Comparison

Flowist vs opencast

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

Head to head
About

Flowist

Features
Read full description

Flowist is a fast, personal RSS reader for following news, blogs, and independent websites in one calm timeline. Add a site name or URL and Flowist discovers available RSS or Atom feeds—no account or algorithmic recommendations required. Read comfortably with a clean article view, inline images, adjustable typography, light, dark, and dim themes, and smooth full-screen navigation. Organize sources into folders, mark everything read, save favorites or Read Later, and search across your library. Key features: • RSS and Atom feed discovery by site name or URL • Clean full-article reader with inline images • Unread, Favorites, and Read Later views • Feed folders and health status • Search by title, summary, or article content • OPML import and export • iCloud sync for feeds, folders, and reading state • Offline Read Later snapshots • Adjustable typeface, text size, and spacing • Light, dark, and dim themes Flowist keeps you in control of what you read. Your sources stay yours.

About

opencast

A native podcast client focused on direct RSS listening. Subscribe to shows, manage your library, and stream episodes with customizable playback controls. The app is open source and designed for a clutter-free listening experience.

Highlights
  • Direct RSS feed subscription
  • Podcast library management
  • Episode playback with progress saving
  • Customizable playback controls
  • iCloud sync for subscriptions and progress
  • Open source code
Features
Read full description

opencast finds the ad breaks in your podcasts and skips them. It is also yours. There is no opencast account, no tracking SDK, and no ads of our own. Subscriptions and listening progress sync through your private iCloud, any RSS feed works, and the source code is MIT-licensed on GitHub. The whole app stays around 10 MB. Transcripts are made on your device with Apple Speech or Whisper. Follow along as the episode plays and tap any line to jump there. Search everything ever said across your library. Generate chapters and a summary for long episodes. Voice Boost is a broadcast-style leveler for quiet hosts and loud rooms. ~how ad skipping works~ Download an episode and your phone transcribes it. opencast checks the transcript for promo and sponsor reads and marks every break on the timeline and in the transcript. High-confidence breaks skip automatically. Borderline sponsor reads are marked but never skipped, so you decide. Queue a batch, keep listening, and get one notification when detection finishes. Detection works from the transcript text, not the audio. ~what the app can do for you~ • Skips ad breaks automatically, with one-tap undo • Transcripts on device, with tap-to-seek and follow-along highlighting • Full-text search across titles, notes, and transcripts in your library • Generated chapters and summaries for episodes with a transcript • Voice Boost, speed, sleep timer, AirPlay, and Up Next • Per-show intro and outro skip • CarPlay and Siri integration • New-episode notifications with no promotions inside • Search the podcast directory or subscribe by RSS URL • OPML import and export • Downloads for offline listening • Private iCloud sync for subscriptions and progress • Native SwiftUI for iOS 26, on iPhone and iPad ~optional and paid~ On-device transcription and ad skipping are free. Remote Transcription and Chapters & Summary are optional and use transcription hours: the first hour is free, then 20 hours for $0.99 or 100 hours for $4.99, in the US. Remote Transcription processes episode audio only for the jobs you request. Chapters & Summary sends transcript text, never audio. You see the estimate and your balance before anything starts. Remote transcription and summaries are offered at-cost. opencast is open source under the MIT license: https://github.com/connlark/opencast Your listening is not a growth funnel.

Screenshots

Flowist4 screens
opencast4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Flowist at none against opencast's 2. Flowist also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 27.0). opencast's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 10 days vs monthly). On price 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. opencast sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Flowist asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Flowist ships an update monthly, opencast every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Flowist versus opencast: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFlowistopencast
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—75.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—4 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 10 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better27.0
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB71 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperMEHMET RECEP ESERConnor Larkin

In-app purchases

None

Flowist

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

opencast

One-time2
  • 20 Transcription Hours$0.99
  • 100 Transcription Hours$4.99

Questions

Is Flowist free?
Flowist is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is opencast free?
opencast is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Flowist or opencast have ads?
Flowist shows ads; opencast does not.
Which is updated more often, Flowist or opencast?
Flowist ships an update monthly, and opencast every 10 days. Most recently, Flowist was updated on September 20, 2026 and opencast on September 19, 2026.

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