Comparison

Vortex for Podcast vs PodInbox

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

Head to head
About

Vortex for Podcast

Discover and manage podcasts with a feature-rich player. Enjoy advanced audio controls, offline listening, and seamless data syncing. Customize your experience with a beautiful, intuitive interface.

Highlights
  • Podcast management via RSS and OPML
  • Advanced audio playback controls
  • Offline episode downloads
  • Automatic data backup and iCloud sync
  • Customizable themes and interface
  • Voice Boost feature
Features
Read full description

Discover your next favorite podcast with Vortex, a powerful and elegant podcast player designed for the modern listener. Built with the latest iOS technologies like SwiftUI and SwiftData, Vortex offers a seamless and feature-rich experience. Key Features: Powerful Podcast Management: Easily subscribe to your favorite shows via RSS, import your library with OPML, and let Vortex keep everything up-to-date automatically. Our smart sorting and favorites system helps you find what to listen to next. Advanced Audio Experience: Enjoy high-quality audio with robust playback controls. Manage your listening with a flexible playback queue, and never lose your spot with playback position memory. Enhance your listening with our Voice Boost feature and stream to your devices with AirPlay. Listen Anywhere, Anytime: Download episodes for offline listening. Vortex intelligently manages downloads and can even pre-download items in your queue, ensuring you always have something ready to play, with or without a connection. Seamless Data Sync & Backup: Keep your subscriptions and playback progress safe with automatic silent backups and iCloud sync. Easily export your data or create manual backups whenever you need. Tailored To You: Customize your experience with theme switching. Vortex is designed to be beautiful and intuitive, with smooth animations and a clean, responsive layout. Download Vortex today and rediscover the joy of podcasts!

About

PodInbox

Features
Read full description

PodInbox turns new episodes into a listening queue that fits your available time. — Tell it your time, get a queue - Pick 15 / 30 / 45 / 60 minutes (or custom) and Smart Queue builds a queue that fits - Ask Siri: "Build my PodInbox queue" - Episodes you already started come first, then the newest - Preview, reorder, or trim before you commit — An inbox for podcasts - New episodes land in your Inbox, grouped by day - Swipe to play next or archive (with undo), tap to queue or save - Per-show Smart Rules quietly archive old and finished episodes — Built for real listening - Optional auto-download keeps your whole queue offline for subways and flights - Optional quiet notification when new episodes arrive — including how long your queue is - Playback speed remembered per show, intro skip, sleep timer (incl. End of Episode) - Background audio, lock screen and headphone controls out of the box — Your library, honest numbers - Saved, Downloads, History, and Archive in one place - Weekly listening summary computed from your actual history — Easy switch - Search shows by name, import OPML from another app, or paste an RSS URL — PodInbox Pro - Unlimited shows and unlimited downloads - Full Smart Rules (keep latest 3, auto-archive after 7/30 days) - Monthly listening recap PodInbox isn't a discovery app. It's the app that fits podcasts into your life. — Privacy: https://pomeranianstudio.com/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Vortex for Podcast4 screens
PodInbox4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Vortex for Podcast at fortnightly against PodInbox's every 5 weeks. 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Vortex for Podcast sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and PodInbox sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Vortex for Podcast ships an update fortnightly, PodInbox every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on October 28, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Vortex for Podcast versus PodInbox: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVortex for PodcastPodInbox
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer恒敏 吴kurihara kazuki

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Vortex for Podcast

One-time3
  • Buy me a Coffee$0.99
  • Buy me a Lunch$2.99
  • Buy me a Feast$5.99
2 purchases

PodInbox

Subscriptions2
  • PodInbox Pro Monthly$2.991 Month
  • PodInbox Pro Yearly$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Vortex for Podcast free?
Vortex for Podcast is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PodInbox free?
PodInbox is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Vortex for Podcast or PodInbox have ads?
Neither Vortex for Podcast nor PodInbox shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Vortex for Podcast or PodInbox?
Vortex for Podcast ships an update fortnightly, and PodInbox every 5 weeks. Most recently, Vortex for Podcast was updated on October 28, 2026 and PodInbox on October 28, 2026.

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