Comparison
A Spotify alternative for podcasts
Listening to podcasts inside a music app is convenient, until you notice that recommendations, ads and listening history all serve the same business model. A dedicated player built on open RSS feeds works fundamentally differently.
The core issue: podcasts are open, platforms are not
Podcasting is one of the last genuinely open publishing formats on the internet. Every show is an RSS feed at a public address; any player can subscribe to it, and nobody has to ask an app vendor for permission. Platforms invert that principle: they put a catalogue between you and the feed, add exclusive titles, and decide what you get to see.
For you as a listener that means three concrete limits: you're bound to the platform's selection, your listening behaviour is analysed, and your subscriptions don't come with you when you leave.
Head to head
| Criterion | Podknow | Platform with a podcast section |
|---|---|---|
| Content source | Any public RSS feed, plus private and password-protected feeds | The platform's catalogue, partly exclusive |
| Account | Not required | Mandatory |
| Listening profile | Statistics stay local on the device | The basis for recommendations and ad targeting |
| Transcripts | Publisher transcripts free, otherwise generated locally | Depends on the show, none generated |
| Taking subscriptions with you | OPML import and export at any time | Usually no OPML export |
| Ads inside the app | None | Depends on your plan |
Ads inside the episodes remain either way. They belong to the podcast, not the player. What differs is the advertising and profiling the app itself adds on top.
What you gain
The full podcast landscape
Small, local and independent shows are reachable over RSS even when they appear in no platform catalogue.
Control over the order
A queue, filters and saved lists instead of a home screen deciding what goes on top.
Proper listening tools
Speed 0.5x–3.0x, custom skip intervals, sleep timer, per-podcast settings, CarPlay and widgets.
No lock-in
Your subscriptions live in an OPML file you own. If Podknow isn't for you, you simply take them along.
What you lose, honestly
An RSS player cannot play exclusives a platform has licensed. If you regularly listen to shows available only there, you'll still need that app. Algorithmic discovery goes away too: you find new shows through search, charts and human recommendations rather than a personalised feed. For many people that's precisely the point, for some a genuine loss.
Separate music from podcasts
The pragmatic route isn't either/or: music stays where it is, podcasts move to a real player. Both run side by side on the same iPhone.
How to move over
- Get your subscription list. Coming from another podcast app, export an OPML file there. For platforms without OPML export, jot the shows down. There are usually fewer than you'd think.
- Install Podknow and start without signing up.
- Import the OPML or subscribe to the shows via search.
- Set up auto-downloads so new episodes arrive over Wi-Fi ahead of time.
- Listen in parallel and decide after a week or two.
Covered step by step in the guide to switching with OPML.
Frequently asked
A Spotify alternative for podcasts
Can I export my subscriptions from Spotify?
Spotify offers no OPML export. You transfer the shows manually once. In Podknow you find them through search and subscribe with a tap.
Do I lose my listening progress when switching?
Yes. Progress belongs to the account of the app you're leaving and can't be transferred. That's true for any switch between podcast apps.
Can Podknow play exclusive podcasts?
Not if they're only available inside a platform. Password-protected and private feeds, from a membership for example, are supported.
Do I need an account?
No. Podknow works without signing up. iCloud sync is optional and uses your existing Apple ID.
Is Podknow really European?
Podknow is developed in Germany and follows European privacy principles: AI on the device, no trackers, no account, no sharing of listening data.
Listen to podcasts. Keep the knowledge.
Podknow is free on the App Store. Add Premium whenever you like.
Free for iPhone & iPad · AI features as a Premium upgrade, subscription optional (lifetime)
Keep reading
Switch podcast apps without losing your subscriptions
A step-by-step guide to moving podcast subscriptions to a new app via OPML, including where each major app hides its export and what doesn't come along.
PrivacyA podcast app without tracking
What podcast apps typically collect, what “no tracking” actually means, and how to spot an app that means it. Including an honest note on what stays visible because of how RSS works.
GuidePodcast transcripts on iPhone
How to get a transcript for any podcast episode, including shows that don't ship one. Three approaches compared, and why on-device transcription is the private option.