Podcast Player - Free

- September 24, 2016

Teen

News & Magazines

( 30,867)

Top Developer

Podcast Player - Free- screenshot thumbnail

Description

Cloud podcast app that syncs across devices, helps you discover great shows, and plays offline. Free forever with no ads and minimal permissions, premium plan launching later this year.

Features: Video playback, Companion web app, Tablet+Chromecast+Android Wear, Speed control with intelligent silence skip and volume boost, Sleep timer, Material design, Search 3 million episodes, Personal recommendations, Homescreen+lockscreen widgets, Interactive notification, Play local files, Flexible settings.

Minimal permissions are used - more info: http://goo.gl/hYHVSx

Android Central: "Just looks amazing ... packed with useful features ... tell it what you're interested in and watch it work its magic"
LifeHacker: "Guides you to smart, interesting podcasts"
Tested: "Right from the start, I found the experience of using Player FM enjoyable"
All About Android: Winner, app arena http://goo.gl/wXjkIW
GigaOm: "Makes podcasts look cool again"

★★★★★

CLOUD SYNC ON MULTIPLE PLATFORMS
Your subscriptions sync in the cloud so you can setup once for life and use the app on multiple devices. The cloud model also saves you bandwidth and battery by fetching feeds in the server instead of checking every publisher's server for updates.

FOLLOW TOPICS, NOT JUST SHOWS
Get fresh recommendations on your favorite topics, ready for immediate streaming or download. Our catalogue goes deep, with 500+ niche topics to follow. Not just "Tech", but "Android", "Gaming", "Programming", etc. Follow your favorite TV show, sport, industry, etc.

OFFLINE-READY
Subscriptions and Play Later lists proactively downloaded for offline use, with auto-cleanup. All highly configurable.

FULL BACKLOG
Browse shownotes for all episodes in the publisher's feed and immediately stream any episode or save it for later even if you're not subscribed. You can even search full shownotes for over 3 million episodes.

PLAY HISTORY
Resume where you left off, mark played, browse your history.

LEAVE ANYTIME
Your subscriptions import and export as OPML in case you ever want to move to another app #sadface.

WORKS GREAT WITH ...
Android Wear (episode browser app on your wrist), Chromecast, voice activation ("OK Google search for Android on Player FM"), Samsung Gear S notifications, LG Quick Circle™, Music Boss integration on Android Wear, Podlove Subscribe, Subscribe On Android, Drivemode: safest driving app, RockScout.

FREE FOREVER WITH NO ADS

500+ CURATED TOPICS
Business, Comedy, Education, Music, News, Sciences, Sports, Storytelling, Tech, TV and Movies, Health and Fitness, Religion and Spirituality, Career and Relationship advice, Learning English and much more. See https://player.fm/featured/topics.

50+ LANGUAGES
Explore podcasts in Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese, more. Great for learning a second language on the go.

50,000+ SHOWS
This Week In Tech, Vergecast, BBC News, Serial, Startup, Reply All, This American Life, Radio Lab, TEDTalks, Freakonomics, NPR Planet Money, Tim Ferriss Show, Entrepreneur On Fire, The Moth, thousands of others available.

200+ NETWORKS
BBC, NPR, ABC, NBC, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, 5by5, Bald Move, Earwolf, ESPN, Financial Times, HowStuffWorks, Idle Thumbs, KCRW, Maximum Fun, Quick and Dirty Tips, Radiotopia, Relay FM, Smodcast, WNYC. See https://player.fm/networks.

