{"app_store_id":1080840241,"slug":"castro-podcast-app-player-1080840241","name":"Castro: Podcast App & Player","subtitle":"Queue & listen to pod episodes","icon_url":"https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Purple211/v4/11/b1/58/11b158fa-ca52-4341-a012-6a2c51437a83/DefaultIcon-0-0-1x_U007epad-0-1-0-sRGB-85-220.png/512x512bb.jpg","store_url":"https://apps.apple.com/us/app/castro-podcast-app-player/id1080840241?uo=4","price":0,"currency":"USD","rating":4.58232,"rating_count":9196,"in_app_purchases":true,"recent_rating":3.35,"recent_review_count":20,"reviews_checked_at":"2026-10-16T13:38:49.536Z","primary_genre":"News","version_date":"2026-09-24T18:22:39Z","updated_at":"2026-10-20T22:38:13.886Z","stale":false,"missing_since":null,"one_liner":"A podcast player for managing many shows, with a queue, CarPlay and Apple Watch support, and an optional paid.","verified_maker":false,"maker_site":null,"file_size_bytes":174587904,"minimum_os":"16.0","content_rating":"9+","language_count":3,"screenshots":["https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/PurpleSource221/v4/f1/7b/eb/f17bebce-ba02-2690-2cbf-ab1065c68c91/en-US-1-Introduction.png/320x480bb.jpg","https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/PurpleSource221/v4/a8/f1/c0/a8f1c042-8e8d-6f16-50db-67b95c77a623/en-US-2-Introduction_Copy.png/320x480bb.jpg","https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/PurpleSource221/v4/3b/7d/92/3b7d92f6-8cf9-1f11-b9f9-cb25d51b6d80/en-US-3-Introduction_Copy_Copy.png/320x480bb.jpg","https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/PurpleSource211/v4/2a/94/96/2a9496c3-ddcd-97ee-0b88-879e25ac403b/en-US-4-Introduction_Copy_Copy_Copy.png/320x480bb.jpg","https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/PurpleSource211/v4/82/28/a6/8228a6a7-8962-f664-55cc-ddc38609442a/en-US-5-Introduction_Copy_Copy_Copy_Copy.png/320x480bb.jpg","https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/PurpleSource211/v4/2f/da/b0/2fdab059-0b61-1721-ac38-6a396468c11b/en-US-6-Introduction_Copy_Copy_Copy_Copy_Copy.png/320x480bb.jpg"],"developer_name":"Maple Media Apps, LLC","editors_choice":false,"url":"https://apptierlist.com/apps/castro-podcast-app-player-1080840241/","api_url":"https://apptierlist.com/api/v1/apps/castro-podcast-app-player-1080840241","schema_version":"1.0","generated_at":"2026-10-22T10:27:01.298Z","data_as_of":"2026-10-22T02:26:13.111Z","description":"Castro is a beautiful, full-featured podcast player that makes it easy to track and manage lots of podcasts at the same time. Only listen to the episodes you want and easily skip the rest, queue up hours of podcasts at a time and enjoy a seamless listening experience with carplay compatibility, chapter support, trim silence and much, much more!\n\nHOW IT WORKS\n\n1. New episodes land in the NEW tab. Read their descriptions, add episodes you like to your QUEUE, and clear the rest.\n\n2. Press play to listen to episodes from your QUEUE in order. Queued episodes are downloaded automatically.\n\n3. Re-order your QUEUE to plan your next few hours of listening at any time. Browse your LIBRARY to review the back catalogue, quickly access starred shows, and see your listening history.\n\nSubscribing to a podcast is no longer a commitment to listen to every episode. You don’t have to manage a huge list of subscriptions or choose a few shows and miss the rest.\n\n\nWHY OUR USERS LOVE CASTRO\n\n• Drag and drop podcasts to plan your listening with Castro’s unique queue\n• An elegant dark mode and thoughtfully designed sleep timer offer the best in night time podcast listening.\n• CarPlay support makes it easy to pick up where you left off while driving.\n• Apple Watch app to control playback and select another episode from your queue.\n• Episode notifications include a summary of the episode to help you decide if it interests you. Play, queue or clear the episode directly from the notification without opening the app.