Comparison

Podcat vs Lysten

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

Lysten

Easily discover and listen to podcasts with a privacy-focused player. Enjoy features like offline listening, interactive widgets, and seamless sharing with friends. Syncs via iCloud for a personal experience.

Highlights
  • Privacy-focused design
  • iCloud sync for progress
  • Offline episode downloads
  • Interactive widgets
  • Sleep timer
  • Adjustable playback speed
  • Spotlight search indexing
Features
Read full description

Start listening in seconds — search for any show, follow it, and get a clean list of episodes ready to play. Share episodes and shows with anyone, whether or not they have the app. iPhone and iPad users get an App Clip that drops them straight into playback. Tap the share button to invite your friends and loved ones. Lysten is a lightweight podcast player. Sign in with your email to keep your followed shows, episodes, and listening progress in sync across all your devices — iPhone, iPad, and CarPlay. Features: - Sync your library and listening progress across devices with a simple email sign-in - Interactive widgets showing your feed and unfinished episodes — catch up where you left off with a tap - Sidebar on iPad with cover art and grouped sections - CarPlay support, including a Continue Listening carousel - Download episodes to listen offline — long press an episode and select Download - Sleep timer, set, enjoy & sleep - Adjustable playback speed - Podcasts and episodes indexed in Spotlight - SharePlay support — listen to episodes with friends and family - Extremely lightweight If you run into any trouble or have any questions, please reach out: - E-mail: support@ambi.se - X (Twitter): @ambiApps - Mastodon: @ambiApps@mastodon.social Privacy policy: https://ambi.se/privacy Terms of use: https://ambi.se/terms

Screenshots

Podcat4 screens
Lysten4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Podcat at 5.0 against Lysten's 4.4. Lysten's advantage is review sentiment (80% vs 68%). On price, ratings volume, update cadence 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 Lysten sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Podcat holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 10 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 68% of Podcat's written reviews are positive against 80% of Lysten's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and August 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Podcat versus Lysten: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPodcatLysten
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better4.4 (10 ratings)
Positive reviews68.2% of reviews80.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings410 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size24 MB44 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJeanette MuellerAmbi Studio AB

Customer experience

Podcat

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews22 reviews
Positive68.2%
Neutral4.5%
Negative27.3%

Lysten

All ratings10 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%

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
2 purchases

Lysten

Subscriptions2
  • Lysten+3 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Lysten+ Yearly7 Days trial$19.991 Year

Questions

Is Podcat free?
Podcat is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lysten free?
Lysten is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Podcat or Lysten?
Podcat is rated higher. Podcat averages 5.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Lysten averages 4.4 from 10 ratings.
Do Podcat or Lysten have ads?
Neither Podcat nor Lysten shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Podcat or Lysten?
Podcat ships an update every 2 months, and Lysten every 2 months. Most recently, Podcat was updated on September 21, 2026 and Lysten on August 16, 2026.

Other comparisons