Comparison

Podcast Player vs Wave Reader

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

Head to head
About

Podcast Player

This app offers a customizable podcast listening experience with advanced playback controls, chapter support, and on-the-fly transcription. It allows users to organize their library, queue episodes, and personalize the interface to suit their listening habits.

Highlights
  • Customizable playback controls
  • Background episode downloading
  • Trim Silence and Boost Voices
  • Smart Sleep Timer
  • Full chapter support
  • On-the-fly transcription
  • Sideloaded audio support
Features
Read full description

Podigy is a powerful, customisable podcast player. Beautiful. Podigy is designed to feel intuitive whether you follow dozens of podcasts or just a few. New episodes from your subscriptions appear in the New tab. Add what catches your interest to your Queue to listen later. Or mark your favourite podcasts to have new episodes added to queue automatically. Queued episodes download in the background so they're always ready. Reorder them with a simple drag. Create custom filters to match your mood. News in the morning, calm stories at night. Podigy looks and feels perfectly at home on iOS. The new Liquid Glass design, motion, and layout patterns are designed to feel native and elegant. Powerful. Behind its simple interface lies a powerhouse of features. Playback speed can be set globally or per podcast. Trim Silence saves time without affecting clarity. Boost Voices evens out variable sounds so every podcast sounds balanced. The Sleep Timer is a bit smart. It pauses when you pause playback, and if you're still awake when it ends, just tap play on your headphones and timer extends without you having to fiddle around with your phone. Full chapter support lets you jump straight to the segments you care about. Chapter artwork appears beautifully across the system. You can pre-select chapters you want. When chapters are missing, Podigy intelligently extracts them from the episode description. Podigy can transcribe episodes on the fly, highlighting what's being said as you listen. It makes following along effortless. You can even export transcriptions to share with friends or your favourite LLM. Your Library, Queue, and Stats stay synced across devices with your free account. You can bring your own audio to Podigy with Sideloads. All the features of Podigy works seamlessly for audio files. The app doesn't currently sync the files, so to listen to sideloads on another device, you need to link the same audio file on the other device. Podigy also supports CarPlay and Shortcuts, letting you stay in control wherever you are. Customisable. No two listeners are alike - and Podigy embraces that. You can pick and arrange the playback controls in the mini player. Choose which tabs appear in the player - Chapters, Description, Transcription - and reorder them however you like. Adjust your Library view and several small details throughout the app to make Podigy truly yours. Terms of Use: https://podigy.app/terms-of-service

About

Wave Reader

This app provides a focused RSS reading experience without algorithmic feeds or ads. It delivers full articles, customizable reading themes, and offline access, keeping your data private and on your device.

Highlights
  • Ad-free reading experience
  • Full article delivery
  • Customizable reading themes and fonts
  • Offline reading capabilities
  • Private, local-first data storage
  • iCloud sync across Apple devices
Read full description

Wave – Reading, the way it should be. Wave is an RSS reader for people who want to read with intention again. No infinite feed, no ads, no algorithm deciding for you. You follow the sources that matter to you – Wave delivers them calmly, quickly, and beautifully. Reading comes first The reading mode is the heart of Wave. Full articles instead of truncated previews – even when a feed only offers a teaser, Wave fetches the complete text and formats it cleanly. Images, tables, videos, and quotes appear exactly where they belong. A full-bleed, distraction-free reading space puts the words front and center. Tuned to you Six reading themes (from light through sepia to night mode) and six font families let you shape the page the way your eyes like it. Dynamic Type and VoiceOver are fully supported. Your data stays yours Wave is built local-first. Your articles and reading progress stay on your device – never uploaded to someone else's cloud. Your feeds and folders sync privately across your Apple devices via iCloud. No selling accounts, no tracking, no profiles. Organization that keeps up Sort your subscriptions into folders, keep an eye on what's unread, and keep reading offline – once loaded, an article is always there for you. Native to Apple Wave feels like a real part of your iPhone: modern system design, fluid gestures, sign in with Apple or just start as a guest. Download Wave and give reading its place back.

Screenshots

Podcast Player4 screens
Wave Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Podcast Player at Free against Wave Reader's $0.99. Wave Reader's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and iOS requirement (18.6 vs 26.0). On review sentiment, update cadence, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Podcast Player is free to download; Wave Reader costs $0.99 up front. Podcast Player sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Wave Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Podcast Player ships an update every 6 days, Wave Reader every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Podcast Player versus Wave Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPodcast PlayerWave Reader
PriceFree — better$0.99
Rating5.0 (6 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings6 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 daysEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.018.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size75 MB21 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperMetronome Software Pty LtdBartos Martin Gwozdz

Customer experience

Podcast Player

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Wave Reader

Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Podcast Player

Subscriptions2
  • Podigy Plus Monthly$5.991 Month
  • Podigy Plus Yearly3 Days trial$19.991 Year
None

Wave Reader

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Podcast Player free?
Podcast Player is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Wave Reader free?
Wave Reader costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Podcast Player or Wave Reader have ads?
Neither Podcast Player nor Wave Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Podcast Player or Wave Reader?
Podcast Player ships an update every 6 days, and Wave Reader every 4 days. Most recently, Podcast Player was updated on October 3, 2026 and Wave Reader on October 17, 2026.

Other comparisons