# Stitcher for Podcasts — user reviews > 51 indexed App Store user reviews of Stitcher for Podcasts by Stitcher, Inc., rated 4.78/5 from 6,617 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/stitcher-for-podcasts/id288087905/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/stitcher-for-podcasts/id288087905.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 5,889 · 4★ 412 · 3★ 85 · 2★ 57 · 1★ 174 ## What do users think of Stitcher for Podcasts? Overall sentiment: neutral **Pros** - 🚀 Efficient and easy to use - 👍 Great variety of shows - 💡 Useful features like playback speed control - 🚀 Convenient offline listening **Cons** - 🐛 Buggy and glitchy performance - 🔍 Poor search functionality - 🔄 Frequent need to reinstall/restart app - 🔋 Connectivity issues and playback errors - 📚 Difficulty organizing and navigating content **Commonly reported bugs** - Frequent crashes and freezes - Inconsistent playback behavior - Unreliable downloads and offline listening - Bluetooth connection issues - Sync and data loss problems **Most requested features** - Ability to view listening history - Better playlist and queue management - Improved episode information display - Dark mode option - Sync across devices ## Newest reviews (18 of 51) ### 3/5 — Stitcher has issues *2023-03-01* I switched to Stitcher because Itunes is simply not user friendly and because Overcast (to me the best podcast app) suddenly stopped working. Stitcher is fine- easy enough to use and way better than Itunes. Two negatives- I can't get all the podcasts that either Itunes or Overcast offered ( a minor issue), but the biggest problem by far is how glitchy Stitcher is when playing pods. I NEVER experienced so many skips or repeats (like 10-15 seconds) with the other apps during playback. It happens multiple times in nearly every episode. It's just an annoyance when the episode jumps backwards 15 seconds and then keeps playing, but when it skips forward and you wonder what you missed it can be frustrating. That's my feedback. **Developer response:** Thanks for the feedback. Please send your logs by going to Settings > Scroll to bottom > Send logs > Follow prompts. Thanks! ### 2/5 — Also can’t search, so frustrating *2023-01-27, version 10.35* I just looked at the app reviews and feel better knowing I am not the only person who cannot search for a title. I was also having an issue where the latest podcasts were not downloading. The only problem is in trying to troubleshoot my issue (refreshed cache), now I cannot access any of the podcasts I used to listen to. I used to love Stitcher but I am now searching for a replacement app, after seeing the search issue seems to be ongoing and unresolved for many folks. ### 3/5 — Love, but what is with this update *2023-01-21, version 10.35* Hello, team Stitcher. I have been using your app for years and been very pleased with it. This should be a glowing 5-star review. The UI of other podcast apps are ugly, their controls are often unresponsive, and the apple native podcast is the most disorganized and unintuitive of all. And now that’s what I’m using, because stitcher basically just stopped working. I can play an episode, but not the most recent one, because those don’t refresh. The home screen doesn’t refresh, it gets stuck and the loading icon spins forever unless I change screens. The app is unusable, but I use to love it. Please fix it? I despise the Apple podcasts app. Please help me not use it. **Developer response:** Please contact our support team so we can report this to our developers. You can contact us from the app by going to Settings > Give Feedback > Follow Prompts. We're looking forward to hearing from you! ### 4/5 — Great podcast app, but annoying queue management *2023-01-06, version 10.35* Really enjoy the layout of the app and the quick access to your podcasts. Annoyingly, the only way to queue up episodes is to use the "up-next" queue which puts episodes at the front instead of the end of the queue. I have to decide how many episodes I want listen to first, or else I need to reorganize them all back in order. I can't quickly add another episode to my queue either, I have to re-order it to the back every time. ### 2/5 — Buggy. Requires kill and restart of the app regularly to fix UI lag *2022-12-06, version 10.34.1* When you use the app, then go away from it and then back to it, it is regularly slow and laggy upon scrolling through favorites or more or less doing anything. Killing the app and restarting it fixes the problem, but it’s annoying. Stitcher didn’t have this problem until a few months ago, but the bug has been around now for a