# Lysten vs PodPulse

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Lysten at 80% against PodPulse's 0%. Lysten also leads on ratings volume (10 vs 1). PodPulse's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.4) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Lysten sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. PodPulse asks for nothing beyond the download.

PodPulse holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Lysten has 10 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 80% of Lysten's written reviews are positive against 0% of PodPulse's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Lysten ships an update every 2 months, PodPulse every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Lysten | PodPulse |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.4 (10 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lysten-podcast-player/id1579212581/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/podpulse/id6737267922/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **10** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | **80.0% of reviews** | 0.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 9 days** |
| Monetization | Freemium | **Free** |
| Size | 44 MB | 6 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.0** | 17.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, Mac** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Ambi Studio AB](https://appshunter.io/developer/834012550) | [Dor Pascal](https://appshunter.io/developer/1773249483) |

## What reviewers say

### Lysten

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lysten-podcast-player/id1579212581)

Easily discover and listen to podcasts with a privacy-focused player. Enjoy features like offline listening, interactive widgets, and seamless sharing with friends. Syncs via iCloud for a personal experience.

**Highlights:** Privacy-focused design, iCloud sync for progress, Offline episode downloads, Interactive widgets, Sleep timer, Adjustable playback speed, Spotlight search indexing

**Features:** Family Sharing, Siri integration, Vision Pro support, SharePlay

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Lysten+ | $1.99 | per month |
| Lysten+ Yearly | $19.99 | per year |


### PodPulse

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/podpulse/id6737267922)

This podcast player offers a clean, ad-free interface for an elegant listening experience. It features smart library management, refined playback controls, and a minimalistic design, all developed by an indie creator.

**Highlights:** Minimalistic design, Ad-free interface, Smart library management, Refined playback experience, Background playback, Indie-developed

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Lysten free?

Lysten is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is PodPulse free?

PodPulse is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Lysten or PodPulse?

PodPulse is rated higher. Lysten averages 4.4 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while PodPulse averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Lysten or PodPulse have ads?

Neither Lysten nor PodPulse shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Lysten or PodPulse?

Lysten ships an update every 2 months, and PodPulse every 9 days. Most recently, Lysten was updated on October 23, 2026 and PodPulse on October 25, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*