commute or late at night to go to sleep. I’m in my 50’s, and I require reading glasses. The app quits suddenly or freezes, unresponsive to gestures or taps. I can’t stop my bike to pull my phone out to restart it. This has been happening since iOS 11, when  added new guidelines for restricting power use. This app doesn’t conform to the new guidelines, apparently, so it either crashes or gets shut down because it hasn’t told iOS it’s a background app. Whatever the cause, other podcast apps don’t have this problem. (I have an iPhone 11 Pro Max with 512G, and about 3 dozen feeds.) The accessibility problems are an issue for both use cases. I can’t read anything in the app without glasses because it’s not using the accessibility font sizes. Unacceptable in 2020. Lastly, the  Watch app doesn’t have a volume control. Not sure why it’s excluded. Downcast does not integrate well with Now Playing on the Watch, so it can be a crapshoot to set volume from there. Years ago, in the iOS 10 days, this was a fun, functional app. But iOS updates have left it behind.

Still my favorite. I am both frustrated and in love with the fact that this app sees little development. I prefer when a dev is not constantly fiddling with things that are already great just for the sake of marketing. But, I do sometimes wish for a /small/ amount of modern polish on the app every 18+ months. That said, whenever I’ve tried other popular podcast apps I come running back to downcast fairly quickly. It just does everything I want, in a clean compact UI, and with the options I like. More than that, the options I do NOT care about are easy to completely ignore. A++

Absolutely Baffling Interface. Trying to figure out how to get this app to arrange episodes in any normal fashion is impossible to understand. The developers appear to have no understanding of how to create a user interface that is even close to comprehensible to anyone who is not a developer of this particular app. I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to figure out how to get the app to merely list all the episodes of a particular podcast in descending order by date without eliminating it entirely from my feed. Mission not accomplished. The wording they use to describe the function in question, say, “don’t get rid of any episodes,” is so impossibly ambiguous that I had to guess and hope for the best. Under these circumstances you’d figure that occasionally you’d luck into the right action. You would be wrong. Don’t get me wrong. There’s not a single good podcast app that I have found. And I’ve tried maybe ten of them. This one seemed to have some promise. I have now given up on it, too. A note to the developers: if you would like to improve your product exponentially, hire someone who understands UX. It’s not that hard, but I’ve come to believe that game developers, ie, coders, do not intuitively possess this ability. Hard stop. I’m not a certificated UX designer, but I could give you a game plan in a week.

Options!!!. I had only ever used the Apple podcast app, and was pretty satisfied with it, until a friend showed me Downcast, and frankly, it's a game changer. There are so many options, and the intricacy of how podcasts are managed through the app, it's absolutely stunning. At this point, podcasts are almost completely replacing radio for me now, and having the option to have tailored downloads, or streaming episodes, timers, which subscriptions to keep after play and which ones to delete, makes managing a fairly vast subscription list, very easy. I also very much appreciate the interface design. Highly recommended.

Can’t beat it. I’ve been reading some of the reviews on here saying that the app is buggy and drains your battery. I’ve found that not to be the case in my personal usage. Sure the app will crash every now and again (same as any other app) but your progress through a podcast is always saved so overall it’s a non issue. Organization is great and as mentioned in other reviews there are many great options to customize how and when podcasts are downloaded/streamed or feeds refreshed. I’m subscribed to over 30 podcasts and can set different options for all of them or they obey a “global setting”. Worth every penny. Love this app.

Heavy podcast listener? this is for you. I work in an office with no internet access. So needless to say I need to have a podcast manager to handle downloading and organizing my many podcasts for a full day of work. This is the one for me. It seamlessly updates all the podcasts before I get up, ready to go. This is FULLY customizable. Globally or per podcast! I love that! Some podcast ramble for roughly the same amount of time on their podcast. So I will set that podcast to jump in a set amount every time. You can also trim the ending as well. I also use this in my vehicle with Apple CarPlay. Works well. This definitely will be my only podcast app! Very nice!!

A very important piece of software.. Downcast is my most used application. It keeps thousands of episodes organized for me in a pool of subscriptions that hits 100GB on my mobile at times. It also syncs with my laptop, my server, and with some massaging, my stable of various media players. Can I jump around and control an app processing a catalog that large on a mobile device seamlessly and quickly with the watch app? Yes. Is it for power users? Yeah. Is it for casual NPR listeners? Hell yeah. Is it for people that don't care? Obviously not. But I usually don't care for those people. Downcast is not just a podcatcher. It is a research tool, lifestyle app, and a seamless portal into the enormous and fertile world of decentralized multimedia. Sound Hyperbolic? My first ever review sounds preachy? Then find me a single app that comes close to this. Be careful though: you can lose your soul while searching.

Could be better at playing podcasts. This app is everything I’d want in a player - it has all the features I want. Sadly, however, it’s very bad at playing podcasts. It is one of *the* buggiest pieces of software I’ve run across. It consistently starts playing episodes of other podcasts, instead of the one I just chose. Or, sometimes it plays different episodes of the same podcast. It doesn’t remember what podcast I was in when I leave the app, so I have to scroll through a dozen to find what I’m looking for. Sometimes playback gets a “glitch” where it starts repeating the same 15 seconds until I force-quit. It handles changing networks, like switching from Wi-Fi to cellular because I walked out to my car, particularly ungracefully, by throwing a modal dialog box about playback errors. These errors will persist, *even* after the connection is restored, until I force-quit the app. It’s like it caches a error state somewhere then forgets to re-check connectivity. The UI makes it very difficult to scrub to the beginning or end of an episode because the start and end points and right up against the edges of the screen. But mostly, this app is incredibly maddening because it simply is bad doing the job of playing back an MP3 file from a remote server. They should really try to get that part right.

The Dom Perignon of Podcasting Apps. Downcast works like a dream. Every feature you might want or need is threaded into the design. And you can modulate how intricate you'd like the app to be. You can manually create detailed playlists and download schedules or you can just line up subscriptions and leave it automated. My favorite unique feature has to be the Find Podcasts search bar, which is crazy useful especially when some podcasts are up to hundreds of episodes now. The bookmark feature while the podcast is playing is killer as well, letting you skip to different chapters when the podcast is formatted thay way. It's the perfect podcasting app, I'd recommend it to every podcast lover.

