Player FM — Podcast App Reviews

I absolutely love so many things about PlayerFMPodcastApp and would recommend everyone trying it out for a few weeks. PlayerFMPodcastApp does a great job in helping you discover new podcast and ones that are very much related to the ones you already love. PlayerFMPodcastApp does an amazing job in helping you find new podcast however, there is one problem that is very annoying. It seems very slow in bringing in new episodes. I use a lot of different podcast apps. Player FM is almost always behind in bringing in new episodes. For many people this may not be a big deal but I like getting the new episodes as soon as they drop, this is especially true all of all the news podcasts I subscribe to. I wasn’t able to find anything that indicates how frequently PlayerFMPodcastApp refreshes to find the latest episodes. Also It seems on Apple devices that I am not receiving notifications that new episodes are available. I think Player FM has some very good features and everyone should give it a try. However, getting the new episodes as soon as possible and a good notification system seems to be lacking from PlayerFMPodcastApp currently. Hopefully, some of these issues will be improved soon and then I could enthusiastically offer a 5 star rating.

I am a hardcore podcast listener with over 600 subscriptions in my old pod catcher app, mostly Audiodramas. With so many subscriptions in the same genre, having an app that lets me create lists or groups of PODCASTS is an absolute must. Almost every podcast app has playlists for EPISODES only. I’ve only found ONE other player that had podcast lists. I downloaded 14 other podcast apps before settling on PlayerFM. It has a VERY pleasing aesthetic with podcast groups, tagging, bookmarks, custom themes, and advanced controls. Yet it’s not overwhelming or difficult to use. I bought premium for a month before I commit to a year sub. I really like it so far. This is a beautiful and solid app with great features other apps just do not have.

Edited review:
Developers noted my suggestions so no need to keep them in the review. Had a couple issues but received an update via this review that my issues ticket had been replied to. This was very helpful because my iCloud storage was full. I reached out to dev via a different email and I’m sure I will hear back quickly since the communication issue seemed to be on my end and not theirs. Thanks for the beautiful app.

Update 19 July 2021
Issues listed below are still happening and no response from the developer.

So far it is one of the better podcast apps for the features that do work. But there are some issues. - When listening via Bluetooth, in my case my car, it will loose it’s place in the podcast and start over when the Bluetooth connection breaks then starts. This happens when I leave my car then get back in. It makes me not want to listen via Bluetooth - During play and when the screen is locked (iPhone), PlayerFMPodcastApp will stop playing without touching the phone. It does not appear to have anything to do with emails or other notifications, not sure what is causing it. It happens at different lengths of times. I have to manually restart the podcast.

I happily used and loved PlayerFM for probably around 4 years and had a paid account almost from day 1. But they started putting “sponsored podcasts” (podcasts shown to users after payment to PlayerFM, which realistically are advertisements) in various parts of PlayerFMPodcastApp , including search results. It became too annoying seeing an ad as the first result in EVERY search I did. So I looked around and, much to my surprise, found a podcast app I like more. After 4 years I thought I’d be using PlayerFM until I or the company died, whichever comes first, but the frequent ads where what killed the experience for me. If you don’t mind the ads even with a paid account, it’s a great app and service.

That’s right, this podcast app has bookmarks. I can bookmark any Part of any podcast episode and write a little snippet about that bookmark to help me find it later. Only a few podcast apps have bookmarks. I like the way PlayerFm does bookmarks best. Although, I would like to be able to see all bookmarks in a list without having to click an episode, the way PlayerFMPodcastApp does bookmarks remains the best in my eyes! Here’s to you devs.

The new design/layout makes buttons unpressable/completely disabled in the list view. The play button is almost impossible to press and the three “...” settings button cannot be pressed at all while in list view. This used to only occur with the show on the bottom of the list in the previous version. You now have to open each show individually to gain full functionality of the play/settings buttons.

Why do you make things worst with each update? Regardless of the ‘new’ look... its just a facade to cover up issues you still have not properly addressed.

Also resuming shows STILL does not work as it used to years ago. You still have to play a different show to try ensure your current show resumes from where you let off, what a hassle!

Maple Media deserves an award for taking decent apps and magically turning them into trash. I would suggest looking at Maple Media’s Glassdoor page as well. They treat their employees/devs poorly and seem like an awful company to work for, it truly reflects in quality of their products.

I've used a different podcast catcher for years because it is so easy to use. By using keyword categories, PlayerFMPodcastApp makes it almost as easy, but can smoothly handle a whole lot more feeds at once. I only have a few items on my wishlist:

1. The categories should function as playlists of sorts. I'd like to just hit ”shuffle” and let PlayerFMPodcastApp randomly play unheard episodes from that category.

2. I have a lot of trouble getting whatever I'm playing over bluetooth to resume playing when I get back in the car. I usually listen to something else instead.