ACTIVELY DEVELOPED AND SUPPORTED
We're always working to improve the app. We love your feedback and respond quickly to every mail, so get in touch at android@player.fm if you have any questions or suggestions! We're also active and respond on Twitter, Google+, Facebook. Join our Google+ beta community for news and early access to new features (currently Play Later re-ordering). http://goo.gl/gW4zxn

Reviews

4.4

30,867 total

5 20,556

4 6,894

3 1,476

2 603

1 1,338

Kevin Lara

Great app After trying most podcast apps on google play store, I can say this is the best app out there. Every app I've tried has some glitch, some of them stop after I get a call, making me start the podcast all over. Player FM nicely picks it up immediately after I hang up where I left off. Nice user interface, easy to use. Great app. The only thing is you can't favorite episodes and you can't do a keyword search within a particular podcast. I would give 5 starts were it not for those missing features

Samuel Marisa

Great podcast app! The app is great for facilitating the listening of a rich range of good podcasts! The companion app makes managing your collection of podcast subscription effective. The most critical downside so far has been the random occurrence of repeated crashing. Unsure of what causes them. Despite some crashes I am satisfied as it normally works excellent.

Colin Flanigan

One of the best This is one of the best podcast apps for Android. Pros: subscription management, very pretty UI, no ads, syncs with a browser version, ratings system, auto-downloads for new episodes. Cons: sometimes laggy, and sometimes there's a little time between new episodes being posted and appearing in this player. Still, this is the best app I've used to listen to podcasts.

Kevin Mills

LOVE IT - But... Love the app, but the podcasts are CONSTANTLY going out on me. It's not my connection, everything else runs smoothly. The podcast will stop for no reason, then when I open the app it runs fine. As if it needs to buffer.. please fix! (Note 5)

Nicholas Floyd

Great podcast player, with occasional glitches This app has treated me quite well! It has great options for managing how much you download and organizing your podcasts. I've only run into the occasional glitch, which hasn't been much of a bother. I do recommend this app!

Leslie P

UPDATE: Five Stars! Very responsive developers, the OPML problem is fixed, and this app is really pretty terrific. OPML import failed. I am intrigued by this app, and will check back in a few months to see if it's gotten better. But since the import failed, I'm not going to bother spending more time with it right now. Best of luck though.

User reviews

Kevin Lara September 29, 2016

Player FM Podcasts September 29, 2016

Thanks, Kevin! We appreciate the many compliments. Favoriting episodes is a feature we'll soon work on. To stay updated on it, feel free to join our pioneers' community (http://pioneers.player.fm). For now, please consider Play Later as an alternative. Your suggestion on search has also been noted and forwarded to our manager for assessment.

Samuel Marisa September 16, 2016

Player FM Podcasts September 19, 2016

Hi Samuel - Thanks for the compliments on our app's podcast catalog and management capabilities! Meanwhile, we apologize for the crashes you've experienced. Feel free to check this FAQ to know more as to why they may have happened and how you can report them to us so we can conduct further investigation: https://goo.gl/tBU9wV

Colin Flanigan September 22, 2016

Player FM Podcasts September 23, 2016

Thanks for the compliments, Colin! For the lags, were you referring to playback or UI? If former, it may be due to connection issues esp. if you're streaming podcasts. About updates, pls. go to Settings | [Connection and Account] and check [How often to update]. You may also try sliding your finger down on the screen to manually refresh the app.

Kevin Mills September 29, 2016

Player FM Podcasts September 29, 2016

Hi Kevin - Not sure but does the issue happen on downloaded episodes or streamed episodes? Can you please go to Settings | Playback, and set [Advanced audio player] to [Never]? Let us know if this helps. Should the issue persist, please head to Help | [Report Problem...] and send logs so we can further investigate.

Nicholas Floyd September 26, 2016

Player FM Podcasts September 27, 2016

Thanks, Nicholas! May we know more about the glitches you've experienced? You may report them to us with your logs via Help | [Report Problem...] so our developer can further investigate. Meanwhile, we appreciate your compliments and recommendation on our app.

Leslie P September 23, 2016

Player FM Podcasts September 25, 2016

Thanks a lot for updating your review, Leslie! We're glad to know your issues are now resolved. We also appreciate your compliment on our team. :)

Tip Votaw September 14, 2016

Loved it *UPDATE* - Had trouble with this app not retrieving new episodes of my favorite podcasts quickly, but after going back & forth with them and an update to their system, no issues at all for me now. Very customizable and user friendly! Best podcast app out there. And it's free! Now a definite 5 star.