Has every feature except recommendations. I started using Downcast YEARS ago when it was the only (or at least, the first) podcast app I could find that allowed episodes to be downloaded for offline listening. I LOVE it. The app has so many features and is so customizable, with frequent upgrades and improvements. The developers have always been very responsive when I’ve had issues. It’s been my go-to for years. But I finally realized that it’s missing something I really need/want: podcast recommendations/the ability to discover new podcasts within the app. My listening over the last several years has consisted mostly of “podcast versions of already-broadcast NPR shows, NPR podcasts, and other podcasts I’ve discovered by happenstance”. True, I’ve found a few gems via the “Top Podcasts” lists and by searching on particular subjects, but it’s clunky and not very intuitive. So I’ve started trying out some other highly-recommended podcast players specifically because they DO have a recommendations feature and make it easy to discover podcasts similar to the ones I already listen to. None come anywhere close to Downcast when it comes to the ability to fine-tune subscription, download and playlist settings, but they’ve also turned me onto several podcasts and podcasters I’d never have known about otherwise. Any chance of an improved “discovery” feature, or is that not within the scope of what the developers want Downcast to do?

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Best Podcast App. I Have used this app for years, my brother recommended it when I got my first iPhone and I cannot say a bad word about it. It makes finding and listening to podcasts an effortless task, thanks for the great app.

Works and is easy.. An app for podcasts should be easy, right? Well apart from Downcast no. This is only podcast app I used that is simple, always works, isn’t stuffed with useless features that you don’t need. You find a podcast you like...you subscribe...it updates... No silly marketing stuff, forums, funky graphics, you might like this try this. Just works well.

Utility galore. Definitely not the flashiest of podcast players, but it has a ridiculous amount of features. This is one of the few podcast apps that have full support for local media - it can handle files and order them however you want.

Great response from developer. I identified an issue then it was addressed the same day. What great service. Maybe a coincidence, but either way great end result for me. Apart from that issue, I love this app

Downcast. Downcast is a great program. Over the last six months the developer has been hard to contact but apart from that it works well. Also has good VoiceOver support.

Mark as played gesture great. Lack of watch app. It so great.. FYI two finger drag down on player screen marks as played. A great time saver. I love the interface but have switched to Overcast so I can store podcasts on my Apple Watch and listen without a phone. As soon as Downcast gets the same feature I’ll be back

Excellent podcast app. Been using this for years. Great app.

Great podcast app. I've tried a few but this is the app I keep coming back to. Easy UI, does the job well.

Great but poor CarPlay functionality. The app itself is great but the CarPlay functionality is very poor. The Apple podcast app has much better CarPlay functionality.

My favourite non Apple app. I have been using this app for years and love it It’s so customisable Some tech podcasters I listen to keep recommending Overcast so I downloaded it and tried for a while but went back to Downcast The only thing I could think of is som e indication in the player that you tap on the episode to start playing, line a play button, fo new users

My favorite. In my opinion the best podcast app. My favorite features are that for every podcast I can individually set things like speed and the start/end time (to skip over repetitive intros and ads).

Best podcast app. This is absolutely perfect :D. I've tried many podcast apps including overcast and I personally think this is the best one with the greatest amount of features for comfortable listening. With the customisable options you can listen to podcasts how you want to. It's amazing and well worth it.

This app still crashes. I’ve just downloaded this app and I’ve just finished Copying like all of my podcasts onto this app about a podcast when it app crashed and now I can’t seem to open up again

Great. This app has been fantastic for podcasts. Has been almost flawless and great to operate with.

Listener. Great well featured podcast app but has developed an annoyance. Stops after a couple of minutes play via airbuds. Does this a few times and then works perfectly Please fix

Something has changed?. I used Downcast for years, and was determined to never use that purple Apple app again, but something changed a couple of versions ago, and Downcast will no longer download new eps on cellular, no matter what settings I tweak. So it’s back to the purple thing - ugh! Please fix it!

Fantastic App. I have been using this app now for a couple of years and it works flawlessly on both my iPhone and iPad. It is refreshingly to find an app that works as advertised.

Latest update causing crash. Absolutely love this app but since the most recent update I can’t open the app. It crashes in 2-3 seconds. Can we get a new update soon??

Poor. Surprisingly poor and confusing to use. Not worth paying for certainly.

Needs a 'Mark as Played' button. Sliding the play slider over to the very right hand side of the phone is near impossible whilst driving and yet with my settings files are only deleted when they're fully played (not partially played). It needs a 'Mark as Played' BUTTON. And a big one at that!

Go to app. Does everything a podcast app should. Love it.

Long time user. I have used Downcast for years. It has all the options to tune each podcast to behave exactly the way I want. It has been great and I don’t see a need to change. The low one-time charge is appreciated, too.

Problems lately. I really like this app but lately it’s been having problems. It won’t restart streaming an episode once I’ve paused it to come back to it a couple days later. Like I said I love this app but I need it to work well since I use it all the time.

My favourite podcast player…. I'm a podcast tragic! I subscribe to 29 podcasts (when do I ever get the time to listen to them?). I've tried all the main podcast players but for my needs Downcast is the BEST! It's easy to setup, has a nice UI and all the features I need. I only have a single playlist but you can have multiple playlists if you need. The easy way Downcast syncs via iCloud is the feature I like most. I have the app on my iPad, iPhone and Mac (and an old iPod touch for a few weeks). Downcast has no problems keeping all four devices synced. I highly recommend this app! Stay safe, Peter

Tried and true. Been using it for years, Tiz the best

Still the best.. If your into podcasts, buy it.

Podcast searches broken. Downcast no longer permits searching for new podcasts, Reddit Downcast also shows other useers with same issue recently as 3 days ago.

Downcast, makes me smile.. If any app has stood the test of time, it is downcast. A wonderful player which I’ve been using since it was recommended to me in 2015. With global, playlist, and individual episode settings, combined with speed increases the abilities backwards and forwards as well as export and import to to the app, as well as accessibility with VoiceOver from go to it’s the best.

I’ve used it for years , I love it. Is there an update for widgets ? It would be great to have a widget on my Home Screen just to play wherever I left off. Rather than having to open app and press play. I’m lazy , I know 😊

Best app for podcast organisation, but no support. App has best tools for podcast organisation of all apps tested, but still lacks core things like sync of favourited episodes etc. App is 4 stars, but support is non-existent (neither via email nor via twitter - I tried multiple times!), so that takes a star.