3. Any chance of doing monthly or quarterly payment options?

Until you create a version of PlayerFMPodcastApp built directly for the iPad I cannot use it. Merely taking the iPhone version and stretching it out won't do.

Pocketcasts and a host of other podcast apps have special iPad versions. Want to love PlayerFMPodcastApp and it's good on just the iPhone... Just terrible on the iPad. Will have to go back to pocketcasts until it happens I guess. Let us know if such a version is even in the works please. If not I won't bother coming back to check.

I love this podcast app for the ability to make a playlist of episodes to listen to. However, after a recent update, it’s become incredibly hard to organize my playlist by holding and dragging, as this just ends up scrolling through the playlist 75% of the time. Maybe just up and down arrows to help reorder episodes?

Love that there’s Apply CarPlay compatibility now

Having used several podcatchers over the years, PlayerFM was very convenient for its web interface. Sync with my portable didn’t always operate seamlessly, but I could work around it.

When Maple Media bought PlayerFMPodcastApp , they put in place terms of use that are unacceptable to me. Given that there are more highly rated sites offering identical service, it didn’t make sense to stick with them.

I’m currently very happy with Pocket Casts, in part because it’s owned by public broadcasters. It’s an excellent app.

Good selection of podcasts, but I struggled with navigation: lining up playlist items, deleting podcasts, playing continuously etc. I just received a very nice personal explanation from the developers, and am now revising my review to 5 stars from 4. Good stuff, and (now) easy enough to control

This is the best overall podcast app I have used. I have tried all the others I could find and this is the one I use. The playback speed controls are far superior to the others among other features.

PlayerFMPodcastApp will restart your podcast all the time and has a very difficult time saving your place. If you get back in your car, it often restarts your podcast you are listening to all the way from the beginning. It also does not allow you to have custom playing speeds for each podcast. The playlist also doesn’t allow you to customize the play order outside of their preset sort methods.

I loved PlayerFMPodcastApp. It's heartbreaking how much the quality has deteriorated.

Want to sync subscriptions? Prepare to be logged out before it completes. Done listening to an episode and ready for the next? Good luck getting out of the player view without force-quitting PlayerFMPodcastApp . Even after paying for premium support my bug reports go unanswered and the issues continue to pile up.

It's a real shame; this was once a really great app.

I’ve had some issues with glitching audio and controls, and some of the free themes, it’s impossible to see things (reading white on light blue is hard). But, I’m happy to see some podcasts here that I can’t get elsewhere, I’m grateful it has a free option, and I haven’t noticed any ads. I’m very happy I can download for offline use for when I’m out walking. Thank you!

Love PlayerFMPodcastApp! Love that you can (auto)download for offline listening, love that you can heart/love episodes, and it keeps your activity saved to your account! Just had an issue with PlayerFMPodcastApp crashing in iOS 13.2 and their support fixed it right away, amazing! Thank you guys! Keep up the great work!

The best podcasting app with the amazing ability to bookmark anything while listening, make notes and save the spot. Great for when it comes up in conversation later, you can literally go right to the spot where you heard it!

Finding audio material that I would like to hear is easy. I’ve had the service for less than a month and am enjoying the service and availability of material I’m interested in listening to.

Love PlayerFMPodcastApp ! Missing one star because there is no “select all” option for Play Later section. From time to time, I want to clear up all the saved episode in the Play Later section but it is a PAIN to individually select each episode and remove them...

The most annoying feature is the apps inability to screen and remove audio advertisements from a pod cast. Don’t believe the pitifully long and off topic answer shown on PlayerFMPodcastApp ’s FAQs concerning advertising as other apps such as Stitcher when run parallel with is app has NO inserted advertisements.

The next annoyance is the premium service, for example, an inquiry as why a pod cast of such date time and sequence was missing, the reply was, essentially, can you fix it for us.

I love listening to people that are not afraid of Trump. He is a coward that depends on people around him to do his dirty work. He is a fraud and it’s sad to see 30% of Americans believing his lies.

PlayerFMPodcastApp is well designed and works well except for 1 very annoying thing. During the playback if I send the audio to a Chromcast device, the display get garbled, and the only way to restore that is to kill PlayerFMPodcastApp . happens many times a day, super annoying.

Only one I could find that allows organization of podcast subscriptions or library - excellent design that should be recognized as “the best”

I have downloaded and tried literally every podcast player app and this is the best by far!

Works great!

App is good but I have to open and close it multiple times to start playing a podcast

Downloaded it to listen to a podcast that is no longer on Apple Podcasts. Still charged me for a yearly subscription after I deleted PlayerFMPodcastApp . There goes $50 that I couldn’t afford.

Chromecast no longer works with PlayerFMPodcastApp. It connects but nothing will play. Tried out other apps and they work fine with Chromecast.

App constantly crashes when trying to access it ( I’m running latest iOS)

PlayerFMPodcastApp will not work with Siri and Facebook video etc.

Globalists don’t want you to listen to PlayerFMPodcastApp

Seems good