Player FM Podcasts September 14, 2016

Hi Tip - Thanks for updating your review and considering our app as the best! We're delighted to know your issues are now resolved.

Robin Stacpoole September 17, 2016

Great updates. Strong product. All I need. Ànd free. UPDATE, I have been using this application for 3 month now, very strong and useful. The only thing that I would love to see is the ability to Sync across devices so that pods that I listen to on phone are marked listened to on pc. But this should not dissuade you from down-loading this application, it is a useful addition to your PC that will soon find itself on your home screen"

Player FM Podcasts September 19, 2016

Thanks for updating your review, Robin! We greatly appreciate your continued support. Syncing play history and playback position is something we'll definitely implement soon (it's part of our road map!). To stay updated on it and other upcoming features, feel free to join our pioneers' community (http://pioneers.player.fm).

Audrey Connor September 28, 2016

Disappointed not all podcasts I like a lot of different podcasts and I found some from wnyc but not all. I looked for here's the thing and it wasn't listed. It's also missing the nerdist podcast, I don't know its parent company. I really want an app where I can find all my favorites together on my Android devices. This isn't it.

Player FM Podcasts September 29, 2016

Hi Audrey, not sure but we actually have "Here's the Thing" and "The Nerdist": https://player.fm/series/heres-the-thing-with-alec-baldwin / https://player.fm/series/the-nerdist . You may tap on the links and open with the Player FM app to subscribe. If we missed a show, pls. suggest it to us at http://suggest.player.fm/ so we can add it for you.

Peter S September 17, 2016

No problems Lots of functionality speed, lock screen controls does the job. I really don't understand why there appear to be two completely different icons names associated with the app. That's just stupid.

Player FM Podcasts September 19, 2016

Thanks for the 5 stars, Peter! We're actually testing some new designs and app names on the Play Store since the current ones were quickly picked back when we launched Player FM few years ago. Once they're finalized, we'll adopt them on the device.

abhijit chanda September 20, 2016

Definitely the best! I've tried a lot of the top rated podcast apps, but this one is the best arranged, intuitively designed, and brilliantly functional. There are still a few kinks, but they're really responsive and take feedback well.

Player FM Podcasts September 20, 2016

Thanks for considering Player FM as the best podcast app, Abhijit! As to the issues you're having, please feel free to provide us more info via support@player.fm so we can address them effectively. Cheers.

Mahmood Athil September 14, 2016

Wow! But! The download manager seems to be a bit slow. And the UI doesn't have a good look over small android phones; the fonts looks bigger, and so not having a good look. Although, the app is great!

Player FM Podcasts September 14, 2016

Thanks, Mahmood! Download speed actually depends on the stability of your internet connection, the file size and how fast the publisher's server responds.Meanwhile, we'll take note of your concern on the UI and let our manager know for further assessment. Please don't hesitate to mail us at support@player.fm should you need further assistance.

September 24, 2016

It does everything I need I used to use apple s podcast, and I find FM slightly better. The UI is clearer. I've spent dozens of hours listening and haven't had any problems.

Player FM Podcasts September 25, 2016

We're happy to know our app works well for you, and that you're not having issues with it. Thanks for the compliment on its UI!

Pavel Razuvayev September 24, 2016

What's wrong with it... It keeps deleting channels randomly. I've discovered so many cool podcasts and now I'm missing some of them. Honestly, it's a one start for me now. I just added some of my missing podcasts, and the app started to download previous episodes that I already downloaded, burning data. What ever happened, last several months my library got messed up repeatedly. I'm just too tired of searching for podcasts I already added. When I first got the app I was happy and would pay for it, now it's just messing every thing

Player FM Podcasts September 25, 2016

Sorry for the issues,Pavel.It's the 1st time we've heard of them from the latest version.Last month, we had a downtime w/ our provider,which led to the un-indexing of some shows.We're able to re-add the shows but the app recognize them as new so they're re-downloaded.Our sincere apologies for this.We're working to avoid this from ever repeating.