Podcasts sorted. Menu issues unfortunately have ruined a once great app. Probably the premier podcast app of its time, I think the developer has checked out, not responding to questions. I'm out too after at least 3 years.

Best Podcast App. I have tried so many Podcast aps trying to find one that did what I want it to. Finally!! I can set the speed for each podcast. The podcasts actually download automatically. The go into my playlist in the correct order. It actually starts again where o last stopped listening. I’ve only had the app crash once. So happy!

Just works. Ditched apple podcast years ago. Tried Downcast. Never had a reason to try anything else.

Great app - one extra feature please. I’ve been using downcast for many years, I love the layout and it’s reliability. Put the developers please include a function to sort the Global list by date. So we can most recently downloaded podcast first.

Love the app but gets out of sync. Been using this app for years but lately if I stop a podcast next time I come back to keep listening to a podcast it’s starts a few minutes earlier than where I left it, so I need to fast forward to catch up to where I left off.

Last update is excellent!. I’ve been using Downcast for MANY years and it’s always been great but with a few foibles that have annoyed. This latest update (2.9.21) fixes a bunch of small annoyances plus adds some cool stuff. I’ve never reviewed before but wanted to give some kudos for making my favourite podcast player cooler!

Solid, reliable and easy to use. This has been my go-to podcast app for many years and it’s because of the excellent interface, reliability and great features. Highly recommended.

Solid reliable app. A few bugs but the team are always patching them as soon as they can! This app does everything you need it too and has a ton of options to customise how you download and listen to podcasts.

Podcasting made easy. I’ve used Downcast for years now. It has a simple, easy to use interface and gets continual upgrades that add useful features. I make regular contributions to ensure the apps ongoing viability.

Simply the BEST for the oldschool podcast lover.. I’ve been listening to, creating and collecting Podcasts since before they were called Podcasts! Downcast is simply the best way for to manage, listen to and share the podcasts I love and make. I just hope they work closer with Adam Curry and the podcast2.0 team - that would make the best player even better!!! And get them 5 stars!!

My favourite podcast app. I have been using this app for years and it’s been the best app I have paid for. I know it’s tough out there when competing with other podcasts apps and I didn’t expect an update for ios13 but still delivering an shiny new update with dark mode compatibility. Very nice work guys.

The only one!. Bought this app in May 2012 and have used it daily until today, when I've finally decided to delete it. For months it has been randomly crashing, none of the updates have helped. This morning it has crashed about a dozen times, after a little as 15 seconds or so. Appalling.

Sound quality has gone weird. Have been using for years and loved downcast, but lately the sound has been distorted in headphones. Have tried listening to the same podcast file through downcast, apple podcast app and overcast and downcast is the only one with poor sound quality. Shame this has happened but thanks though for making the process of switching to overcast so easy with the export option.

Not great with CarPlay. Love the app, and have been using it for years, but new car with Apple CarPlay and that is how I am mainly using it now. Has been buggy on CarPlay, which is the worst as you can restart or reboot it when driving. Have gone back to the Apple Podcast app instead. Shame.

Best podcast app. Love it. The swipe to shuffle is awesome. Great interface. Very easy to use.

Too bad. My last review of this app several years ago was 5 stars. I decided to try it again and now it’s 1 star. It’s not a modern iPhone app any more, it lacks functionality, integration with iOS features and general usability. Shame.

Different but great at what it does. This is a different kind of podcast app and it has settings that most other apps don‘t even offer. It uses some slightly technical terms, but the functionality can be really useful. My favourite setting is that you can turn off updates for a podcast - perfect for a show that you still want to keep around so you can go back to old episodes, but you don‘t want to listen to any of their new episodes.

Been using downcast for years. I've been using this app for years. It does everything I want, occasionally I have a go at others, but none work for me as well as downcast.

Consistently great. Really wonderful podcast app. Continues to be smooth and stable over the years that I’ve been using it.

Great pod player but can be buggy. Overall a great pod player but can sometimes be buggy.

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Auto unsubscribes for no reason. This is my fav podcast app. But for some reason various podcasts (Planet Money, NPR Politics) automatically unsubscribe randomly for me, Even if I am in the middle of listening to it! It will delete and unsubscribe from it. I can’t be the only person this is happening to. There needs to be a fix or update put out addressing this, or I will be forced to find another Podcast app.

Still love it, as a constant user. After many years I can’t imagine using another podcast app. I even use it to import and listen to non podcast media files.

Crashes today please fix!. The update says it prevents a possible crash but the update broke my app. Please fix this is my favorite podcast app! I will try reinstalling.

Good, but can’t rate podcasts. I just wish I could rate my favourite podcasts in the app. I want to give my video game boyfriends at Thumb Cramps five stars in my podcast app of choice, but currently can’t.

Best podcast app. Great app and even better support.

Best podcast app ever !. This is the first time I’ve written an app review and it may be the last. Wanted to chime in with others to support and cheer about this extraordinary podcast app. I’ve been using Downcast for years now and couldn’t be happier with all aspects – especially compared to much better known rivals. Bravo tutti!

Recent crashes…. I have had Downcast crash frequently in August 2035/ios18… Noting that the developer’s response indicated he/she maintains the software alone, I value the excellent structure enough to pay a reasonable annual fee!

Terrible. Lots of customizations but not intuitive and a terrible user interface! Trying to add a single episode to a playlist is unnecessarily complicated and verging on impossible. Just give me an add to playlist option

Been using for years. Love it - couple of improvements.. iPhone. Scrubbing bar red and small. Difficult to see. Ux can be improved by analyzing workflow and placing buttons more logically. Have problems with continuous play. Sometimes if activated in a playlist, regular podcasts also play continuously. Don’t want that. Be good if continuous play can be activated solely in a podcast group and not flow into other groups.

Excellent. I’ve used Downcast for several years and have found it to be one of the best. The options are extensive, and any small issues have been dealt with quickly. I would highly recommend this podcast player.

Great podcast app. Well thought out, easy to use with best feature set of podcast apps.

Great app that is packed with useful features. This is an excellent application for podcast management. You can synchronize your playlists between your Mac and your iPhone and it supports a lot of useful features the more you poke around the more things useful you will find. It is definitely good for intermediate to advanced users. Plus I really like the support a back catalogue: you can import your files from your computer that are no longer hosted on podcast servers if you have previously downloaded them.