while. I wish they’d fix it. Outside of this annoyance, it’s a great app. I’m using an iPhone XR on the latest version of the OS fwiw. ### 3/5 — Update ruined it *2022-12-03, version 10.34.1* Gaaah, I've been using Stitcher for 10 years, I've always loved how user friendly it is.... but they took away my favorite feature! I listen to podcasts to sleep. I can't sleep without them playing all night long, I know, I'm weird. But that means that I relished to episodes over and over and over. I used to be able to really easily "mark unplayed" by simply tapping down the row of "played" icons. Then I just hit play on the bottom one and boom- hours of uninterrupted sleep. Now I have to click on every episode, open it up, mark it unplayed and to play next. Grrrrrrr. **Developer response:** Possibly a bug with the sleep timer. Please write in from the app so we can take a look. Settings > Give Feedback > Follow prompts. Thanks! ### 4/5 — Great app *2022-11-29, version 10.34.1* Been using the app for almost a decade. Extremely Easy to use. Very few flaws. (1000% better than the website) Navigation is a bit cumbersome. Wish there were a filter for searching shows. Podcasts that are downloaded is a super simple option and very fast in doing so, (within seconds) but I wish there were more options to organize them ( alphabetical, etc) this includes the show that are followed in your favorite shows list. Not possible to organize, which would be great to be able to do when searching for a specific one on it. Despite my petty complaints I love the Stitcher podcast app. Prefer it over all others. Wish I used it more often. Great variety of shows. You wont regret this purchase. Id give 4 1/2 stars but no option to do so. 4 1/2 out of 5 stars **Developer response:** Thanks for the review and helpful feedback. Have you tried using Groups? On your My Show page you can create Groups and drag and drop shows into those Groups. This would then allow you to listen to all the new episodes of that group in a row. If you need help, let us know at support@stitcher.com. Thanks! ### 2/5 — Used to be great *2022-11-26, version 10.34.1* This was my favorite podcast app but it's going backwards. Recent addition of Bluetooth request is too much, no I don't want to give you access to that because you don't need it and you ask me EVERY TIME I START A PODCAST. I'm also missing the ability to sort my latest list that used to be there, now I have to f' with my phone while I'm driving to hear the shows in the order I want. Yes it's a free app and you need to make money but it appears that you're going down the path of profiling your users to sell their data. Time to look for a replacement. ### 3/5 — Feature Request *2022-11-03, version 10.34.1* I’m a fan of Stitcher and greatly enjoy using it over other podcast players, but there’s a big feature missing that I wish was there: filtering downloaded episodes by show group. Even when I click “episodes” with my show groups, it only shows the latest episodes per podcast. What’s the point of show groups then? I would love to see all my downloaded episodes by show group from all time, not just the most recent episode from each show. Right now I really like Stitcher and will keep using it, but there’s nothing stopping me from switching to another podcast app if that feature is available there… **Developer response:** Thanks for the feedback! Our "playlists" are called "Groups" - once you follow a show, you can group them together essentially creating a playlist of those shows. You can find this on your "My Shows" page. Create the group and then drag and drop which shows you'd like to be in that group. You can also use "Likes" in a similar way for episodes. ### 4/5 — Great but for one glitch! *2022-09-29, version 10.33* I prefer Stitcher to Apple Podcasts for every reason EXCEPT I am unable to actually read the information about episodes without the app glitching and defaulting back to the top of whatever is written. It doesn’t seem to matter which show I’m listening to because it happens for every episode I am trying to read up on. Would LOVE a fix for this issue! ### 4/5 — ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ *2022-09-25, version 10.33* Generally the best features and tools of podcatchers. There’s issues. I know their team works hard. Search function is imprecise. Loading and reloading or refreshing the app can be necessary before playing an episode. The play list function and playback speeds fit information junkies like a glove. ### 3/5 — It’s okay for all we have *2022-07-26, version 10.31* It’s an okay app but the bugs can be annoying sometimes. Bugs