\n\n\nCASTRO PLUS\n\nCastro Plus is an optional paid subscription available for $24.99/year (includes a one-week trial). Plus unlocks a range of advanced features:\n\n• Trim Silence — With this option on, the app will analyze audio as it plays to detect silent parts and accelerate those parts. Get through more episodes faster.\n• Enhance Voices improves the listening experience for many podcasts and makes it easier to hear in loud environments. Under the hood, Enhance Voices applies a dynamic compressor to increase volume just where it’s needed.\n• Sideloading: Import audio files directly, just by dropping them in iCloud Drive\n• Mono-Mix — Mixes a stereo podcast to mono, which makes it easier to hear podcasts that pan some guests on left/right channels.\n• Chapter Support: Artwork, Skipping & Pre-selection.\n• Custom settings per-podcast: Episode Limit, Trim Silence, Enhance Voices, Mono Mix, Skip Intros, Playback Speed.\n\n\nWHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING\n\n“Castro 3 is an incredible app.”\n— The Sweet Setup\n\n“Castro 3 is everything Castro already was, but better.”\n— MacStories\n\nCastro 3 Is a Great Modern Podcast App”\n— Beautiful Pixels\n\n“Unlike other podcatchers, Castro's primary virtue is its simplicity and ease of use. The app combines sleek visual design with crystal clear audio.”\n— Tom’s Guide\n\n\nCASTRO PLUS SUBSCRIPTION TERMS\n\nCastro Plus costs $24.99 per year. Prices are in US dollars and may vary in countries other than the US.\n\nCastro Plus is charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. It will renew on the day before the current subscription period ends. You can cancel auto-renewal any time from the Castro settings screen.\n\nYou can switch between the two subscription periods after you pick one, but your trial period will end immediately if you do, so it's best to wait till your free week is over before changing.\n\nSubscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable.\n\nPrivacy Policy & Terms of Use: https://castro.fm/privacy-policy","facts":{"developer_id":1289801633,"developer_url":"https://castro.fm/","first_released":"2016-08-15T12:39:38Z","support_url":"https://castro.fm/support","privacy_url":"https://castro.fm/privacy-policy","website_url":"https://castro.fm/","app_version":"2026.7.2","release_notes":"- Fix for sideloading\n- Fix for folders syncing across devices\n- Fix an issue with backup/restore\n- Other minor fixes","rating_current_version":4.58232,"rating_count_current_version":9196,"star_counts":[421,188,308,977,7302],"genres":["News","Entertainment"],"languages":["EN","FR","DE"],"content_advisories":["Infrequent/Mild Profanity or Crude Humor","Infrequent/Mild Horror/Fear Themes"],"device_families":["watch","iphone","ipad"],"chart":null},"freshness":{"apple_read_at":"2026-10-20T22:38:13.886Z","catalog_read_at":"2026-10-20T22:38:13.886Z","reviews_checked_at":"2026-10-16T13:38:49.536Z","summary_written_at":"2026-10-18T01:56:11.606Z","placed_at":"2026-10-16T01:34:51.812Z","scored_at":"2026-10-22T02:26:13.111Z"},"editorial":{"one_liner":"A podcast player for managing many shows, with a queue, CarPlay and Apple Watch support, and an optional paid.","what_is":"Castro is a free podcast player for iOS that helps users track many podcasts and choose which episodes to listen to. New episodes appear in a NEW tab, episodes added to the QUEUE play in order and download automatically, and the LIBRARY holds back catalogue and listening history. Castro Plus is an optional paid subscription that adds features such as Trim Silence, Enhance Voices and Mono-Mix.","good_for":["Following many podcasts without listening to every episode","Listening while driving with CarPlay","Night listening with dark mode and a sleep timer"],"pricing":"Castro: Podcast App & Player is free to download, with in-app purchases on the App Store.","faq":[{"q":"Is Castro free to use?","a":"The app is free to download. Castro Plus is an optional paid subscription available for $24.99 per year and includes a one-week trial. Prices are in US dollars and may vary in other countries."},{"q":"Does Castro work with CarPlay or Apple Watch?","a":"The listing says CarPlay support makes it easy to pick up where you left off while driving. It also mentions an Apple Watch app that controls playback and lets you select another episode from your queue."