The Best Podcast App. September 30 update: - Watch volume control from the app is so awesome! I was definitely excited to see this. July 15, 2020 update: Latest release fixes a lot of previous issues! - downloads are working again - podcast icons display properly - larger text - so far, no crashes Still the best podcast app! Original review I try new podcast apps when they’re released but none ever compare to Downcast. It’s just so well organized and allows for such granular configuration of your feeds and playlists! I recommend it to everyone I know who likes podcasts.

Please update to iOS 10 or fix the app! It became a huge battery drainer!. Please, please, I beg you, update your app to to iOS 10 or do something to fix it! Downcast used to be my favorite podcast app and I still love it for the functions, UX and customizability but after I updated my iPhone 6s plus to iOS 10 it became pretty much unusable because it just sucks my battery dry in 3.5-4 hours with normal use and also uses up almost all of 2GB of my phone's memory which is not normal. And while playing my phone all the time stays burning hot, I probably couldn't hold it without the case on. That's how hot it is. I checked many times, it's absolutely Downcast's doing. Other apps, including native Podcasts app don't do anything even close like this. Thank you.

No Manual playlist support. I’m disappointed because of the lie. You say you support playlists, which is a LIE! You don't! You propose some ridiculous work around until the next “major version 3”. Ok that would have been fine if that promise was not made 2 years ago!!! I’ll contact Apple to have my money back! This is scam level!

Should have been Apple's podcast app. I just love it- it's the only podcasting app I use (and have used for many many mths).

Always My Favourite. I try new apps every once in awhile to see if I’m missing anything, but I always come back to Downcast. I love my handmade playlists, some for different genres, some for show frequency, and I love being able to keep one list by length of episode, and another by date. I’ve also started using the feature to adjust playback speed for specific shows, and I love it. The only thing missing is being able to cast to by Google Speaker at higher speed.

Volume via Apple Watch (Series 8) is erratic. Adjusting volume using my Apple Watch Series 8, while listening to Downcast is just awful. Pretty much useless.

Battery consumption on iOS 26. Love the app, but has anyone else noticed significant battery usage from the app since upgrading to iOS 26?

The best, but with serious flaws. What Apple's Podcast app should have been; too bad that if your network connection resets so do your downloads - start all over again!

Thank you. I just want to thank you. This is the only podcast app I use. It is a feature complete, to me, it is perfect. I cannot see, but when I use this app, it feels like coming home. it is a tremendous comfort to me and it brings me many, many hours of joy. It helps me to reach out to others, so that I may experience the things they do. Thank you so much for making this app. It is a real blessing to me. Thank you. Thank you so much for another update...

Detestable Recommendations. I paid for a premium version, which to me means no ads, only to have my podcasts continuously interrupted by by “recommendations.”

Consistently the best podcast app. This has consistently been my podcast go-to app on the iPhone and iPad since it came out. It has great functionality and seems to keep ahead of the various iOS upgrades. Great app.

Good app with one CarPlay annoyance. This is a good app for managing your podcast feeds and has great flexibility in building playlists. The one thing that frustrates me is that there’s no skip forward/back buttons in the CarPlay interface. The app has back 30 and 15 sec and forward 30 sec and 2 min yet the CarPlay interface has none of these.

The best. This is the best podcast app ever. The video interface is better than any video player. So many options to customize. Apple should buy this and make it the Apple Podcast native app

Really Good. I got this app years ago. It gets updated and works... works really well 👍

Worlds better than Apple podcast app. Easy to use and a big improvement over the default

Great for me (had been using iPod nano). I used to download podcasts on iTunes and transfer them to an iPod nano. Thought it would always be like that, because Apple’s podcast app isn’t intuitive. Downcast is a godsend, love it for downloading podcasts. I have about half my storage free on my 256GB iPhone, so it’s easy to keep all my podcasts downloaded and up to date. They aren’t out of date like they were on iPod, a lot of my favourite podcasts are current events (business, news). The immediacy is great. Can also control playback with the Apple Watch app, but in case the developer reads this, I would love to be able to control volume from the Apple Watch app too, and not have to switch to the Watch app “Now Playing”. 5 stars!

Broken. My only podcast app for years. Now broken - can’t add new podcasts or search. Please don’t make me switch apps!

Better way to listen. Much easier to use than Apples standard podcast app. I can listen to many episodes of one podcast in a row, sorting them by recent or oldest; or I can create a playlist with all my podcasts and listen to a mix sorted by date. I love the 30 sec go forward/back - always accessible quickly. Works well on Car Play. The search function isn’t as good as Podcast’s as it doesn’t seem to search in episode details, just in podcast titles. So if I’m looking for interviews with a certain guest on any podcast, I have ended up searching elsewhere. But great for actually listening.

Does Video. Decent app. I appreciate that it does video playback

Used to swear by it..... What happened to my downcast!? It’s soooooo slow! Used to be miles ahead of the apple podcast app but now I need to wait forever for my podcasts to start.... so what do I do? I just use the apple app:/ Get back in the game guys!!!

Best Podcast ever. This is the only podcast app you need.

Recommended. It works and works well. Good search, great file handling.

Fixed for iOS 13. Latest update seems to have fixed the crashing that came with iOS 13!!! Would be nice to be able to dynamically reorder episodes in a playlist but otherwise I’ve been using it for years without issue.

Downcast and I are best friends.. We spend hours together. My favourite is that you can set global options like 1.25 speed, and save 2 unplayed episodes, but override that per podcast, so you can listen to your music podcasts at normal speed, or grab all podcasts for the title you are binging on, and reset it later. Love it.

Great. Exactly what I want in a podcast app.

A superior podcast app. I have used this app for years, downloading from 200+ podcasts daily and maintaining a library of 5000 episodes. It is has never failed me. 30 second skip is easy (double click on the headphones), or controls show on the Lock Screen. Playlists are customizable and intuitive to create, and manage (auto delete or keep). Best of all you can export the audio files from phone to Mac via Airdrop for later listening. Playback speed can be adjusted faster and slower for time pressed listening or language learning. Use a built-in podcast search or add streams manually. The range of options leave me in control of how I use podcasts.

Great podcast app. I love this app for listening to my podcasts. It’s very powerful and customizable. You can create multiple dynamic playlists, with lots of different ways to sort the podcasts. I particularly like that the playback speeds are customizable for each podcast, as is the number of episodes you keep for each podcast. I’ve been using it for 7+ years and it has always worked super well!