I’ve experienced includes: audio stuttering, audio jumping forwards or back, cutting an episode off too early, no audio playing but still shows it’s playing. The most annoying is the audio stuttering because I can’t seem to fix it. Restarting my phone does nothing and restarting the app does nothing. ### 3/5 — Episode information impossible to scroll *2022-07-23, version 10.31* Why is it so difficult to scroll through the episode information and to see more than 2 to 3 lines of it at a time? There’s no way to enlarge or view the information in any kind of a useful way. For episodes that have a lot of notes, this is is major deficit. ### 2/5 — Buffering like it’s 1999 *2022-06-08, version 10.29* Even on wifi where NO OTHER APP has issues with loading content, stitcher (and I unfortunately pay for premium because ads are the worst thing invented) will have to stop playing an episode because “playback error” or “error loading episode” or “slow connection”. Again. Not something anything else seems to have an issue but stitcher when I am on wifi. ### 2/5 — Overly political *2022-05-27, version 10.28* I got sick of having radical left wing podcasts promoted all the time on the front page. I don’t even listen to political podcasts so I’m not sure why it thinks I want to see this stuff all the time. I’m just tired of all the divisive outrage politics being promoted all the time and everywhere. The design is also excruciating if you want to listen to older podcasts from a show. You have to scroll forever in order to get to the last episode you listened to. It just became frustrating. ### 3/5 — Noticeable Lag/Unresponsiveness *2022-05-24, version 10.28* I’ve been a Stitcher user for a few years, and I love the app. However, in the last couple of months, I’ve observed noticeable lag and unresponsiveness when I click on icons and buttons. It is frustrating. Not sure what has changed, but I haven’t experienced this in the past. I am using an iphone 8 and my iOS is always updated to the latest version. ### 2/5 — Very good when it works *2022-05-22, version 10.28* Yet again, had an issue where the solution is to uninstall/install. That does fix it, but please for the love of everything good, store which episodes I have in queue, so that I don’t have to redo this when the app crashes. And while you’re at it, please show the total length of all episodes in queue. Would be 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 if it were not entirely unsurprising that this happened. Would really like to see more QA before releases, and the above-mentioned storing of queue as a mitigation to the likelihood of crashing. (I had several hours of episodes from different shows in the queue, in anticipation of a long drive.) PS - More broadly, why are the queue and download preferences (automatically download, keep X number of episodes downloaded) not stored in the account so they are not lost? The streaming TV services don’t require setting up all over again for a new screen. Not fun with Stitcher to set these up all over again when you have to uninstall/reinstall. And as long as I’m ranting, why does Stitcher only about 95% accurately track which shows I’ve listened to? (It mostly works, but definitely not completely). **Developer response:** Thanks for your feedback and we’re sorry the update isn't giving you a very good experience - we hear you and are working hard to make Stitcher the best podcast app it can be! We are aware of the up next episode re-ordering issue and working on a fix now. Thankyou for bringing up the issue of disappearing episodes. I've ticketed this so our developer team will look into it and see what's going on! That's interesting about the casting and stopping issues. Could you email support@stitcher.com and let us know what device it was? We'd love to look into that and fix it, and losing your place in an episode is highly annoying! We are committed to fixing these issues and making Stitcher an awesome slick app you want to use, so we really appreciate the time you've taken to give us this feedback! ### 3/5 — Why does this app not have the ability to view listening history *2022-04-28, version 10.27* Who in their right mind does not want to keep track of what they are listening to? Every streaming service I have, and other podcast apps… Keeps track of where I’ve left off with a series (tv shows AND podcasts). But unless I stop in the middle of an episode… There is no way for Stitcher to remind me what podcast I just started the day before. For the podcasts that are ongoing and every week is a new episode, I do not remember their names until I’ve really invested time in them; but I don’t get to that point often because I open the app and can’t recall what the app’s name was. It’s just such as obvious Glaring void — like who invents a podcast listening app that doesn’t keep track of what the person is listening to? **Developer response:** It would help a lot if you "follow" the shows you're listening to. That way you'll see all the new episodes that come out. You can follow and manage shows in "My Shows" by using Groups. You can drag and drop shows into playlists which we call "groups". Please write into support@stitcher.com if you need more help. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — The WORST app on my phone *2023-01-05, version 10.35* It used to work fine, but something changed after the latest update(s), and now this app freezes nearly EVERY TIME I use it. Nothing I’ve done has been able to resolve this issue, and it doesn’t resolve itself, so I have to constantly reinstall the app or restart my phone to get it to work again. It’s INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING, and it looks like this is happening with a lot of other users as well. Stitcher Premium just isn’t worth it until they do something to fix this issue. It freezes at least once a day, it’s ridiculous. ### 1/5 — So frustrating! *2022-11-08, version 10.34.1* I used to love stitcher, but this app has been having problems all year! I’ve deleted and re-download it more times than I’d like to. Losing all of my download content every time, and trying to remember what was there in order to re-download it again. I refuse to lose all my downloaded Content again! Waiting for you to fix the app in an update so that I won’t have to lose all of my podcasts, again. Please figure out a way to fix this for me and the many many others with this same issue, thanks ### 1/5 — I regret buying a year of premium *2022-08-06, version 10.32* Possibly the worst podcast app that has been released. Instead of ranting I will leave my feedback in a bulleted fashion: - Downloading podcasts is useless as it defaults to using Wi-Fi/data even if it is downloaded. You must activate airplane mode for it to play from the downloaded file. - Refuses to play a podcast until you tell it you don’t want to activate Bluetooth. Asks several times after you refuse. I know when I want to use Bluetooth, stop asking me! - Slow connection and errors when you are on 300mbps Wi-Fi or have full 5G bars. - crashing during podcasts and forgetting progress on podcasts, regularly. - each update progressively makes it a more poor experience, increasing errors, crash rates and features that provide no benefit. ### 1/5 — Why are ads on Premium eps *2022-03-17, version 10.25* A couple of weeks ago THREEDOM ep had ads. Stitcher tech solution was for me to delete app, and reinstall, losing all downloads. Now the latest episode of HOW DID THIS GET MADE has an ad right at the top of the show. If I have to uninstall and reinstall every week, losing all my downloads in the process, what’s the point? You need a better solution than telling paying customers “oops.” UPDATE March 16 The new THREEDOM (Murder on the Moon) episode has an ad at the top of the show. Again. I’m a Premium member and THREEDOM is a Premium show with the little badge, but for the third week in a row there’s an ad. Your previous “solutions” have been for me to delete the app and re-download, thus losing all my downloads and just being a general inconvenience. Please engineer a permanent fix. **Developer response:** Thank you for taking the time to write a review. After further review, we discovered a glitch when Premium episodes are set to auto-download. We're working on a solution right now. In the meanwhile, you can delete and re-download the specific episode to receive the ad-free episode. If you continue to have issues, please contact our support team by going to settings > Give Feedback ### 1/5 — Truly the Worst *2022-01-11, version 10.23* I really can’t stand this app. Playlists have to be built manually episode by episode in one single “Likes” list. It’s truly ridiculous. The “List” option only shows the most recent episode of each podcast and once that episode is played the podcast drops off completely instead of at least bringing up an older unplayed episode. You have to check each podcast feed to be sure you’re not missing any episodes. I’m not sure how anyone would enjoy listening to podcasts this way. ### 1/5 — Podcasts Don’t Stay Sorted; Useless Search Function *2021-12-10, version 10.22* Good luck using this if you follow more than five podcasts or so. Every three days the app decides to un-sort