D Nichols September 15, 2016

Sync problems I really like the user interface, the download/play later options and the ease of use. I dislike the regular sync issues. Where is the refresh button?

Player FM Podcasts September 16, 2016

Thanks for your feedback, D. You may disable auto-sync by going to Settings | [Connection and Account] and setting [When to update] to [Manual only]. Then to manual-refresh the app, go to the [Subscriptions] tab and slide your finger down on the screen until the refresh icon appears. If you need further assistance, mail us at support@player.fm.

Edmundo López September 19, 2016

It has a little problem Hello devs! I really like your app, but lately I'd had problem with the download feature. When I finish a chapter, it doesn't delete it neither downloads the following. I hope you could solve this, please.

Player FM Podcasts September 20, 2016

Hi Edmundo - Can you please go to Settings | Downloads and verify if [Auto-delete episodes from device when played] is enabled? For your download issues, please check if you still have sufficient storage space in your device? Let us know if this helps. Cheers. (support@player.fm)

Steven Beck September 26, 2016

Updated review Initial problems with feeds fixed in update for most part. They still update slower compared to other app, but not by such a wide margin now. Like the interface here better.

Player FM Podcasts September 27, 2016

Thanks, Steven! We're glad to know most of your issues are now resolved. Regarding them, please also try (if you haven't yet) to manually refresh the app. You may do so by sliding your finger on the screen until the refresh icon appears. Should you have further concerns, we're just a mail away: support@player.fm.

Jeff Davis September 28, 2016

Player FM I had originally rated this app at four stars because of a couple technical issues. I've changed my rating to 5 stars because of their tech support. When I had a tech problem Player FM responded very quickly (only a few hours) and solved my problem. I highly recommend this app.

Player FM Podcasts September 29, 2016

Thanks for updating your review, Jeff! We greatly appreciate your recommendation and compliments on our team.

Everett Todd September 25, 2016

Pretty & functional... Better than I need. Some hiccups in memory & resulting app crashes. It could use the option to update individual feeds/ subscriptions.

Roberta Patterson September 25, 2016

Opens A New World for Me! My son turned me on to podcasts and now Player FM accompanies my morning workout, instead of TV!

Player FM Podcasts September 26, 2016

Thanks so much, Roberta! We're delighted to know Player FM has paved the way for you to explore and enjoy the world of podcasts.

Dav Bob September 23, 2016

First podcast player I have used and I dont see anything that it isnt able to do. I have turned off continuous play as I cant get it to change the order it plays...

Player FM Podcasts September 25, 2016

Thanks, Dav! Continuous-play currently plays episodes from up to down. But you may consider sorting the episode order (by tapping on the 3-dot icon at the top-right | [Sort episodes...]) to try to play them in the order you desire. Should you have further concerns, feel free to mail us anytime at support@player.fm.

Steve Gladwyn September 21, 2016

Normality returned Reinstalled after latest update due to freezing & black box issue...seems OK at the moment... hopefully next update won't put another spanner in the works...the ability to cast is a joy btw...

Player FM Podcasts September 22, 2016

Thanks for updating your review, Steve! We appreciate your compliment on our app's Chromecast integration feature.

Christopher Lee Murray September 20, 2016

Wow So good, you'd think it was paid. Please keep it free though. I'm broke.

Player FM Podcasts September 20, 2016

Thanks for the perfect rating + nice feedback, Christopher!