Perfect. Feature rich. It’s as if someone who really listens to podcasts put all the tools and needs into one program. Many podcasts have an ad tacked on at the end, but at a high volume. You can auto trim he playback start and stop per podcast. No more being woken up at the end of a podcast by someone shouting at you to get something delivered via their new app.

There is no other. I upgraded devices recently and decided to start fresh, including defaulting to Apple apps where possible. I spent about two minutes in Apple’s Podcasts app before running back to Downcast; the flexibility in Downcast is amazing and it was clearly written by someone who knows their users. Don’t waste your time with any other podcast app.

The Best podcast app. I’ve been using Downcast for years and it is by far the most flexible podcast app. The only thing keeping me from giving a full five stars is that it doesn’t show the 15 second advance rewind buttons on the Home Screen. It’s the only reason why I would consider a different app for podcasts. But moving to another app would be giving up a lot of what Downcast does so well.

Love the playlist priority. The Priority setting allow each new episodes to be sorted by preferred podcast so that news show are always on top of your playlist. Great feature!

Used to be awesome.... Downcast used to be awesome until about 6 month ago when it became unstable, crashing 3 to 4 times in the first 10 minutes of play and then multiple times through the night. Totally unreliable since then. I've complained to Downcast support and I haven't heard back from them. Shame on you Downcast!!

Best podcast app. Highly recommend it.. Canceled satellite radio and only listen to podcasts with this app.

It’s good folks. I like how you can side load eps to it and the simplicity of using it. Great app.

Best Podcast App. I've tried many podcasts application and this one find the perfect balance between ease of use and functionality. Great job!

The best. I love downcast

My go to. Always been my go to. Don’t know how to get help. I can search for new podcasts anymore. Top lists won’t show anything. Help!

Ok for the price. It's not bad and for no other reason than thr fact that it's not subscriptio, it's superior to most of the other podcast players but the interface isn't great and settings not clear to me. For example I just want to stream and have it remember my spot and rarely download and I can't figure out how to do that. Secondly and even more importantly, the volume is almost half of my previous podcast player. I don't know why that is but I often miss things because the max volume is too low. Including on Bluetooth speakers.

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A Superstar In Trouble. This used to be, for me at least, the gold standard for podcast apps. There was nothing extraneous, nothing annoying, just a straghtforward and easy-to-use app that made listening to and searching for podcasts as easy as it could possibly be. Now, after the latest iPhone update I suppose, when I open the app there will likely only be a fraction of the podcasts showing, followed on the screen by a bunch of white/gray space. I have to restart my phone a couple of times a day to get the app to show up properly so I can use it. And that won't last long. Very disappointing.

Still the best of the Podcast apps. The granular control of media handling puts podcatching apps like Apple’s to shame. For instance, most podcasts I’d like to keep all un-played episodes but the continuously updated ones like NPR News, ABC’s news I only want the latest unplayed episode to be kept, no problem. Video podcasts will play audio only in the background so you can still play without distracted driving. Different speeds for each podcast feed if wanted.

Syncing with multiple devices is buggy. I sync everything, podcasts, settings, and playlists. I use Downcast on my phone and iPad and at least twice a week podcasts that I’ve already listened to and synced will return to my playlist on my phone. When I check my iPad I see a whole bunch of podcasts as “I played” which were played on my iPhone. As best I can tell my iPad is uploading and overwriting the status of my podcasts before it downloads the same status. Would really love it if this problem would be fixed but until then I'll have to uses different player.

Great When It Works. The feature set on this app is incredible and unmatched. That said, I can hardly ever use it with my premium podcasts anymore. Most of my downloads error out saying “invalid episode media type.” Cancelling a download and restarting makes it worse. Sometimes restarting my phone fixes this. They will randomly decide to download and work sometimes. Other times not. It has gotten consistently worse. I’ve waited for almost a year for a fix to this small but infuriating problem to no avail. Switching to another app until this is fixed.

Crashes every single day. I used to love this app but if you don’t already have it stay away. It worked great until about a year or so ago. Now it crashes half the time I use it (always about a minute after playing it). Once it crashes the only fix is to stay on the podcast screen until 2 or 3 minutes go by, i.e, you can’t let your lock screen engage. Don’t ask me why this works. The only reason I still use it is because I have hundreds of saved podcasts on it and was hoping they would fix it. It seems like a pretty basic thing to fix. For the record I have aniPhone 10s with the latest iOS. But I’ve given up. Time to find one that doesn’t crash.

Stop the crashes!!. Cannot search or add podcasts. The author has stopped supporting this app. I can’t ignore reality much longer. I feel terrible giving just 2 stars for my favorite app. However, the app has been crashing/closing way too often. Symptom: Playback stops. The app closes and needs to be restarted by tapping the icon. The splash screen re-displays and the playback can be resumed from (a few seconds before) where it crashed. Happens for playback at any speed but _seems to happen_ more when one skips forward/back during playback. Very inconvenient when one is driving, running etc

Downloading Error. After several years I’ve decided to stop using this app because of one issue. I have the app configured to download via WiFi only. Often find that a podcast episode is incomplete because my playlist completes an episode and stops because an incomplete download is next in the queue. This then breaks the continuous play loop until I reset the app several times. I’ve found a different app that doesn’t add episodes to a playlist until they’ve downloaded. So my continuous listening isn’t interrupted by an incomplete episode download.

The only podcast app I'll use. I've used other podcast apps in the past but Downcast is so far beyond anything else out there in terms of features, stability and design I will never go back. I listen to 10 podcasts regularly and have a bunch of others setup that I check out occasionally and had no trouble customizing my priorities and new episode actions. Update: just got a chromecast and was curious if they were planning to add chromecast support to downcast then I noticed that it was already supported!

Long time User. I’ve had this app for… think 2010. When I first got an IPhone. At the time I was ok with the free podcast Apple provided but my brother recommended I buy Downcast. Over the years I found more fun podcast on downcast then I did on the free podcast. Welcome to Nightvale, tons of Dungons and dragons campaigns from so many people. I even stumbled across someone posting the old Superman radio adventures. (The world needs to bring back radio dramas!) It’s been very nice for long drives where I’m tired of music and discussion/rant programs. Just nice movies for my ears as I drive.

