Comparison

Podcat vs Ruby

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

Head to head
About

Podcat

This podcast client offers advanced features for managing and listening to your favorite shows. It supports various chapter marker types and provides community-specific enhancements. Enjoy customizable playback speeds, sleep timers, and intelligent episode sorting.

Highlights
  • Supports Podlove and chapter markers
  • Customizable playback speed per podcast
  • Sleep timer
  • Manual and automatic episode sorting
  • Background downloading of new episodes
  • CarPlay support
Features
Read full description

Podcat 3 is the German podcast reference. You are looking for a Podcatcher that supports Podlove, can display any kind of chapter markers and also offers some special features especially for the German speaking community? Then you are right with the Podcat 2. The Podcat can have different speeds per podcast and has a sleep timer. Episodes can be sorted manually and played accordingly. You can sort podcasts into groups or use automatic groups with search options. For all podcasts, there are a variety of settings that will make your everyday life easier. New episodes are automatically searched for and downloaded in the background. You decide whether to attach them to the playlist or play them directly next. Subscribed but not heard so regularly? Then just do not put the episode into the list. It's your choice. And Carplay? No problem!

About

Ruby

A beautifully designed news reader app offering a personalized home feed based on your chosen topics. Easily discover trending articles, bookmark content for later, and customize your reading experience with language and region settings. Enjoy ad-free content across multiple Apple devices.

Highlights
  • Personalized topic feeds
  • Explore trending articles
  • Bookmark articles for later
  • Customizable region and language
  • Ad-free reading experience
  • iCloud syncing across devices
  • Apple Watch app integration
Features
Read full description

Ruby is a beautifully designed news app for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision. It's built with a familiar design, so it's simple and easy to use and understand. Ruby works great with your devices, and supports iCloud syncing for a seamless experience across all of them. The app itself has a lot of distinct features, such as being able to choose the topic you want to view on your home feed. If you only want to view technology without the politics, you can. Only interested in sports? There's an option for that too. With the explore page, you can also keep up with the latest trends in your region, or make a quick search for whatever you're interested in. Ruby also offers bookmarks, so you can find an article and come back to it later. We also offer customization. You can easily change the country you're in, or the language you prefer to read. The built in news reader is easy to understand, and provides content from your favorite websites, but without the advertisements and other nonsense. Ruby also offers an Apple Watch app, where you can quickly view headlines on your wrist. The Apple Watch app has the same functionality as the iPhone app, so you can easily read headlines of a specific topic, and more. If you want to suggest features for Ruby, contact me on X (Twitter) @mbrkhrdt. I'm open to suggestions, and want to create the best user experience possible!

Screenshots

Podcat4 screens
Ruby4 screens

Verdict

The call

Podcat and Ruby both sit at 5.0 stars, but that hides the real split: 70% of Podcat's written reviews are positive against 50% of Ruby's. Podcat also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 5 months) and iOS requirement (18.6 vs 26.0). Ruby's advantage is device support (5 vs 3). On price, rating, ratings volume 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. Podcat sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per year and Ruby sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $0.69 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Podcat against 5.0 for Ruby. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 4 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 70% of Podcat's written reviews are positive against 50% of Ruby's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Podcat ships an update every 2 months, Ruby every 5 months. Both last shipped on October 16, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Podcat versus Ruby: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPodcatRuby
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews69.8% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings44
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS18.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size24 MB8 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperJeanette MuellerMBRKHRDT LLC

Customer experience

Podcat

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews53 reviews
Positive69.8%
Neutral3.8%
Negative26.4%

Ruby

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Podcat

Subscriptions1
  • Subscription$8.991 Year
One-time3
  • Food donation$1.99
  • Food donation$2.99
  • Food Donation$4.99
9 purchases

Ruby

Subscriptions3
  • Ruby Premium - Weekly7 Days trial$0.697 Days
  • Ruby Premium - Monthly$0.991 Month
  • Ruby Premium - Annual$5.991 Year
One-time6
  • Tip Jar - $0.99$0.99
  • Tip Jar - $1.99$1.99
  • Tip Jar - $2.99$2.99
Show 3 more
  • Tip Jar - $4.99$4.99
  • Tip Jar - $9.99$9.99
  • Ruby Premium - Lifetime$17.99

Questions

Is Podcat free?
Podcat is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ruby free?
Ruby is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Podcat or Ruby?
Podcat and Ruby are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 4 and 4 ratings respectively.
Do Podcat or Ruby have ads?
Neither Podcat nor Ruby shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Podcat or Ruby?
Podcat ships an update every 2 months, and Ruby every 5 months. Most recently, Podcat was updated on October 16, 2026 and Ruby on October 16, 2026.

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