What is Castbox used for?

Castbox is a podcast and audiobook player app for phones, smart speakers and cars, with a creator area for publishing shows. It is a good fit for listening to podcasts in the car and publishing a show to a ready audience.

Is Castbox open source?

No. Castbox is proprietary (closed-source) software and can't be self-hosted. Open-source alternatives to Castbox include Audiobookshelf and AntennaPod.

What are some alternatives to Castbox?

Castbox competes with Pocket Casts, Overcast and Apple Podcasts. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source Castbox alternatives.

Castbox: features, pricing and alternatives

About Castbox

Castbox is a free podcast and audio app with a very large catalog of shows covering topics from true crime and news to sports and society. It is available as mobile apps for iOS and Android and also works with smart speakers, car systems and a web player, and listeners can search, browse top shows and download episodes.

The company says it supports Amazon Alexa, Google Home, CarPlay and Android Auto. A separate section for podcasters lets creators publish and manage their own shows on the platform, while the site also lists a blog, a newsroom and an FAQ.

Castbox is a consumer app and creator platform rather than business software, hosted entirely by the provider. The site describes listening and downloading as free, and no paid plan details are included in the supplied facts.

Key features

Podcast and audiobook playback
Search and top show charts
Episode downloads for offline listening
Support for Alexa, Google Home and CarPlay
Creator tools for podcasters

Good fit for

→Listening to podcasts in the car
→Publishing a show to a ready audience

Tags: podcasts; audiobooks; podcast-player; mobile-app; audio; creators

Castbox: questions and answers

What is Castbox used for?: Castbox is a podcast and audiobook player app for phones, smart speakers and cars, with a creator area for publishing shows. It is a good fit for listening to podcasts in the car and publishing a show to a ready audience.
Is Castbox free?: Yes. Castbox has a free plan.
Is Castbox open source?: No. Castbox is proprietary (closed-source) software and can't be self-hosted. Open-source alternatives to Castbox include Audiobookshelf and AntennaPod.
What are some alternatives to Castbox?: Castbox competes with Pocket Casts, Overcast and Apple Podcasts. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source Castbox alternatives.