Shavinder Chima September 15, 2016

I've used this app for quite a while and referred a bunch of people to it as I love it. However, a while back they had a server issue and things haven't been quite right, ever since. The biggest problem was that some of my podcasts weren't updating and showing new episodes even though I knew that new episodes existed. I downloaded another podcast app as a sanity check and that one showed the new episodes (too bad I actually don't like that other app, lol). Today (September 15, 2016), I noticed that an updated version of Player FM had fixed the sync issues. I updated and still noticed the same problem. Then, I actually uninstalled the app, deleted all teh data for the app, re-installed and still couldn't see the new episodes for a few different podcats. For now, I'm gonna get rid of Player FM which kind of makes me sad because the user interface beats all the other podcast apps out there, in my opinion and look for something else. I hope to write an updated review in the future when the issue is resolved. The people who work on this seem to be very helpful so I'm sure it's only a matter of time

Player FM Podcasts September 15, 2016

Hi Shavinder, sorry about the sync issues you've experienced. Yes, we've been making some optimisations and a previous version had some issues syncing on login, but we thought it was fixed now. Maybe you can check the same series on player.fm website to check if the episodes are up to date?

Brandy Jenkins September 16, 2016

listen later, LOVE it! With WiFi being unpredictable, I love the fact that you can download the episodes you want to hear and listen without interruption. I also like that new episodes of your subscriptions are automatically downloaded for you.

Player FM Podcasts September 19, 2016

Thanks a lot, Brandy! We're happy to know our app's auto-download and offline listening features work well for you.

Anirban Dutta September 28, 2016

best there is available auto download , great search , excellent subscribe unsubscribe , ability to play audio on and off the app , only download when on wifi , continuous play , option to auto delete once played.the only scary part is i think the developer can read minds , or else he couldn't have developed my dream app.just one request its perfect as it is.dont please fiddle with it too much !!!

Player FM Podcasts September 29, 2016

Thanks for updating your review, Anirban! We're happy you consider our app as the best. And we very much appreciate the many compliments.

Ramoloi Lehlohonolo Justice Mofokeng September 26, 2016

Best on the planet So after almost a year of no problems This app continuously keeps crashing while playing and download certain podcasts on Marshmallow

Player FM Podcasts September 27, 2016

Hi Ramoloi - Sorry you're experiencing crashes. Please feel free to access this FAQ to know why they happen and how to try to resolve/report them: https://goo.gl/tBU9wV . For further concerns, you may mail us anytime at support@player.fm.

rakesh rikhra September 22, 2016

Sound bytes for the idle times Great app with clean and easy interface with access to a good list of podcasts. Does not allow searching in India though. 😤

Player FM Podcasts September 23, 2016

Thanks, Rakesh! It's currently not possible to search by country. But we'll take it as a suggestion and let our manager know so it can be further assessed. For now, you may consider going to [Discover], then tap on Countries | India to browse on some podcasts from India.

jeremy koch September 28, 2016

Dropouts LOTS of loss of continuity. A 40 minute show lasts about an hour when streaming a show 20 ft from a wifi with 25MB connection because the feed keeps backing up to previously played material. Unexpectedly, this app also has this same problem, though to a lesser degree, when playing previously downloaded material. Will try other offerings.

Player FM Podcasts September 29, 2016

Hi Jeremy - Not sure but did you mean it takes time to stream an episode? Apart from connection issues, the response speed of the publisher's server can be a contributing factor too as we directly stream podcasts from them. We can further investigate this if you send your logs via Help | [Report Problem...]. Any additional info is much appreciated.

Chris Nash September 22, 2016

Worked well until nougat Loved the app and its functionality until 7.0. It no longer shows up under notifications with play pause and immediately upon reconnecting to Bluetooth in my case the podcasts autoplay. Previously worked perfectly and I'm sure this will get fixed soon. Once it is I'll give the 5 stars it deserves.

Player FM Podcasts September 23, 2016

Hi Chris - Can you pls. try to go to your device's Settings | Apps | Player FM, and verify if [Show notifications] is ticked? For your Bluetooth issues, pls. go to the app's Settings | Playback and make sure [Bluetooth actions] is set to [Pause]. Let us know if this helps. (support@player.fm)

William Diaz September 20, 2016

Good app some issues Good app, although I wish it was more intuitive in some of the options. For instance it's not obvious to tell if a podcast is set to automatic download. Some other apps have an easier interface

Player FM Podcasts September 20, 2016

Thanks, William. We'll take note of your concern on auto-download and let our manager know so it can be further evaluated. Meanwhile, may we know which other options you think that lack intuitiveness? Feel free to reply to us at support@player.fm.

