Castbox vs YourPods

Castbox is a podcast app for discovering and listening to shows. It is available on iOS, Android and web, as well as PWA, Amazon Alexa, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Apple Watch. Its recommendation engine uses artificial intelligence to help listeners find podcasts, and automated transcription and indexing power In-Audio Search. Listeners can download episodes for offline listening, follow private feeds, sync across devices, comment and share. Creators can use Creator Studio analytics for subscribers, streams and downloads; Castbox also offers free audio upload and storage, plus free web hosting for up to 5 podcasts or channels. The Free plan costs nothing and limits listeners to 100 channel subscriptions. Castbox says it uses safeguards for user data but cannot guarantee fully secure internet transmissions. Users can request account and personal data deletion through the app or by emailing support.

YourPods is a podcast player built in Swift and SwiftUI, with offline downloads, episode transcripts, and private feed support. Playback controls include silence trimming, variable speed, smart skip, sleep timers, and per-podcast Listening Profiles. AutoPilot can add new episodes to Up Next, move priority episodes to the top, and apply those profiles. The app supports iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, CarPlay, Android, Windows, Linux, and modern web browsers, with Siri and Shortcuts and Handoff in the Apple ecosystem. Sync options include Nextcloud gPodder Sync, NextPod, RePod, custom gpodder.net server addresses, and other compatible servers. The maker says the app has no analytics, ads, or data harvesting. Vault Mode keeps subscriptions, queue, and listening history on-device; P3 removes 39 tracking prefixes across 25 analytics services before playback or downloads. YourPods Sync stores account and listening data on US infrastructure, transmitted over HTTPS/TLS. Sync users can export JSON data or delete accounts through the account portal. The app is listed at $4.99 a month as a one-time purchase; YourPods Pro costs $30 a year after trial. Its optional media proxy is limited to 25 episodes per calendar month.