Castamatic Podcast Player

Castamatic Podcast Player

No nonsense podcast player

86 ratings
70 reviews
Free
In-App Purchases

Details

  • Released
  • Updated
  • July 20, 2015
  • August 12, 2026

Features

Castamatic Podcast Player screenshot #1 for iPhone
Castamatic Podcast Player screenshot #2 for iPhone
Castamatic Podcast Player screenshot #3 for iPhone
Castamatic Podcast Player screenshot #4 for iPhone
Castamatic Podcast Player screenshot #5 for iPhone
iphone
ipad
watch
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About

This app offers a streamlined podcast listening experience with advanced audio features and flexible playlist management. Enjoy enhanced sound quality, custom playback sequences, and seamless syncing across devices. It supports various integrations for a personalized listening journey.

Customizable playlists
Machine learning audio leveling
Adaptive gap zapping
Chapters support
Siri shortcuts
Apple Watch and CarPlay support
iCloud sync
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What users say

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What's New in Castamatic Podcast Player

13.1.7

August 12, 2026

Version 13.1.7 - Favorites are no longer lost after a reinstall: episodes you starred, or added to On the Go, are now restored from iCloud even if you never played them. - New episodes are no longer marked as listened on a podcast you already follow: "Mark Old Episodes as Listened" now applies only when a podcast actually joins your library, so a show that publishes several episodes on the same day keeps them all unplayed. - News mode no longer marks your favorite episodes or the one loaded in the player as listened, and a new "Except Partially Played" option also spares episodes you have already started. - The "Cleanup" screen is now called "Downloads & Cleanup", making the automatic download settings easier to find. - The playlist filter "Streamed" is now called "Not Downloaded", and a description under the "Include episodes" switches spells out what your combination lets through — including the ones that quietly drop episodes from the playlist as soon as they are downloaded. - Turning off every switch in a filter group no longer leaves a playlist empty: a group with nothing selected simply doesn't filter. - Live shows announced in the standard Podcasting 2.0 format are no longer skipped: the Live playlist now appears as expected. - Restoring a full backup is no longer rejected as an invalid file when the backup lives outside Castamatic, for example in Files or iCloud Drive. - "Manage subscriptions" now opens subscription management inside the app, including on devices without the iTunes Store app, and opens the App Store on Apple silicon Macs. - The queue widget fills all of its slots again: the episodes shown follow autoplay, even past the end of the playlist. - VoiceOver now announces the download state of each episode. - Numerous bug fixes and performance improvements. Version 13.1 - Home Screen widgets: see your current episode at a glance and play or pause right from the widget. Tap an episode or playlist to start listening without even opening the app. - iCloud playlist sync: your playlists, their order, and their settings now stay in sync across all your devices. - Custom playlist icons: personalize each playlist with hundreds of SF Symbols and your favorite colors. - Reorder episodes by hand: drag episodes to arrange your playlists exactly the way you want. - Loop Playlist: keep a playlist going by starting over from the top when it reaches the end. - New autoplay options, including an "Always from Top" mode. - Numerous bug fixes and performance improvements. Version 13 - Magic Transcript: generate full episode transcripts on your device using Apple Intelligence. Tap any line to jump straight to that moment. - Magic Chapters: automatically split episodes into chapters using on-device AI, even when the podcast doesn't include them. - Transcript Panel: follow along with a live-scrolling transcript right in the player, with full transport controls. - Chapter artwork now displayed during previous/next chapter navigation. - Improved Value for Value reliability and error handling. - Improved CloudKit sync stability. - Numerous bug fixes and performance improvements.

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Subscription plans

Premium Subscription

Remove all advertising from the app.

$14.991 Year
How to cancel Castamatic Podcast Player subscription ⁉️
1

In-App Purchases

$3.99

Unlock everything

Unlocks unlimited playlists and audio effects in Castamatic.

User reviews

Great app

This is a wonderful app. I do have some suggestions for it however the contact link is dead. I would love to message the dev with an enhancement request!

Edit: found a few bugs but have no idea where to submit them to the dev. I hope there is an avenue to report these.

Great ALC, buggy player

The good: automatic level control. This works great when you have a podcast with multiple people speaking, whose audio levels are all over the place.

