# Fathom Podcast Player — user reviews > 27 indexed App Store user reviews of Fathom Podcast Player by Fathom Labs, Inc., rated 4.64/5 from 146 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fathom-podcast-player/id1591828121/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fathom-podcast-player/id1591828121.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 122 · 4★ 11 · 3★ 5 · 2★ 0 · 1★ 8 ## Newest reviews (7 of 27) ### 4/5 — Almost Perfect! *2023-06-09* Library Import from other apps - OPML file format like the Airr app Killer AI features missing right now: Skip Ads- Id actually pay for an app which skips ads in podcast’s & transcribes & timestamps. SponsorBlock does native ad skipping on YouTube, check it out. ### 5/5 — Magical *2022-05-18* I was skeptical that the AI search capability could work, but it didn't just work... it blew me away. The ability to search in and across podcasts for topics I'm interested in is a game-changer. Not only will this help me discover new podcasts I might be interested in, but it allows me to find parts of podcasts I already subscribe to that I want to go back and listen to. ### 5/5 — Fathom does for audio what Google did for text *2022-05-04* There is a ton of great info locked up in podcasts. Until Fathom, it was almost impossible to search. Now, you can easily search in Fathom and get taken to the exact spot in a podcast that answers your question. This is a total game changer that will revolutionize search and audio. Such a great app! ### 5/5 — Like Google search for podcasts *2022-04-29* Podcasts are great but it is difficult to find exactly what conversation you are looking for. Fathom makes it very easy and has “indexed” the actual content within all podcasts out there so that searches can be performed to find exactly what you’re looking for. Love it and can’t recommend enough!!! ### 5/5 — A smarter way of listening to podcasts *2022-02-04, version 1.1* Most content algorithms (Youtube or podcasts) equate the time spent on content as measure of engagement- thus creators upload longer programs to artificially lengthen “engagement”. So instead of being concise, the ecosystem is wasting your time as a listener. If you value your time and sanity, fathom is the way to efficiently listen. ### 5/5 — Preview Funtion *2022-01-28* The preview function in this app is what truly sets it apart from other. Not only does it allow you to preview an episode- it takes you to the best/most relevant part of the podcast. The first podcast app I actually enjoy using! ### 5/5 — Like Tinder for Podcasts *2022-01-22* …But unlike “that” dating app, you’re much less likely to regret your matches. I listen to a LOT of podcasts and assumed I’d run through all the best True Crime/Tech and Science/Pop Culture shows out there. Within seconds, the Fathom app had matched my interests to both popular podcasts in the genre I hadn’t considered, along with newer and less well-known shows. I can be really fussy about the podcasts I like. Too low-energy, too HIGH energy, certain vocal qualities and I can’t get into the show. This app is really great for this in particular: Fathom will pull up a podcast with an audio sample most unique to the show so I can immediately get a sense of what the podcast is like. I can Like/follow if I like it and swipe up if I don’t. No more scrolling through recommendation posts to find more podcasts, I’m just using Fathom from now on. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Ad Fraud - Stay Away *2025-07-29* As a podcast creator, I strongly advise others to steer clear of this app. It has serious flaws that exploit creators and compromise content integrity. Through dynamic ad insertion, the app continues to cash in on episodes that have already been pulled from RSS feeds, essentially monetizing your content without consent. Even worse, it allows duplicate listings of your show, creating confusion for listeners and diluting your brand. This platform is not reputable, lacks transparency, and shows no respect for creators’ rights or content control. Until they address these issues and show accountability, creators should stay far away. There are far better, ethical platforms out there. ### 1/5 — Clickbait app *2024-12-30, version 2.2* Wanted to give zero stars ### 1/5 — Slow and features tough to use *2024-07-17* I wanted to find a different podcast player that worked better than the native player on my iPhone. I found this podcast player and love the idea that it had AI features. