Survey: Best Podcast Listening App Features
Aren't all podcast apps the same? Not in the least!
The most used features in podcast apps from our brief July 2026 survey were:
- 52% adjust playback speed
- 48% said "Notifications of new episodes"
- 48% also said they use Chapters
- 44% like the Auto-Delete of completed episodes
- 33% read along with the transcripts
- 26% utilize a Smart Playlist feature
- 25% set a timer
- 18% have their app boost vocals or do loudness normalization
- 14% said micropayments like Boostagrams and streaming sats were important
Jenn Trepeck, Daniel J Lewis, Dave Jackson, and Martin Lindeskog join us for a conversation about these apps and some of the cool features they offer.
Key moments:
(04:53) Most used podcast apps
(07:55) Listening at faster speeds
(09:45) Notifications & auto-delete
(11:47) Smart Playlists
(14:17) The "Bookmark" feature Dave Jackson loves ❤️
(16:28) Uploading mp3s for review
(19:20) Podcast Chapters
(24:40) Transcripts
(35:05) YouTube as a podcast consumption app
(49:18) Why this matters for Podcast Editors
Our Guests:
Daniel J Lewis is a Hall of Fame Inductee, podcasting educator, advocate, and innovator who started podcasting in 2007.
He has created numerous resources for podcasting, such as PodChapters.com and the *Podgagement service to help podcasters supercharge their podcast engagement - and hosts The Audacity To Podcast.
Daniel also co-founded International Podcast Day and is deeply involved in helping innovate the podcasting industry through Podcasting 2.0.
Dave Jackson, also a Hall of Fame Inductee, is Head of Podcasting at Podpage and has been running the School of Podcasting for more than 20 years.
He's spoken at numerous events, ran New Media Expo in 2014, and authored the book "Profit From Your Podcast".
Jenn Trepeck created her own health and wellness enterprise almost 20 years ago and offers Optimal Health Coaching. She also hosts "Salad With a Side of Fries" and authored the book "Uncomplicating Wellness: Ditch the Rules, Quiet the Noise, Reclaim Your Life".
Martin Lindeskog: A blogger since 2002 and podcaster since 2006, Martin is a New Media Advisor at TeaParty.Media and authored "Tea Book Sketches: Ideas And Notions About The Second Most Popular Beverage In The World".
Find all his shows, resources, and send him some Satoshis: https://bio.link/lyceum - or find him on TrueFans.fm: https://truefans.fm/fans/lyceum
☕️ Send Martin a direct message on LinkedIn, or an email message and tell him what you thought about the episode > he will send you a coffee or tea sample, FOC (free of charge).
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Tools we used:
*Riverside.fm to RECORD
We used Riverside to record this episode.
PodChapters.com for Chapters
Of course we had to use PodChapters.com to make chapters for this one!
*Captivate.fm for our podcast MEDIA HOST
Captivate offers amazing features for a low monthly price, including full control of dynamic insertion, embedded chapters, and Blocks/Shortcodes to quickly add content to show notes (either static or dynamically!)
*Use of the above affiliate links may earn us a commission, which is used to support the efforts of this show. Thank you in advance for your support!
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Mentioned in this episode:
The Podcast Editor Academy
Get access to Steve Stewart's 35+ years of small business experience and decade of learning inside the Podcast Editor Academy - PLUS: -Weekly Challenges via email -Windshield University with our Private Podcast -Office Hours
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