Program degraded and quit. After several weeks of performance degrading, the Downcast podcast app would crash about 5 seconds after opening. I wrote down the names of about 20 podcasts I listen to, deleted the app, and reinstalled the app, and the 20 podcasts. I don't know if it was the app or something else, but it was a pain to reinstall everything. ---January 31, 2018 The Glenn Beck programs play for about 30 seconds, then aborts and won't play anymore. Other programs, not Glenn Beck, play ok. It's just the Glenn Beck program. It could be the Downcast app or the Glenn Beck audio file. Probably the Glenn Beck files since the other programs seem to function as expected.

Great, but needs some key features. This app (downcast) is excellent, it organized podcasts very well; even when you have hundreds of episodes from varying podcasts. The app is very customizable; making it more adaptable for many uses, even playing videos. There are however, some features that many podcast management apps have that (downcast) doesn't. For example: Volume equalization, making the sounds consistent within say; an episode. Another example: Smart speed or similar names; Automatically shortening pauses from the podcast, this generally shortens pauses during a podcast; it would be a nice addition Aside from these minor complaints about missing features, this app has many features lacking in other apps, including Chromecast comparability; and better playlists. However, this is still a great app and I would highly recommend!

Necessary app but terrible service. I bought this app years ago and have yet to hear back from Downcast support in any helpful way. Their responses are often terse and 0% helpful in resolving any of my issues. They also don't listen to feedback from users. Super disappointing. I do wish that there was the option to have bookmarks with notes- being able to pause a podcast and leave a note for myself to come back and listen to a podcast at a later point. This app is integral to my podcast consumption, even though there are limited options for speeding up the media (only half speeds, no quarters).

Still the best, after all these years. I’ve been using this app since it was created, and I’ve yet to find one better. The simplicity of the app, along with customization options, have made this my favorite way to listen to podcasts. I’ve tried different apps, but they all had drawbacks and required concessions that added too much frustration. Downcast seems to be overlooked on all the top ten lists, and I don’t understand why, it nicely fulfills all my needs without unnecessary distractions. Love this app!

Great!. I’ve used this for years and have loved it. I’ve tried a few popular alternatives but always come back to downcast as it has all the features I want. I just used the tip function for the first time and added a yearly reminder to tip again. The only improvement I can think of would be a list of recently listened to podcasts so that when you fall asleep while during a playlist you can go back to the podcasts you missed while sleeping.

Work-horse app. I’ve used Downcast for many years. Love the interface and how the app works with a wide range of controls on headphones, earbuds, and automotive systems. I really value the ability to backup all my media on my iPhone. Those files are them backed up everyday when my phone is backed up to iCloud. I have long, carefully constructed playlists of programs and podcast series. Before Downcast, I wasn't always able to redownload them after a phone upgrade.

Almost perfect - Watch app can use a tweak. By far my favourite podcast app. It’s user friendly enough while keeping all the customisable features. It’s especially handy when I want to segregate podcast into streaming vs download and within podcasts how many downloaded episodes I want to keep. Also it supports tracks within an episode (eg Economist audio magazine). The watch app is also well designed. Only complaint is that the crown dial really should be used for volume instead, or at least offer an option for me to do so.

Add ability to only add specific episodes to a playlist and it would be perfect. I’ve used this app for years and it remains a functional app with good organizational features and a pleasant interface. The occasional bugs with new updates have historically been resolved satisfactorily. My only irritation is with the playlists feature. There is no way to add only specific episodes of a podcast to a playlist: which episodes are included can only be specified by podcast and then a list of features (e.g. unplayed, downloaded, only new etc.).

Best podcast app! Easy to use uncomplicated interface, what more can you ask for?. I have been searching in the App Store for a really good podcast app, and I’m so glad that I ran across this one. It is the best, and the only one I will use from now on. The interface is straightforward, and the app is easy to use. It is well organized, I really like this app, because it is so easy to use. There are many settings so it can be enjoyed by both novice users and advanced users. What a wonderful app!

Buggy. - The option to change the manual skip doesn't work correctly. It managed to change back skip to 15, but forward simply will not change. - When returning to my car Bluetooth (or leaving it) the app performs very inconsistently. It will not resume playing automatically (unless it feels like it). Other times it won't even resume playing from the iPhone control menu (unless it feels like it), in which case I have to open the app itself and the player is never first on the screen for some reason. I also get more random pauses than with other apps - Visually kind of hard to grasp even after a week. Customization is lacking for a paid app.

Great for commuting. My needs are simple: I listen to a few podcasts, some having multiple segments per day, and queue them up to listen in my car. I’ve been annoyed with Apple’s poor built-in Podcast app for a while, but the latest iOS upgrade finally made Apple’s app completely unusable and unsafe while driving—no more “mark as played”, no continuous play, and no way to easily group unplayed segments. Downcast restored that functionality and offers much more. Listening during my commute is a pleasure again. I should have switched years ago.

Hands down, best Podcast App. Update: couple of years since I wrote this review. Just wanted to say, still enjoying it. Occasional sync issues, but overall I’m happy with Downcast and still use it. Here are three reasons (of a much longer list) I love this App and recommend it to any Podcast listener: 1. The sync through iCloud is very clean. It is very simple to put down one device and pick up the other, with out losing your place. 2. Set the "Fast Forward Button" option. Instead of skipping to the next piece of media it can be used to skip ahead 30 seconds. Great for commercials but ALSO great for when you accidentally hit "rewind" instead of pause! 3. Easy to navigate directory. I rebuilt my Podcast library in minutes... And found a couple of new ones. Overall, there is no question in my mind to Downcast's value. Stop wasting time and tap "Install."

Best of many. Pretty decent app in general. Puts control back in the user's hand. It has many options which are useful. The only complaint I have is the lack of an option to delete downloaded episodes. You have to open each podcast one by one and look for downloaded episodes and delete them one by one which deems to be very time consuming and tedious. At times it is even almost impossible to find downloaded episodes. I have sent an email about this but never got a reply. If there was an easy way to choose and delete downloaded content I would give it a 5!

My new podcast app!. iTunes is clunky, cumbersome, hard to manage, and, just downright confusing. Am I saving this episode? Am I downloading this episode? I wonder what episode is going to randomly play next? I’ve been using the iTunes podcast application for several years now and finally found a suitable alternative. Downcast manages my podcasts, the archive library is easy to use, playlists are easy to set up, it is intuitive, & it is very user-friendly. Key feature: allows for 1.25 playback speed. Thank you Downcast!

