Well, crap. This feels like the first sign that the app is going to die when it doesn't get enough money out of this price hike.
What's a good open alternative?
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Well, crap. This feels like the first sign that the app is going to die when it doesn't get enough money out of this price hike.
What's a good open alternative?
I mean Pocket Casts is already open source. If they end support for it, you can just fork it.
https://blog.pocketcasts.com/2022/10/19/pocket-casts-mobile-apps-are-now-open-source/
Yeah, this seems like a steep increase. I can't imagine they're expecting many folks to actually pay this amount.
I like podcast republic. Lots of control.
Holy shit that price is just insane. No one is going to be willing to pay that when Spotify is cheaper by a lot...
Do people really use Spotify for podcasts? I don't find it a great experience. Pocket Casts seems to be solid as a free app along with other alternatives (including open-source).
I'm pretty sure the only people who use Spotify for podcasts are unvaccinated Roganites
Spotify is 10 a month for a normal subscription, so Pocket Casts is roughly a third of that for one year. I don't like Spotify for podcasts at all but it is a big part of the service nowadays. Still awfully expensive for Pocket Casts when you consider that it is just for podcasts and no music - unlike Spotify.
You don't need to pay for the subscription to use PocketCasts for podcasts. There is a free version that does everything you would need it to.
I personally have lifetime plus due to having bought the app early on. I still use it regularly but don't use the fancy web interface.
Remember when they went back on their promise that the $10 would be permanent premium? Then went on a rant about how they shouldn't honor those purchases. I stopped using them right then and there, even if I was grandfathered in.
Ya I bought the lifetime subscription years ago when they still offered it so I'm basically grandfathered into that thankfully. Idk if I could justify a recurring subscription for a podcast app.
I had bought it outright so I have the "lifetime subscription" after the uproar when the introduced this subscription model. This rate hike has me a little worried though they may go back on that and force purchasers to pony up for the subscription as well to get short term profits up (albeit at a reduced rate for like 3 months or so, as is standard with this sort of thing).
Eh I doubt it. We are a dying breed at this point π
Over 200% markup in a single pricing change, yeesh
You think they'd gradually ease people into it at least. This app is always on something
This is kinda odd timing.
I just started using AntennaPod on Monday since I want to switch to FOSS apps as much as possible and also deleted my PocketCasts account completely.
It sucks that there is no such account in my Google Podcasts app, but uninstalled that too. AntennaPod, FTW!
I was surprised to learn that the Pocket Casts apps are open-source (Android GitHub, iOS GitHub).
This is for the older version though, IIRC
Edit: Ah, it seems I missed Automattic acquiring Pocket Casts. Would make sense they're open source, since Automattic is a fully open source company.
AntennaPod
As a (now former) Pocketcasts user, I thank you for letting me know about AntennaPod!
Used to love pocket casts but I switched to antennapod after they basically changed the whole app into something that made no sense to me.
Would never pay a subscription to listen to podcasts personally.
You inspired me to look at antennapod and within 10 minutes pocket casts was uninstalled.
Been using pocket casts since the beginning but starting to get fed up with apps wanting more and more of my money.
It's a good app especially for free. It did take me a week or so to adjust and customise it how I like things but it does the job pretty well.
I'm one of the people who doesn't listen to podcasts very much and therefore doesn't need any extended features that would require me to pay for an app.
As long as the app has a play/pause button, and rewind/fast forward buttons, then that's all I need lol
I left pocket casts before they went the sub model. antennapod is my app of choice and works perfectly.
I'm grandfathered into pocketcasts+ so it's free.
I use the app for hours everyday and if it wasn't free I'd be on another app...
Holy crap. That is a lot! Thank goodness I got that lifetime way back when.
What does it even add? A desktop app and themes for $40
The value for the price doesn't seem there to me..
Edit: existing subscribers seem to be grandfathered in at their usual price.
It was fine at $10 because you could sync with desktop.
At $40 it's stupid, plus I already switched to Google podcasts which is at least as good since they changed the ui.
Try Podcast Republic. It has multi-device syncing and a lot of other great options.
Just imported all my podcasts into AntennaPod to give it a go. I found that it also supports sync via Nextcloud which I absolutely need because I often listen on multiple devices and I want to pick up where I left.
Good to see alternatives, because that's one of the main reasons I bought the lifetime subscription back in the day. I also used the trim silence feature, but I can do without that.
I'm still sitting here with DoggCatcher. Not exactly a pretty app, feels like an app from more than 10 years ago, as it hasn't really changed since then.
But it does what I want it to, with some minor hiccups one in a blue moon. Hasn't frustrated me to the point where I feel like switching.
And while it's not pretty, it does work.
Look at AntennaPod. Pretty app like Pocket Casts but is completely free and open source.
Thatβs quite the price jump. I wonder why itβs such a severe jump.
Who pays this much for podcast player? I'm happy I'm grandfathered in since it's launch. I love it, I paid for the full version, but recurring payments? No, thank you.
This is kinda odd timing.
I just started using AntennaPod on Monday since I want to switch to FOSS apps as much as possible and also deleted my PocketCasts account completely.
It sucks that there is no such account in my Google Podcasts app, but uninstalled that too. AntennaPod, FTW!
I have a lifetime pass from paying for the web version back in the day but honestly it's super worth it. It's still the best podcast app/website ever.
Their recent addition to support wearOS made me consider a subscription (wearOS version requires subscription). Until youtube music recently added support for podcasts, so I didn't bother although I can't say the podcast feature in youtube music is all that good so far but it will let episodes get downloaded to my watch.