{
    "products": [
        {
            "slug": "pocket-casts",
            "name": "Pocket Casts",
            "kind": "app",
            "website": "https://pocketcasts.com/",
            "page": "https://listme.name/software/pocket-casts",
            "tagline": "Podcast app from Automattic for iOS, Android and the web",
            "summary": "Pocket Casts is a free podcast app from Automattic for iOS, Android and the web, with search, curated recommendations and private RSS feeds added by URL. The app code is published on GitHub under MPL-2.0, and the apps offer in-app purchases.",
            "developer": "Automattic, Inc.",
            "platforms": [
                "ios",
                "ipados",
                "android",
                "web"
            ],
            "pricing": "freemium",
            "price_note": "Free app with in-app purchases",
            "free_to_use": true,
            "open_source": true,
            "license": "MPL-2.0",
            "source": "https://github.com/Automattic/pocket-casts-android",
            "strengths": [
                "Free app with search and curated recommendations",
                "Adds private and paid RSS feeds by pasting the URL",
                "App code published under MPL-2.0"
            ],
            "limits": [
                "Extras are sold as in-app purchases",
                "Only the app code is published; the service behind it is not described"
            ],
            "checked": "2026-10-10",
            "connected_to_publisher": false,
            "overview": "Pocket Casts is a podcast player made by Automattic. It offers search, discovery tools and hand-curated recommendations, and it runs as apps for iPhone, iPad and Android, as well as in a web browser. Private, paid and members-only feeds can be added by pasting their RSS feed URL, and the support center describes this for network subscriptions such as NPR Plus.\n\nThe apps are free to download and offer in-app purchases. Automattic publishes the code of the Android and iOS apps on GitHub under the MPL-2.0 license; the service behind the apps is not described there. Pocket Casts suits listeners who want a free app across phones and the web with RSS support. Among the focused players in this list, Overcast is free with ads and Castro sells a paid tier, so Pocket Casts is the free alternative to those two."
        },
        {
            "slug": "spotify",
            "name": "Spotify",
            "kind": "app",
            "website": "https://www.spotify.com/",
            "page": "https://listme.name/software/spotify",
            "tagline": "Music and podcast streaming with a free ad-supported plan",
            "summary": "Spotify is a music and podcast streaming service with a free ad-supported plan and a Premium subscription. It runs in a web player and in apps for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android. Premium in the US is $12.99 a month and includes ad-free listening and lossless audio.",
            "platforms": [
                "web",
                "windows",
                "macos",
                "ios",
                "android"
            ],
            "pricing": "freemium",
            "price_note": "Free ad-supported plan; Premium is $12.99 a month in the US",
            "free_to_use": true,
            "open_source": false,
            "strengths": [
                "Free plan with ads for trying the service",
                "Lossless audio on Premium",
                "Works with car systems and smartwatches"
            ],
            "limits": [
                "Free plan plays ads between tracks",
                "Closed source, so the code cannot be checked"
            ],
            "checked": "2026-10-10",
            "connected_to_publisher": false,
            "overview": "Spotify streams songs, albums, playlists and podcasts, with personalized playlists and a large catalog of tracks. Its Premium pages describe ad-free listening and lossless audio, and the service lists Premium Individual, Duo, Family and Student plans. A free plan stays available with ads, and Premium offers a one-month trial for people who have not used it before.\n\nSpotify is closed source, and its apps and web player are the main ways to listen. It works with car systems such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and on smartwatches. Compared with Apple Music, it has a free tier with ads, while Apple Music has no free tier on its page."
        }
    ],
    "differences": [
        "Only Spotify runs on Windows.",
        "Only Spotify runs on macOS.",
        "Pocket Casts is open source; Spotify is not."
    ],
    "shared_rankings": [
        {
            "list": "podcast-apps",
            "name": "Podcast apps",
            "page": "https://listme.name/best/podcast-apps",
            "of": 10,
            "results": [
                {
                    "product": "pocket-casts",
                    "rank": 3,
                    "score": 85,
                    "verdict": "A free podcast player for iPhone, iPad, Android and the web, with curated recommendations and private RSS feed support. Its app code is published under MPL-2.0, and its paid extras are in-app purchases.",
                    "best_for": "Free cross-platform listening with RSS feeds",
                    "spec": {
                        "platforms": "iOS, iPadOS, Android, Web",
                        "rss": true,
                        "open_source": true,
                        "cost": "Free, with in-app purchases"
                    }
                },
                {
                    "product": "spotify",
                    "rank": 2,
                    "score": 85.5,
                    "verdict": "Carries podcasts alongside music on every major platform, with a free plan that includes ads. Its podcast tools are part of a music app, so dedicated listeners may find it less focused.",
                    "best_for": "Podcasts and music in one app",
                    "spec": {
                        "platforms": "Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android",
                        "rss": false,
                        "open_source": false,
                        "cost": "Free plan with ads, Premium $12.99 a month (US)"
                    }
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "ranks_higher_in_closest_shared_list": "spotify",
    "page": "https://listme.name/compare/pocket-casts-vs-spotify",
    "json": "https://listme.name/api/v1/compare/pocket-casts-vs-spotify.json",
    "notes": [
        "Scores are editorial and only comparable inside one list. Products with connected_to_publisher true receive a disclosed ranking lift: https://listme.name/methodology"
    ],
    "source": "https://listme.name",
    "license": "Free to read and cite with attribution to listme.name.",
    "docs": "https://listme.name/developers"
}