all of my podcasts and I spend about 10 minutes manually re-programming them. On top of that, it can be impossible to find a podcast or episode you like, even if you type in the title verbatim—it won’t show up even if the podcast is on the platform. No way to sort search results either. Definitely the least sophisticated, buggiest podcast platform out there—and this is coming from someone who switched from Apple podcasts. ### 1/5 — Switched to Pocket Casts *2021-12-09, version 10.22* After Stitcher foisted the worst app redesign on all of their loyal users, I was forced to make a decision: either stick with the new version even though it lacked many of the useful features the old one had, or find a better alternative. Thankfully, I found Pocket Casts, which has been thoughtfully designed to include the features and simplicity that every podcast listener desires and deserves. I still have Stitcher installed on my iPhone, but I use it less and less since there is no benefit to using it instead of Pocket Casts. ### 1/5 — Fails to do literally the one thing I need it to do *2021-11-29, version 10.21* The entire reason I purchased a premium subscription was so I could download a stash of podcasts to listen to while I deploy to places without cell service or wifi. Now that Stitcher has released this updated version they’re so proud of, the app needs to check with a server somewhere that I have an active premium subscription before it will play anything I’ve downloaded…meaning that I can’t listen to podcasts while I’m deployed to places without cell service or wifi. This app used to be less than ideal, but still functional. Now it’s completely pointless. What a waste. **Developer response:** Sorry to hear that, you should be able to turn on airplane mode and play a downloaded file regardless of anything else. We do have some improvements coming in an upcoming release. If airplane mode isn't working, please let us know by contacting us through the app. Settings > Give Feedback > Follow prompts (note:this is not a live chat) ### 1/5 — Crazy search engine - seems from the last century… *2021-11-23, version 10.21* Much to like about stitcher but their search fir podcasts is absolutely atrocious. Example (and this has been going on for months in various ways): I search for the actual name of a podcast - I also try using quotes - I add in the word podcast - I remove the quotes. There are substantial times that nothing comes up. Then I scroll and scroll down and there it is twenty podcasts down the line - the exact name. The only accurate one but way down the list. I recently searched and could never find the podcast under any name or combination. When I scrolled through my actual personal list of saved podcasts there it was. Shocking search. How can they survive such a basic simple need. Reply to this Stitcher. **Developer response:** We are aware of our search limitations and are working towards a solution. It's a complex and trying problem for us to fix. It will take time and we apologize for any issues you are having. Please contact support with any specific searches so we can take a look. Thanks! ### 1/5 — Still a bad app *2021-11-10, version 10.21* The 5 start reviews must be from people who are new to podcasting. This app is not for power users. I subscribe to a lot of podcasts and this app can't handle it. It hangs for nearly 10 minutes while updating podcarts. There is no load indicator so that you know it's working or not and often it crashes before it's done. The app routinely crashes 3 to 4 times before I can use it. I have complained with every update but the developers only answer positive reviews. I will likely move on to Overcast or Downcast. I've been testing them and they load fast. Plus, dark mode and responsive developers. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Everything I need *2023-01-04, version 10.35* Stitcher has everything I need, and complete control over how and when I get it. I stopped watching TV three years ago, and I don’t regret it for a moment. Life is so much more functional when you have some voices you want to hear accompanying it. ### 5/5 — Great service! *2022-12-28, version 10.35* I’ve been subscribed to this podcast service for about three years and I can tell you that it’s wonderful I originally joined because I love the podcast How Did This Get Made?, but they have so many other wonderful podcast that are very informative and engaging that are only available on this platform, LeVar Burton reads is one of my favorites the application is very easy to use and the off-line function is great. I’ve been living overseas and I