Dmytro Kryvokhyzha September 24, 2016

Top podcast app with material design I have checked more than a dozen of podcast app. Player.fm and PocketCast (non-free) were the two I tried to choose at the end. This app won at the end. It provides much better functionality. I love the feature "play later". It is also essential that it can sync with web app.

Player FM Podcasts September 25, 2016

Hi Dmytro - Thanks for sticking with Player FM, as well as for the compliments on our app's design, functionality and sync and Play Later features!

Mathew Nesheim September 14, 2016

Cool beans. It's not just for players, faithful folks can use it too. :)

Player FM Podcasts September 14, 2016

Thanks so much, Mathew!

Sophie Meyn September 19, 2016

Starts without warning It just starts playing even if it isn't open in the background! Other than that it is an awesome podcast app with lots of content. Edit: No, it just opens without warning and starts playing the last podcast that was played. It doesn't have to be open in the background either, it will open itself. No headphones required.

Player FM Podcasts September 19, 2016

Hi Sophie - Ah I see. Have you made sure the app's player is closed on the lock screen or the notifications area? If so and the issue persists, please send us logs via Help | [Report Problem...] so our developer can conduct further investigation. We look forward to receive them and resolve the problem at the soonest possible time.

Craig Inada September 22, 2016

No ads, yeah It's a bit buggy but nothing major, all minor bugs. Not as polished as some of the other players but lack of ads makes it shine for me. Seems to be less of a resource hog because of that.

Player FM Podcasts September 23, 2016

Thanks, Craig! About the bugs you're experiencing, please don't hesitate to report them and send logs to us via Help | [Report Problem...]. This will allow us to conduct further investigation and try to resolve your issues at the soonest possible time. Cheers.

Cami Long September 24, 2016

Stop changing the logo and app name? It's very difficult to find this app because you keep changing the name and icon. I have to look on the play store another device to find the same app I've used for 2 yrs. What is the reason? Lost 3 stars on rating for being infuriating when I referred you to a friend

Player FM Podcasts September 25, 2016

Sorry for the inconvenience the icon/title changes brought you, Cami. We're currently testing some new designs and titles since the existing ones were quickly chosen when we launched Player FM few years ago. We hope for your understanding regarding this matter..

Bálint Farkas September 15, 2016

Perfect, bloatfree The best podcast app and I tried 5. Opens right at subscriptions, download works reliably, correctly sends artist and track data over Bluetooth. Well-designed and free of ads. Highly recommended!

Player FM Podcasts September 16, 2016

Thanks for considering Player FM as the best, Bálint! We're happy it works well for you, and appreciate your recommendation.

Дмитрий И September 26, 2016

Solved It can't download any episode, help! Unknown error. I've just reinstalled the app, reinstallation helps

Player FM Podcasts September 27, 2016

Thanks for updating your review, Дмитрий! We're glad to know that your issue is now resolved. Please feel free to contact us anytime should you have other concerns - support@player.fm

Miysan Crosswhite September 21, 2016

Easy of use and Nice podcast app very easy to use and love the fact that can queue up the items I want to play hit play and it goes to work. I can set my phone to the side and it plays until everything I queued is done. Nice app...

Player FM Podcasts September 22, 2016

Thanks for the compliments, Miysan! Please don't hesitate to mail us at support@player.fm should you need further assistance or have suggestions for improvement.

Jim Kirk September 18, 2016

Does what you want. Unobtrusive. Just works. I tried many podcast players then chose this one. You can even control it from the pull down notifications. The suggestions can be a little busy, but they don't get in the way. It can sync with the web platform. Recommend.

Player FM Podcasts September 19, 2016

Thanks for sticking with Player FM, Jim! We're happy to know it works well for you, and that we appreciate your recommendation.