Playapod vs Podex
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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/
Podex
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Podex is a local-first podcast player built around transcripts. Paste a podcast RSS feed, choose an episode, and Podex turns audio into readable text on your device. Instead of only listening from start to finish, you can scan the transcript, search for specific words or topics, jump to key moments, and save short highlights. Podex is designed for people who use podcasts to learn, research, or follow conversations more deeply. It helps you turn long audio episodes into something easier to review, quote, and remember. Features • Add podcasts from RSS feeds • Generate transcripts on device • Read transcripts while listening • Search within episodes • Save useful highlights • Jump between audio and transcript • Keep your podcast workflow local-first Podex does not require an account. Transcription runs on your device when supported, and your listening workflow stays simple: add a feed, open an episode, read, search, and highlight. Whether you listen to interviews, tech podcasts, educational shows, or long-form discussions, Podex helps you get more value from every episode.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Podex at every 3 weeks against Playapod's every 3 months. Playapod's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Playapod ships an update every 3 months, Podex every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Playapod | Podex |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (622 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 79.2% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 622 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 25 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | TMSOFT | Taisei Mima |
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
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Podex
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Playapod
No in-app purchases
Podex
No in-app purchases