can only use this application with my VPN turned on so the off-line version is really helpful. I recommend this service. The one thing I would say is it is a little pricey but worth it to get all the features in Stitcher premium content **Developer response:** Thanks for the great review. It's awesome. Happy new year! ### 5/5 — Just about the best *2022-12-22, version 10.35* I've been with Stitcher for years. Everything you want is right here. It's well organized, intuitive, they have sleep timers, good profiles on the podcasts, and you can find just about anything you want - even if you didn't know it. I say that because I have explored and found some obscure podcasts that were absolutely fascinating! They playlist function works well, adding and deleting is easy, and IF you need to contact Stitcher, they.... Play the drum.... Answer! **Developer response:** Thanks for the great review. We really appreciate it. Happy new year! ### 5/5 — Such a great product and service *2022-12-17, version 10.34.1* Stitcher makes my daily commute so enjoyable. The software itself works perfectly, and the convenience of streaming podcasts beats having to manually prepare playlists ahead of time. ### 5/5 — Best Podcast Player Ever *2022-12-09, version 10.34.1* I’ve been using Stitcher since 2008 and have never, nor will ever look back. I love it’s ease of use, the features that it keeps adding and tweaking - 30 sec skip forward and back, playing at 1/2x-4x speed, widgets, etc. I don’t have a lot of loyalties when it comes to apps, but I certainly do with Stitcher. Almost 40,000 hours and counting 😎👍 ### 5/5 — Better for me than Apple podcast *2022-09-25, version 10.33* I like that I can adjust playback speed in 10% increments. A host of a particular, popular conservative podcast talks way too fast and if I slow it down 20%, he sounds normal to me. I can’t do this with the native Apple player. Apple does have a bigger library, but Stitcher has most of what I have ever searched for, so it’s better app wins for me. ### 5/5 — Have used 11 yrs, 👍 throughout *2022-06-29, version 10.30* I love ❤️ Stitcher. I discovered in 2011, have never once returned to another podcast app. Have repeatedly recommended to friends/family. On occasion bugs and stability issues have arisen, sometimes after iOS updates, but it’s been infrequent and each time they were easily addressed by reinstalling the app or an update was soon released to fix. Customer support (via E-Mail) has always been responsive, helpful. Years ago I suggested ‘Dark Mode’, to conserve battery power and make use of the app more pleasant in dark rooms. Was my only complaint in terms of features. It took several years but they eventually added. 👏👏👏 **Developer response:** Thanks for the review and sticking with us for the long haul. We really appreciate having you as a listener! Sorry dark mode took so long :) Let the Support team know if you need anything. Thanks again! ### 5/5 — So glad I switched! *2022-05-27, version 10.28* I actually have my own podcasts but didn’t listen to them much - partially because Apple Podcasts is so hard to use. Switched to Stitcher to listen to The Magnus Archives and I love it! My favorite features are being able to change the playback speed (I listen to audiobooks at 1.5, podcasts seemed so slow) and the fact that it actually plays the next episode automatically instead of the previous episode (there’s a setting to order by oldest in Apple but it’s so hard to find, I keep forgetting where it is). Plus, instead of scrolling through 200+ episodes to find my place I can choose a season from the dropdown! Honestly these are such basic features, this is really doing the bare minimum, so maybe it’s silly to give five stars for it - but Apple Podcasts fails at them so by comparison Stitcher is way ahead. **Developer response:** Love to see this feedback. Thanks for your review! We really appreciate it. ### 5/5 — Yay! *2022-05-02, version 10.27* I’m so glad the bug got fixed— I had to use apple podcasts for a little bit and I got so aggravated trying to navigate their app that I gave up! So now I have several episodes to binge, which actually isn’t a bad thing! I love stitcher. So much easier to use! ### 5/5 — Best podcast app ever *2022-03-28, version 10.26* I’ve been using Stitcher for podcasts for as long as I can remember. It was the first app I ever used to listen to podcasts and it’s been great since day one. The interface is easy to use and the content is always good. With everyone else getting into the podcast game Stitcher is still the best . --- *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.*