Best private podcast app: listener apps and host apps

Best private podcast app: host apps or the apps staff already use

The best private podcast app for staff is the free Castos app when the show sits on Castos Growth, $49 a month, billed monthly, as read on October 18, 2026, or on a higher plan; otherwise it is the podcast app people already have, given a personal feed. A private feed is the web address a podcast app reads to find a show's episodes, made for one listener.

The Castos mobile app

Castos's app page says the app is included on Growth and up, while one answer on the same page says anyone added to a show on a Growth or Pro plan can use it; both start it on Growth.

The app is free on the App Store and Google Play. A listener enters an email address and a one-time code, and the app follows your private subscriber list, so people you remove cannot listen. Publishing sends a push notification, and offline listening is off until the creator turns it on. The app serves Castos private shows only.

Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts and Overcast with a private feed

Castos says each private subscriber's feed works in Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts and most other podcast apps; each app's own pages give the step. On iPhone, Apple's User Guide says to tap Follow a Show by URL, enter the address and tap Follow, and the address must be a valid podcast RSS feed. On a Mac, choose File, then Follow a Show by URL.

Pocket Casts' help center says to copy a private RSS feed address and paste it into the search bar on the Podcasts or Discover screen. Overcast's page for podcasters says listeners subscribe by entering a feed URL, and feeds it recognizes as private are excluded from search and recommendations.

Podbean Pro, Transistor's player and Spotify

Podbean says its Pro app is "specifically designed to play secure private audio and video podcasts on the go." Podbean's help center says a member without a Podbean account is emailed a login, and members listen in the Pro app or on the Podbean site.

Transistor gives each subscriber a website player and an email notice for each new episode, and its features page lists Apple Podcasts, Overcast and Pocket Casts among apps that accept private feeds.

Spotify's help describes Open Access as its route for private and paid feeds and lists Hello Audio, Supercast, Supporting Cast and Transistor among its platforms; Castos is not on that list. It does not say whether Spotify's app takes a pasted private feed address. Does Spotify allow private podcasts has the detail.

Which app to plan for when you choose a host

Choose by how staff will listen. Castos Growth or higher gives an app that follows your subscriber list; Castos on any plan or Transistor gives a personal feed for apps that accept one; Podbean gives one host app.

Pick Podbean when one host app with a company sign-in matters more than a feed in staff's own app, and Transistor for a website player, email notices and Spotify through Open Access. Castos private podcast covers feeds, app and caps, and private podcast hosting for employees covers access and removal.

The Castos app comes with Growth and every plan above it, and Growth or Pro can be tried for 14 days with a card added at the start; the card is not charged until the 14 days are up.