The bad: Audio drops out at random times in the podcast. It might be 30 minutes in, or it might be two hours in. Once the audio drops out, that particular episode is done. No combination of button presses will get the audio back.
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Great app, terrible UI

Honestly comes with a stack of excellent features hidden behind the worst UI imaginable, created by someone who clearly hates their users.

If you can figure out what all the little icons mean, congratulations. Personally I’ve given up trying to download podcasts on this app. I’m sure the control is …somewhere.
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Nice app but No dark mode

Please add a dark mode option independent of system dark mode

Hidden treasure of podcast apps

I’ve been hunting for the “perfect” podcast app and, imho, this comes the closest of anything on the market. It has pretty much everything you’d want in terms of sound boost, silence trimming, timed skipping of intros/outros, customizable global defaults w/the ability to save custom settings for each show, and no real ads – just a minimally invasive banner in the episode list promoting the premium version. The only (minor) quibble that I have is that the playback speed setting changes in 0.25x increments; a bit more granularity would be appreciated. Yes, you can subscribe for ten bucks a year to support the dev, but all the above features are available for free. Give it a shot, it’s an excellent app.
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Developer apps

User experience

🐞

Reported Bugs

30 issues

Contact link is dead

Bug

No avenue to report bugs

Bug

Audio drops out at random times

Bug

Once audio drops, episode is done

Bug

No combination of button presses will get audio back

Bug

Audio doesn't stop when AirPods are removed

Bug

Lost place 5-10 times this week

Bug

When playing on Bluetooth in the car, turning off the car can cause app to lose place

Bug

App starts from the beginning after losing place

Bug

App gets confused and loses place

Bug

App starts from the beginning

Bug

App has started over multiple podcasts at the beginning several times

Bug

Playback is not smooth

Bug

App freezes every time audio output changes

Bug

App freezes when trying to scroll through podcasts

Bug

App crashes often

Bug

Search feature often fails to work

Bug

Error loading podcast

Bug

Response could not be decoded

Bug

Data couldn't be read

Bug

App freezes on loading lists

Bug

Audio stalls while rebuffering

Bug

Audio gets caught in a loop

Bug

App freezes constantly upon loading

Bug

Cannot handle 100+ podcasts

Bug

All podcasts gone after update

Bug

App dies when touching 'Premium Subscription' button

Bug

App crashes on Apple Watch when trying to load episodes

Bug

Sync problem: playlists and played/unplayed episodes don't sync

Bug

Play sequence setting doesn't overrule individual podcast settings

Bug

Requested Features

20 requests

Add dark mode option

Feature

More granularity in playback speed

Feature

Instructional videos or blogs

Feature

Filter episodes by keywords

Feature

Hide podcasts with no new episodes

Feature

Playback history

Feature

Live show notifications

Feature

Add RSS feed support

Feature

Easier to view shownotes

Feature

Add AirPlay 2 support for Nest Mini

Feature

Manually set swipe actions

Feature

Badge for downloaded episodes

Feature

Display only downloaded episodes

Feature

Auto-download on the go setting

Feature

Download/stream on Apple Watch

Feature

LIT support

Feature

End of chapter/episode sleep timer

Feature

Time-based limit for News Mode

Feature

Sync playlists across devices

Feature

1.75x playback speed option

Feature

FAQ

What does Castamatic Podcast Player do?

Castamatic is a podcast player for iOS devices that allows you to listen to your favorite shows with enhanced audio quality. It offers features like custom playlist creation, chapter navigation, and adaptive gap zapping to improve your listening experience.

What are the key features of Castamatic?

Key features include a manual 'On the Go' playlist for immediate listening sessions, smart playlists with priority shows, automatic or manual playlist reordering, chapter support, Siri shortcuts, and program-dependent automatic leveling for consistent audio.

How much does Castamatic Podcast Player cost?

The app is free to download and use, but it is supported by advertising. A one-year premium subscription is available for $8.99 USD to remove all ads and unlock additional benefits.

What devices is Castamatic compatible with?

Castamatic is designed for iOS devices and offers full support for Apple Watch and CarPlay. It also features iCloud sync, allowing you to sync subscriptions and playback position across all your iOS devices.

What are the main use cases for Castamatic?

This app is ideal for users who want to curate their listening sessions with custom playlists, improve audio clarity and consistency, and enjoy podcasts on the go, in their car, or on their Apple Watch. It's also beneficial for those who want to support podcast producers through Value4Value features.