Apple Podcasts vs Podscan.fm

Apple Podcasts is a podcast app and service for finding, following, and listening to shows across Apple devices, the web, Windows via iTunes, CarPlay, HomePod, smart speakers, and supported car systems. Millions of shows are free, and episodes can be downloaded for offline listening; new episodes from followed shows can download automatically. It supports video podcasts and private feeds, with listening synced across devices. Transcripts in select languages can be read and searched, navigated by chapter, or used to jump to a point in an episode. Premium shows, episodes, and channels may have monthly or annual subscriptions, with prices set by creators. Subscriber benefits can include ad-free listening, bonus or unreleased content, and other subscriber-only material. Subscriptions can be shared with up to five people through Family Sharing. Creators have production, analytics, audience connection, and subscription tools. They receive 70% initially and 85% after one year of paid service, excluding applicable taxes; other podcast revenue, including advertising, goes to the creator.

Podscan.fm is a podcast database and search service for finding and working with episode audio and metadata. Its REST API provides access to more than 72 million episodes from more than 4.9 million podcasts, with full-text transcript search and filters for category, language and date. Podscan says it transcribes and analyzes thousands of new episodes daily. Summaries cover topics, key quotes, guests and sponsors, while topic extraction connects named subjects across the podcast corpus. The service also offers a real-time Firehose API, custom webhooks and a Zapier integration with pre-built triggers for new scan results. Its MCP server works with ChatGPT, Claude.ai, Claude Desktop, Claude Code and other MCP-enabled clients, using OAuth 2.1 without an API token; REST API requests use API-key authentication. A free plan and 10-day trial are listed. After the trial, alerts pause and API access stops until a paid plan is selected. Premium costs $100 a month. One-time options include Day Pass at $20, paid once and Research Pass at $50, paid once.