Unusable after iOS update. This app has become unusable since the latest iOS update. It crashes constantly. Sometimes it goes ten minutes between crashes. Sometimes it crashes multiple times in a few minute span. It’s just not a functional app right now. I’d find another until the developers fix this. This is by far the most versatile podcast app I’ve used and the developers constantly update the app. But I’ve contacted support several times about the bug and heard nothing. For the time being, I’ve had to move to a different app. I hope they fix this one, but for now, it’s not functional.

Still my go-to pod catcher. I try others including the built in app and keep coming back to downcast. I love that I actually understand exactly what the app is doing at any given time, downloading, updating..whatever. In other not to be named apps, I feel like I hit subscribe and I’m not sure what it’s doing. Downcast merely does what it’s told, grabs the latest and then moves on, and gives great feedback. Love the standard full screen app feel and not the ‘windowed’ look that other apps have, like a certain built in music app. Clean, simple and easy. Great app. Please keep it that way.

IOS10 made it unusable for me.. I have loved the app for years and been very happy with it until iOS10. There have been many bugs and no support or updates at all. Currently my biggest problem are constant crashes while running through Bluetooth in my car. Sadly, I'm going to have to switch to a new podcasting app since I can't keep restarting the program manually and searching through to find the podcast I was listening to while driving in heavy traffic. I resisted as long as I could but since the last thing heard from Downcast was "hopefully the next iOS update will take care of it", back when iOS10 was still in beta, its obvious it's not getting fixed. Goodbye Downcast, I'll miss you.

Crashes after update. This was my preferred podcast application as I did not like the original Apple podcast application. I’ve used this app for over five years since I began listening to podcasts and it has served me well each and every day of those five work years. Except for this most recent update I have had no problems but after this update my app will not work for more than 30 seconds to a minute and then crash completely. I have emailed the developers and have received no response I simply want the app to be fixed and do not wish to use any other product. Please see to this issue.

Works great when it’s working. Downcast has been the only podcast app I’ve used for years. It’s straightforward, simple, and, until this week, easy to add new titles. Now, when I search manually for a podcast, it doesn’t return any results, even for titles I already subscribe to. There’s also a Category list to browse and add, but those are blank now as well. I hope this is a temporary issue so I can keep using the app. Otherwise, I’ll be looking for an alternative.

I can only suggest two things. I love Downcast because it’s a free platform that accepts podcasts from all sources. Many of the ones I subscribe to aren’t available on the major podcast apps. The settings allow for great customizations globally and individually over-rideable. I wish I could assemble a playlist with play next and add to cue so I can set it up to play continuously while driving etc. And it would be great if you could glance at the podcast menu and see an indication that something new has been downloaded, like a red dot with a number on it. Otherwise I love Downcast.

Still the one I use most 😁. I’ve used Downcast for years and it’s been rock-solid for most of that time, still surpassing Apple Podcasts. When I saw this most recent update I was encouraged that it’s still being maintained but … now scrolling = constant redrawing, and most episodes claim “no description available” though other podcatchers display shownotes for them. Can you please take another look? Update: Newest version did the trick. Adjusting the preview size minimizes redrawing, and the episode descriptions are back. Back up to five stars with you! 😁

If you use on multiple devices, prepare to lose everything. On the surface using iCloud to sync between devices is a big plus. In practice this is implemented horribly by Downcast. Instead of syncing based on the most recent changes, Downcast will happily sync whatever you opened last as the “master” copy. So if you have the app on the Mac and iPhone, and have been using the iPhone version exclusively for a while, as soon as you fire up the Mac app it will “sync” your phone with whatever old information was on the Mac - deleting any new podcasts or episodes along the way and forcing you to search for and add those deleted podcasts and episodes. It’s a good app for one and only one device. Stay away if you want/need syncing between devices.

Used to be great but, now, not so much. I have been a Downcast user for several years but fear I may soon need to find another podcast player. Over the past few weeks the app has started crashing EVERY DAY (for me, around 5:20 am after playing podcasts for about 45 minutes). It then crashes every time it is restarted. The only way that I have found to "fix" it is delete the app and re-redownload it, turn sync settings on (I have all settings set to synch to iCloud do at least I don't have to redo them each time) and redownload all of the podcasts then it's fine until the next morning when I have to do it all again. This is frustrating!

Best Podcast App I’ve found. I got this app years ago, before a lot of the customization was available. It was ‘ok’ then. This app is THE BEST now! iCloud backup on multiple levels, automatic location downloading, customizable priorities per podcast, customizable backups and refreshes, as well as per podcast choice of download or stream. You can just leave it on default settings and it works great, or you can customize it until your heart is content. This app is awesome. Download it, love it!

Surprised it's not more highly rated. This app offers more customization than any I have tried, including several with higher ratings. And I have tried a LOT of them. Casts may have a better syncing method, in that it does not rely on iCloud, but if (like me) you only listen on your phone, and if (like me) you aren't that crazy about letting every app know everything about you, and if (like me) you mostly want per-podcast customization of episodes to keep, play order, etc., I recommend this one.

One of my favorite apps. I use downcast for listening to podcasts and audiobooks. It is probably the app I use the most since I have an earbud in all day while I'm working and driving. Using iFunBox to upload content from any source into Downcast gives me total control over what I want to listen to and when. SoundCloud and others would lose my place in a podcast if I was away on calls or using other apps but if I download from them and then upload into Downcast I never lose my place and it's organized the way I want. I'm very grateful for this app!

The best, hands down. This is far and away the best podcast app out there. I've got all the top podcast apps, paid and free, and I use them all on a regular basis. I keep about 5-10 subscriptions in each app to help keep them all organized. And over time I keep moving my favorite shows into my #1 player, Downcast. It is superior in every way. It has all the options I need and lets me do things how I like. And it is fast and smooth to start up and in seeking ffw/rew. The fastest and smoothest of them all.

Best podcast app for iOS, but it could use a sound quality upgrade. This is by far the best podcast app for iOS. Not to mention the excellent Voiceover support.I’ve tried other apps like Overcast, but always come back to Downcast. Overcast does have better sound quality, but Downcast offers way more customization. The only thing really missing at this point, is some sort of voice boost/sound enhancement that a lot of other podcast apps offer. Still though, an excellent app.

