Comparison

Playapod vs Solves

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Playapod

Listen to podcasts with advanced features like cross-platform syncing, precise episode tracking, and offline playback. Bookmark favorite moments, enjoy video and text-to-speech content, and organize your listening with custom playlists and filters. It's a free, ad-free experience designed for dedicated podcast enthusiasts.

Highlights
  • Cross-platform device syncing
  • Second-by-second episode tracking
  • Time-coded bookmarking
  • Video and text-to-speech playback
  • Offline listening
  • Custom playlists and filters
  • CarPlay integration
Features
Read full description

Playapod is the best way to listen to your favorite podcasts and features cross-platform device syncing, episode tracking down to the second, remote media controls, offline listening, new episode notifications, bulk imports, fast performance, no ads, and more! • Multi-Device Sync Sync all your podcast subscriptions and episode progress between multiple devices and across all platforms! Just sign-in with your favorite social network or with e-mail. • Episode Tracking Tracks exactly the portions of episodes that you have listened down to the second. You'll never forget where you left off or what you skipped over! • Bookmarking Bookmark your favorite parts of any episode so you can quickly go back and listen again. Bookmarks are time-coded and synced across all your devices. • Video Playback (NEW v2 Feature) Video playback supported. Tapping on the video will toggle full-screen mode. • Text to Speech (NEW v2 Feature) Turn any text-based feed into an audio podcast with full progress bar support including scrubbing and bookmarking. Great for keeping up with the latest news and blogs. • Media Bar (NEW v2 Feature) Quickly access whatever is currently playing by tapping on the media bar at the bottom of the screen. It’s always on with quick access to play/pause. Tap the bar to bring up the full media player view. • Recommendations (NEW v2 Feature) Our recommendation engine will suggest new subscriptions you might enjoy. • Groups & Filters (NEW v2 Feature) Filter content by favorites, category, media flags, content type, and time. Save filters into Groups for quick one-touch access. • Media Files (NEW v2 Feature) Add media files such as audio, video, and text files to Playapod using iTunes File Sharing for local playback. • Car Play Driving with your iPhone puts your Playapod Now Playing queue right on your car's built-in display. • Custom Playlist Create a custom playlist of your podcast episodes. Drag and drop reordering makes it easy to listen to your favorite shows all day without device interaction. • Media Controls Toggle playback and skip forward and backwards quickly using lockscreen and bluetooth controls. • Listen Offline Download entire podcasts and listen on the go without a network connection or cellular data charges. • Free & No Ads Free download with no advertising! There are no bulky 3rd party ad networks that are known to kill battery life, slow performance, and consume network bandwidth. • Push Notifications Get new episode notifications so you stay on top of your favorite shows. Toggle notifications in the app settings. • Import Podcasts Quickly bulk import a list of podcasts with OPML files (Outline Processor Markup Language XML Files). • Advanced Configuration Lots of settings to customize and tweak the behavior of the Playapod app. Custom settings available for each subscription too! • Customer Support Our developers listen to your feedback and quickly fix all reported issues. Join our Facebook Page and start a discussion! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/playapod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/playapod Website: https://playapod.com/

About

Solves

A powerful and versatile calculator for all your Apple devices. Edit complex expressions, sync history across devices, and enjoy a clean, ad-free experience. Unlock advanced features like unit conversion and fraction support with an optional upgrade.

Highlights
  • Edit expressions without limitations
  • Instant results
  • Sync calculation history across devices
  • Unit conversion (currencies, physical units)
  • Fraction support
  • Customizable themes
Features
Read full description

Solves is a well-made calculator app for your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch. It allows you to edit expressions without limitations and get instant results. It keeps your calculation history in sync on all devices and lets you to easily interact with it. All this for free and without ads! By purchasing Solves+ you also get: • Unit Conversions: currencies (with crypto, metals & energy), physical units, and your own! • History Tools: comment, bookmark, export, auto clear, and more • Fractions • More Themes • Advanced Settings Hand-typed code. No generative AI was used during the development or by the app itself. Solves+ requires one payment only. You will own it forever on all devices.

Screenshots

Playapod4 screens
Solves4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Playapod at none against Solves's 6. Playapod also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15). Solves's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 3 months) and review sentiment (91% vs 79%). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Solves sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Playapod asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Solves holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 620 and 382 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 79% of Playapod's written reviews are positive against 91% of Solves's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Playapod ships an update every 3 months, Solves every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Playapod versus Solves: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPlayapodSolves
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (620 ratings)4.9 (382 ratings) — better
Positive reviews79.2% of reviews90.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings620 — better382
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS13.0 — better15
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB82 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperTMSOFTOleg Barinov

Customer experience

Playapod

All ratings620 ratings
Positive92.7%
Neutral3.7%
Negative3.5%
Written reviews77 reviews
Positive79.2%
Neutral9.1%
Negative11.7%

Solves

All ratings382 ratings
Positive97.1%
Neutral1.0%
Negative1.8%
Written reviews480 reviews
Positive90.6%
Neutral3.8%
Negative5.6%

User reviews

Playapod

From 620 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Honest and caring app
  • 🚀 Works perfectly on iOS
  • 🚀 Plays both video and audio podcasts
  • 🚀 Easily share podcast clips
  • 👍 Fantastic individual settings

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Issues with video podcast downloads
  • 🐛 Podcast playback issues (pausing, resuming, background playback)
  • 🐛 Inconsistent episode marking as played
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 🐛 Syncing issues and data loss

Solves

From 382 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Excellent calculator app
  • 🚀 Smooth and responsive
  • 🔒 No ads or data collection
  • 💡 Useful features like history, comments, and unit conversions
  • 👍 Clean and intuitive design

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or bugs after updates
  • 🐛 Issues with certain mathematical operations
  • 🐛 Family sharing not working properly
  • 🐛 Lag or performance issues on some devices
  • 💡 Desire for more advanced features like fractions, base conversions

Bugs and requests

Playapod

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Podcast downloads failing or timing out
  • Playlist issues (not playing next episode, losing queue)
  • Episodes marked as played before finishing
  • Inconsistent behavior on different devices and platforms
  • Data loss when device is turned off

Requested features

6 requests
  • Volume boost and normalization
  • Silence skip feature
  • Ability to reorder individual playlists
  • Video podcast playback support
  • Diagnostics and troubleshooting tools
Show 1 more
  • Search by episode title

Solves

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes when pressing certain buttons
  • Issues with parsing complex expressions
  • Incorrect results for some calculations
  • Problems with history clearing or syncing

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add support for fractions and mixed numbers
  • Implement a widget for quick access
  • Allow resizing the app window on Mac
  • Provide more customization options
  • Add support for Apple Watch
Show 1 more
  • Improve unit conversion experience

In-app purchases

None

Playapod

No in-app purchases

6 purchases

Solves

One-time6
  • Tip Option #1$0.99
  • Tip Option #2$1.99
  • Tip Option #3$4.99
Show 3 more
  • Tip Option #4$9.99
  • Solves+$9.99
  • Tip Option #5$19.99

Questions

Is Playapod free?
Playapod is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Solves free?
Solves is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Playapod or Solves?
Solves is rated higher. Playapod averages 4.7 out of 5 from 620 ratings, while Solves averages 4.9 from 382 ratings.
Do Playapod or Solves have ads?
Neither Playapod nor Solves shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Playapod or Solves?
Playapod ships an update every 3 months, and Solves every 3 weeks. Most recently, Playapod was updated on October 6, 2026 and Solves on October 15, 2026.

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