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really help me a whole lot. It’s very difficult to play a podcast from the beginning, instead it wants to play some curated clips, and I have a difficult time making it play the full podcast. In addition to this, it’s a slow podcast player and seems to download the audio very slowly. I don’t have this with the podcast. I am deleting the app and going back to my podcast player. ### 1/5 — useless *2023-09-09* the app literally doesn’t even load. what is the purpose. ### 1/5 — I miss owltail *2023-09-06* App barely works. And owltail was the only place you find top episodes ### 1/5 — If it worked *2023-06-01* Would be great ### 1/5 — Can’t ever find the server when searching *2023-04-15* So worthless ### 3/5 — Beautiful and fancy but the future is bleak (since this from the future) *2022-06-13* Lots to like and inspire here but as constructed this app comes off as a bundle of features and somewhat incomplete rather than a product that delivers on its pitch. Pros: beautiful UI, episode preview feature. Cons: in the future apparently there are no serialized podcasts. Everything is episodic. Should add an episode list view to resolve this. The preview feature is not explained well, it is just a little play button separate from the main play button. Hitting the preview button drops you into the middle of the episode which might be fine but then you miss the beginning of the episode. And you might hear an ad pretty quickly which sort of defeats the purpose. In the future your favorite podcasts might not exist! Missing a bunch of my favorite Audacy podcasts (just as an example); either that or search is not doing its job. The apple import functionality sounds promising but doesn’t work because it’s not possible unless you have episodes downloaded from those that you follow. I follow tons of podcasts on apple but the feature here returned zero podcasts. All in all, beautiful and a nice start but not lots to improve on for me to consider a switch. But good luck Fathom crew! **Developer response:** Thanks for the helpful feedback! We're just getting started and working on all of the issues you mentioned. Next major release we'll be re-working the home screen a bit to provide a more cohesive daily-driver oriented pod listening app. I'm curious which Audacy pods you were unable to find - if you could provide a few examples to hello@fathom.fm we'd really appreciate it as we're still dialing in the pod search. ### 3/5 — Great Idea but need work *2022-05-17* Love the design and search feature but there still has to be a way to add a podcast from rss feed. **Developer response:** Thanks for the feedback! Support for manually adding a podcast by RSS feed is on our feature roadmap. ### 4/5 — just discovered, great app! *2024-01-29* I just discovered this app and it looks very promising! the only thing desperately missing is notes and highlights. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Good app *2024-02-23, version 2.2* It's a wonderful app but it should develop, because it has some bugs, such as immediately closing. ### 5/5 — Great but often crashes please fix *2024-01-16* Please update. Thanks. ### 5/5 — Great but often crashes please fix *2024-01-11* Thanks ### 5/5 — Genius *2023-04-18* This is really smart! Highly recommend for anyone listening to podcasts and want to find better content faster. ### 5/5 — AI + Podcasting = Magic *2023-04-10* Love how Fathom intelligently uses AI to help me smart search inside episodes, bringing a depth of interaction to my podcast listening experience. The ability to highlight, save, and easily share clips from any episodes while listening to it is just the cherry on top. ### 5/5 — AI Podcasting is Magic *2023-04-10* Outstanding product utilizing AI to smart search inside poscast episodes has been a game changer for my listening experience. ### 5/5 — My favourite podcast app *2023-03-21* I was a longtime premium Pocketcasts user. I accidentally stumbled upon Fathom. I love everything about it and love the community engagement from the team. The owners are incredible. I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen down the road. ### 5/5 — This player is great. Lot of cool features *2023-01-31* Unique and amazing features! ### 5/5 — loving it *2022-07-28* i spend a lot of time every day listening to podcast. i like how i can type in a subject (i.e. Clippers) and discover conversations i never would have heard that jumps directly to my interests. Thank you fathom! ### 5/5 — Best podcast app out there *2022-07-28, version 1.3* Whether you are scrolling through your favorite podcasts or trying to search for a niche topic, Fathom allows you to seamlessly and efficiently take a glimpse into the conversation. Like popular podcast clips on YouTube, Fathom brings that feature to you, but within a podcast app! --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-10.*