How to Download Podcasts on Android

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Podcasts are becoming more and more popular – in fact, there are more than 1.7 million podcasts today covering every topic and niche imaginable. It’s safe to say that no matter what floats your boat, there’s a podcast to support it.

Without further ado, here’s how to download your favorite podcasts using your Android device. 📲

How to Use a Podcatcher

A podcatcher is a podcast app that allows you to download and sort episodes. You want to look for one that will let you access a large and comprehensive library of podcasts. You also want it to be a simple process to listen once you find the podcast you want.

The nice thing about podcatchers is you can subscribe to a podcast instead of downloading individual episodes (you can also download if you prefer). Subscribing ensures you don’t miss an episode, because the podcast app will alert you whenever there is a new one. 

At that point, you can easily download new episodes with the tap of a button in your podcatcher. In some podcatchers, you can choose the option to have each new episode automatically downloaded.

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Apps for Podcasts on Android

1. Google Podcasts

Access millions of podcasts in the easy-to-use podcast app. Its clean appearance makes searching, browsing, listening, and downloading simple. It may not have every feature that other apps offer, but new features are in the works.

2. Castbox

The award-winning podcast app allows you access to more than 50 million podcasts. Create customized playlists, download episodes for offline listening, and enjoy one-button subscription options. It’s free with ads, or you can bypass the ads by paying a small monthly fee.

3. Pocket Casts

Called “the best podcast app for Android in 2021” by Android Central, this podcatcher offers beautiful design, the option to trim silence from your episodes (get through them faster), the ability to stream instead of download (save storage space), and more. There are three pricing tiers available, free, monthly and annual so that you can choose the plan that works best for you.

4. TuneIn Radio

TuneIn Radio is considered a radio app, but it’s also home to an overgrowing directory of podcasts as more hosts add their show to the platform in an effort to be listed on Alexa and Amazon devices. Users of TuneIn can also access their subscriptions on smart watches, Google Home, and their desktop.

Click here to learn how to submit your podcast to TuneIn.

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Download Straight from the Source

If you don’t want to use a podcatcher app, you can still manually download podcast episodes. This is helpful if you’re wanting to listen on your computer, or if you want to have a specific episode on your Android phone.

You can go to the podcast’s website to find links to each episode. From there, you can save the episode to your computer, listen on your computer, or connect your Android phone to the computer to browse available files on your phone. 

Copy the file from your phone and paste it into your Podcasts folder on your phone. It will now be available to listen to on an audio app.

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