Comparison

Podworks vs Castria

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

Head to head
About

Podworks

Features
Read full description

Podcast Player

About

Castria

This podcast app automatically removes ads, sponsor reads, and commercial breaks from episodes. It also offers AI-powered summaries, searchable transcripts, and chapter navigation for a seamless listening experience. Enjoy offline playback and cross-device syncing for free.

Highlights
  • Automatic ad skipping
  • AI episode summaries
  • Searchable transcripts
  • Tap-to-jump topics
  • Offline downloads
  • Cross-device syncing
Features
Read full description

Castria is the podcast app that skips the ads for you. Press play and the ads, sponsor reads, and commercial breaks skip themselves. No fast-forwarding, no guessing where the show comes back. Just the show. Premium subscriptions remove an app's own ads, but not the ones inside the episode. Castria skips those, and skipping ads on your phone is free. Around the skip is a full podcast player: playlists, offline downloads, AI summaries, searchable transcripts, and sync across your devices. TOP FEATURES • Ads skip themselves: on every episode, hands-free, from the moment you press play • You stay in control: see every ad Castria found and why, keep a sponsor you want to hear, or turn skipping off in one tap • AI episode summaries: see what an episode covers before you commit • Tap-to-jump topics: go straight to the part you came for • Searchable transcripts: read along, search any word, tap to jump to that moment • Offline downloads: ad-skipping still works with no signal, and each show can auto-download, keep the newest few, or delete after playing • Playlists: build your own, in any order you like • Bring your shows: import from another app with an OPML file, or preview a show before you follow it • Sleep timer, speed up to 5×, and trim silences • Resume on any device: iPhone, iPad, and the web on one account • See your time saved: the minutes and ads Castria has skipped for you, by day, week, and month For serious podcast listeners: the more you listen, the more time you get back. The core is free: ad-skipping, the full player, and the AI features. And Castria shows no ads of its own. CASTRIA PREMIUM (optional, with a free trial) • Faster ad-skip: ads are found on our servers before you download, so your phone does none of the work • CarPlay: a dedicated app with Listen Now, Up Next, Playlists, and Shows (iOS 26.4 or later) • Apple Watch: your queue and Now Playing on your wrist, with ads skipped • Smart playlists that fill themselves • 20 GB of cloud storage for your saved episodes FAIR TO CREATORS Castria plays the publisher's own episode file and skips the ad segments as you listen, the same as fast-forwarding by hand. We never modify or re-host the audio. Don't interrupt what you're doing just to fast-forward through an ad. Castria skips them for you. Castria Premium is an auto-renewing subscription, billed monthly or yearly to your Apple Account. It renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel it anytime in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://castria.app/privacy

Screenshots

Podworks3 screens
Castria4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Podworks at none against Castria's 2. Castria's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs monthly) and device support (3 vs 1). On price 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. Castria sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Podworks asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Podworks ships an update monthly, Castria weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Podworks versus Castria: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPodworksCastria
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings—2 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS18.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB49 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJan Griffioen-JarfalkExtroverted Developer, LLC

In-app purchases

None

Podworks

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Castria

Subscriptions2
  • Castria Premium Monthly1 Month trial$4.991 Month
  • Castria Premium Yearly1 Month trial$44.991 Year

Questions

Is Podworks free?
Podworks is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Castria free?
Castria is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Podworks or Castria have ads?
Neither Podworks nor Castria shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Podworks or Castria?
Podworks ships an update monthly, and Castria weekly. Most recently, Podworks was updated on November 4, 2026 and Castria on October 31, 2026.

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