Best podcast app by far. Search was down for a few days but back strong now and I’ve never seen any other issues in the years I’ve been using it. Downcast is still the best podcast app available today. I have tried many other podcast apps and this is the only one that does everything with all the control for all aspects and it syncs flawlessly. If podcasts are important to you then this is a must have.

Update: Fantastic Podcast App. Update: Still loving this app. Use it everyday. Still enthusiastically give it 5 stars. I've been using this app for maybe 3yrs now and I can't recall my iPad being w/o it, to be honest. I use it almost everyday and it's fabulous. I loved it from the start and the developer has continued to expand and improve it's functionality. Every once in awhile I open apple's podcast app and am reminded everytime how much better Downcast is. Enthusiastically give it 5 stars. Richard Ward

Long time user. Couldn’t stand the Apple podcast player, so did a search & found this one. It Works great for me, I use in gym and while driving to keep up with news I’d otherwise miss. I Currently have 20-30 podcasts with many episodes. It is Very configurable on shows to keep, sorting order, etc. The playback controls are nice and it integrates nicely with Apple CarPlay & iWatch too. Solid job, cudos to the developers! Never had an issue and is updated regularly.

Essential. ...for managing podcasts. Works flawlessly for me. A great value. If you are manually downloading any podcasts on a regular basis, stop wasting your time and automate the process with this app. Also perfect for listening to audio books from the podcast section of iTunes if you set them up as a playlist. Many features and customizations. I have been using almost daily for quite a few years on numerous subscribed podcasts, and I am very happy with it. I have shopped the alternatives a few times, but have found no reason to switch. Thanks!

Great app!. I have been using this app for downloading and listening to podcasts for years and I love all the ways you can customize each show or all the shows. The ONLY thing I would like to see is a playback speed between the current 1.5X and 2X....for me 2X is a bit too fast...a 1.75 I feel would be perfect. I contribute financially to this app because I find it to well worth it....I like that contributing is optional, I just hope people that enjoy the app will help the developer....it is worth it. Keep up the great work and please consider adding some more playback speeds!!

Great for spotty cell service. I travel a lot working at sea with intermittent and weak cellular connections, and Downcast has always been the absolute best at downloading over slow, weak or interrupted connections. It amazes me how reliable it is compared to other apps that appear to be better funded or more popular. Its the only app I can get to pause a download and pick up later with a partial download saved, often I will get an episode downloaded after several interruptions.

Best for Playing Podcasts Without Fuss and Bother. Want podcast which simply downloads entire podcast, sorts either ascending/descending, plays the cast in that order without having to mess with playlists or obscure settings. Have tried many other podcast apps. Some have amazing audio settings to eliminate dead-air and selectively boost volume for clarity (OverCast). DC has none of this But DC does not require that one add casts to some global playlist. A playlist which limited in the number of individual episodes that can be played. Pocket Casts sets this limit at 100 Have many podcasts each of which is over that number. Have several over 200. One (Skeptoid—check it out) with over 800 So keep coming back to Downcast with its clunky but clear interface, primitive audio and most importantly with straightforward and reliable podcast playing Would love to give 5-Stars, but lack of dead-air elimination does not allow. Downcast is, hands-down, the overall best podcast app

Downcast is dead. There are better alternatives!. This was my favorite podcast app for so many years and at the time it was the only app that worked well for both audio and video podcasts and synced among multiple iOS devices. However the app now has become slow, crashes, and if you check out the update history you'll see this app hasn't been regularly updated anymore and appears to be abandoned. The developer does not return emails and I haven't seen any plans to continue supporting this app so I've moved on. After testing multiple apps I've settled on "iCatcher!" which is all that this app does, and more! It's stable, has more features and is regularly updated! Check it out and long live Downcast!

Awesome feature set, maybe a little difficult to navigate. Downcast has features that no other app I’ve found does, especially the ability to locally save files with ease. The one thing holding me back from really enjoying it however is the seemingly infinite sub menus, different gestures required to access settings, and cluttered user interface. I think this app would benefit a lot from paring down the interface (maybe giving users the ability to show/hide buttons based on their preference) and limiting settings and extended options to a simple “...” button instead of hiding them under various gestures.

Good app but buggy lately. I haveused and loved this app for years but it hasn't been working well recently. My list of podcasts doesn't always show all of them. This usually happens after I finish and delete a podcast. Then my main list only shows some of my podcasts that have new episodes and when I click on one of them it shows me the episodes from the podcast above or below it on the full list. I have to turn my phone off and on again to fix it. This is happening nearly every time I listen to any podcast episode and I'm getting tired of restarting my phone so that I can see my full list.

Needs “play next”. It’s a good app and my current go-to for organizing podcasts. It’s got a better collection of useful tools than anything else I’ve found. However, it’s missing an important one. Unless I’ve failed to figure this out, there’s no way to look though my big list to choose an arbitrary set of podcast episodes to play right now. When I’m getting ready to do yard work or a long drive or whatever situation that is a good opportunity to listen to a few podcasts, I’d like to spend a few minutes browsing recent podcasts and choosing a few to listen to. Then I want those to play in the order I chose, hands free (while I drive or rake leaves). In some apps this is the play queue and easy to add to the top (play next) or bottom (add to queue). Adding this feature (or telling how it’s already possible) would change my rating to 5 stars.

Nearly unusable. I have been using this app for longer than I can remember—many years. It’s been mostly a great ride, but the last year or so has been a frustrating exercise in patience. Anytime I switch to Downcast from another app I wait anywhere from several seconds to resorting to quitting the app and restarting just to get it to respond. I would give up my most used app (by time) and go with something else if there were as useful an app out there. If these issues could get resolved, I would happily stay forever. In the meantime, me and my 90+ podcasts are stuck using this frustrating hunk waiting for anything that works.

I rely on this app.. Hey people, just here to say this app is totally worth it. I like the interface. It does what it's supposed to, and the maintenance is pretty quick. There was a frustrating time a few months ago, when an update completely broke it, but it was fixed within 48 hours, so you can tell they are on their toes. Update; dropped to two stars, as it got borked, and it’s been more than three months. At first I thought my headphones were going bad due to static making the audio unlistenable. Several brands of earphones later, nope, it’s the app . Other podcast apps work just fine. No static when played from phone itself, but it’s unusable with any kind of other speaker device