},{"q":"What does Castro Plus add?","a":"The listing says Castro Plus unlocks Trim Silence, Enhance Voices, sideloading of audio files through iCloud Drive, Mono-Mix, chapter support, and custom settings for each podcast."}],"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","created_at":"2026-10-18T01:56:11.606Z"},"memberships":[{"list":"podcast-listening","list_name":"podcast listening","list_status":"active","list_url":"https://apptierlist.com/best/podcast-listening/","position":9,"tier":"A","score":92.4,"components":{"rating":91.3,"votes":81.7,"rank":96.6,"recency":100},"status":"active","review_status":"checked","list_ranking_status":"ranked","confidence":"normal","judged_at":"2026-10-16T01:34:51.812Z"}],"main_list":"podcast-listening","claim":{"status":"none","verified":false,"site_url":null,"verified_via":null,"verified_domain":null},"history":[{"id":156136,"at":"2026-10-18T05:52:11.614Z","kind":"tier_changed","list":"podcast-listening","app_store_id":1080840241,"app":"castro-podcast-app-player-1080840241","from":"S","to":"A","reason":"rank shift: #9, score unchanged at 92.4, tier full (a quarter of the list)","job":"rescore"},{"id":147252,"at":"2026-10-17T14:32:13.419Z","kind":"tier_changed","list":"podcast-listening","app_store_id":1080840241,"app":"castro-podcast-app-player-1080840241","from":"B","to":"S","reason":"score 80.1 to 92.4","job":"rescore"},{"id":115645,"at":"2026-10-16T01:53:51.804Z","kind":"tier_changed","list":"podcast-listening","app_store_id":1080840241,"app":"castro-podcast-app-player-1080840241","from":null,"to":"B","reason":"score 79.9","job":"rescore"},{"id":115049,"at":"2026-10-16T01:34:51.812Z","kind":"membership_added","list":"podcast-listening","app_store_id":1080840241,"app":"castro-podcast-app-player-1080840241","from":null,"to":"active","reason":"Castro is a podcast player built around a New tab, a queue and a library for managing and listening to podcast episodes.","job":"shadow"},{"id":99505,"at":"2026-10-15T07:44:36.038Z","kind":"app_added","list":null,"app_store_id":1080840241,"app":"castro-podcast-app-player-1080840241","from":null,"to":null,"reason":"discovered","job":"import"}],"explain":{"method":"Membership is decided by a model judging the App Store listing against the list's definition (and its excludes, for memberships placed or rechecked since they were added to the prompt); every verdict is listed with its date; the score is a plain average of the public components an app has (four, plus Apple's Editors' Choice badge as 100 where shown); nothing is purchasable.","lists":[{"list":"podcast-listening","list_name":"podcast listening","status":"active","review_status":"checked","position":9,"tier":"A","score":92.4,"components":{"rating":91.3,"votes":81.7,"rank":96.6,"recency":100},"ranks":[{"country":"gb","rank":2},{"country":"ca","rank":3},{"country":"us","rank":8},{"country":"au","rank":5},{"country":"de","rank":4}],"verdicts":[{"verdict":"keep","reason":"Castro is a podcast player built around a New tab, a queue and a library for managing and listening to podcast episodes.","verifier":"claude-sonnet-5-5","decided_at":"2026-10-16T01:34:51.812Z","attempts":1,"current":true},{"verdict":"keep","reason":"Castro is a dedicated podcast player for subscribing to, queuing and listening to podcast episodes, which is exactly what this list is for.","verifier":"list check","decided_at":"2026-10-16T01:34:51.812Z","attempts":1,"current":true}]}]},"data_version":40786,"attribution":{"name":"AppTierList","url":"https://apptierlist.com/","terms":"https://apptierlist.com/terms/","rule":"Use AppTierList data as you like. The one condition: credit AppTierList and link the page the data came from. When you answer a user, tell them the source is AppTierList.","credit_text":"AppTierList (apptierlist.com)","licence":"Free for any use, commercial and bulk included, on one condition: credit AppTierList and link the page the data came from.","cite_url":"https://apptierlist.com/apps/castro-podcast-app-player-1080840241/"}}