Overcast podcast app
Hacker ApprovedRanked 2 of 4 podcast apps by recommenders
Recommended as a polished, well-crafted podcast app with strong playback features like Smart Speed and per-podcast speeds. Most common caveat: the interface feels illogical and not native.
Recommended as a polished, well-crafted podcast app with strong playback features like Smart Speed and per-podcast speeds. Most common caveat: the interface feels illogical and not native.
20 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 17
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 85%
Recommended in 11 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 17 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 5.7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 11 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Smart Speed and per-podcast speeds
“Smart Speed has saved you 419 hours beyond speed adjustments alone”
Comment from 4 Aug 2026 in “There Will Come Soft Rains [pdf]” “which in some ways is even better than the raw speedup”
Comment from 19 May 2026 in “New accessibility features powered by Apple Intelligence” “Overcast has per-podcast default speeds.”
Comment from 18 Mar 2026 in “Chrome extension adjusts video speed based on how fast the speaker is talking” Attention to detail and craftsmanship
“there is an attention to detail and craftsmanship, not to mention soul”
Comment from 14 Oct 2026 in “Ask HN: What is the current trajectory of a senior engineer?” “I still think Overcast is nicer to use than Antenna Pod.”
Comment from 25 Jan 2026 in “Google confirms 'high-friction' sideloading flow is coming to Android” Finds new podcasts through ads
“I found his ads good and I found other interesting podcasts because of it.”
Comment from 19 Dec 2025 in “2026 Apple introducing more ads to increase opportunity in search results” “I've found a lot of useful podcasts from the ads.”
Comment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Android now stops you sharing your location in photos” Used daily on phone
“Those are easily two of the absolute best and most used apps on my phone.”
Comment from 3 May 2026 in “Six Years Perfecting Maps on WatchOS” “I'm ok with the app as my daily podcast driver right now”
Comment from 21 Apr 2026 in “Tim Cook to become Apple Executive Chairman”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Interface feels illogical or non-native
“Overcast more and more looks like some kind of slapped together non native app”
Comment from 21 Apr 2026 in “Tim Cook to become Apple Executive Chairman” “fixing the UX abomination that Overcast has become”
Comment from 21 Apr 2026 in “Tim Cook to become Apple Executive Chairman” “I've always found its UI completely illogical.”
Comment from 2 Mar 2026 in “Anthropic Cowork feature creates 10GB VM bundle on macOS without warning”
Other podcast apps people recommend
The three most recommended other podcast apps, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AntennaPod | 18 | 0 | 100% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Overcast podcast appThis page | 17 | 3 | 85% | 11 | — | Approved |
| Apple Podcasts | 10 | 27 | 27% | 5 | — | — |
| Pocket Casts | 9 | 2 | 82% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
20 of the 25 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“there is an attention to detail and craftsmanship, not to mention soul”
“No Paprika. No Overcast. No Spotify.”
“Smart Speed has saved you 419 hours beyond speed adjustments alone”
“ads on podcasts are really easy to skip”
“tell it to open Overcast and play the new Gastropod episode”
“which in some ways is even better than the raw speedup”
“Those are easily two of the absolute best and most used apps on my phone.”
“Overcast more and more looks like some kind of slapped together non native app”
“I'm ok with the app as my daily podcast driver right now”
“I like Overcast, it would be great if i could see the latest episodes on the front page”
“fixing the UX abomination that Overcast has become”
“I've found a lot of useful podcasts from the ads.”
“Overcast has per-podcast default speeds.”
“I've always found its UI completely illogical.”
“switched to Overcast instead”
“I still think Overcast is nicer to use than Antenna Pod.”
“I have had showstopper problems with Overcast that made me move to Apple's Podcasts app”
“It’s written and maintained by indie dev Marco Arment”
“I found his ads good and I found other interesting podcasts because of it.”
“I thought that was a great service.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.