Castria vs PulsarCast
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Automatic ad skipping
- AI episode summaries
- Searchable transcripts
- Tap-to-jump topics
- Offline downloads
- Cross-device syncing
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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.
PulsarCast
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PulsarCast is the podcast app we always wanted: fast, private and focused on listening. Bring your podcasts with you, organize them your way, and listen without ads, trackers or unnecessary clutter. WHY LISTENERS SWITCH • Follow any podcast by search, RSS, private feed or Spotify show link • Import and export OPML so your library stays yours • Organize shows into colored lists and continuous queues • Download new episodes automatically for offline listening • Use Voice Boost, Smart Speed and pitch-corrected playback speed • Navigate chapters, links, sleep timer and configurable skip buttons • Sync your library, queue and progress with an optional passwordless account • Listen on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and CarPlay • Personalize the app with themes, colors, icons and a calmer home screen PRIVATE BY DESIGN PulsarCast has no ads, no third-party trackers and we never sell your data. The core podcast player works without an account. PULSARCAST ULTRA Ultra is optional. It unlocks AI listening tools, personal audio, advanced smart-list automations, web access and deeper customization. With Ultra you can: • Turn articles, links, PDFs and pasted text into listenable episodes • Ask questions about an episode or your whole library • Get summaries, cited links and skippable-section detection • Upload your own audio and listen everywhere • Automate downloads, alerts, queue rules and cleanup • Use the full PulsarCast experience on the web The core podcast player stays free. Ultra is available as an optional auto-renewable monthly or yearly subscription. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel in your Apple Account settings. Privacy Policy: https://pulsarcast.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://pulsarcast.com/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Castria at none against PulsarCast's 3. PulsarCast's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
Both are free to download. PulsarCast sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.00 per month. Castria asks for nothing beyond the download.
Castria ships an update every 2 weeks, PulsarCast every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Castria | PulsarCast |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 47 MB | 38 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Extroverted Developer, LLC | Great Heights Systems S.L. |
In-app purchases
Castria
No in-app purchases
PulsarCast
- PulsarCast Ultra$6.001 Month
- PulsarCast Plus7 Days trial$9.991 Year
- PulsarCast Ultra$60.001 Year









