20 Open-source Free Self-hosted Podcasting Clients and Players
What is a self-hosted podcast server?
A self-hosted podcast server is a standalone system that hosts and manages podcast files.
It allows the user to have full control and ownership over their content, eliminating the need for a third-party service.
Use-cases
Use cases include content creators who want more control over their content distribution, businesses aiming for a more personalized branding and user experience, or any user interested in decentralization and privacy.
On the other hand, a podcast client is an application or software used to access, download, and listen to podcasts.
It offers functionalities such as play, pause, download, and track management. Use cases can range from casual listeners who want access to their favorite podcasts from any device and location, to power users looking for advanced features such as variable playback speed, custom playlists, and more.
1. Podgrab
Podgrab is a free and open-source self-hosted podcast manager, downloading and archiver. It also includes a built-in player.
Features
- Download/Archive complete podcast
- Auto-download new episodes
- Tag/Label podcasts into groups
- Download on demand
- Podcast Discovery - Search and Add podcasts using iTunes API
- Full-fledged podcast player - Play downloaded files or stream from original source. Play single episodes, full podcasts and podcast groups(tags)
- Add using direct RSS feed URL / OMPL import / Search
- Basic Authentication
- Existing episode file detection - Prevent re-downloading files if already present
- Easy OPML import/export
- Customizable episode names
- Dark Mode
- Self Hosted / Open Source
- Docker support
Install using Docker
Simple setup without mounted volumes (for testing and evaluation)
docker run -d -p 8080:8080 --name=podgrab akhilrex/podgrabBinding local volumes to the container
docker run -d -p 8080:8080 --name=podgrab -v "/host/path/to/assets:/assets" -v "/host/path/to/config:/config" akhilrex/podgrabUsing Docker-Compose
Modify the docker compose file provided here to update the volume and port binding and run the following command
version: "2.1"
services:
podgrab:
image: akhilrex/podgrab
container_name: podgrab
environment:
- CHECK_FREQUENCY=240
# - PASSWORD=password ## Uncomment to enable basic authentication, username = podgrab
volumes:
- /path/to/config:/config
- /path/to/data:/assets
ports:
- 8080:8080
restart: unless-stopped docker-compose up -d
akhilrex2. Audiobookshelf
Audiobookshelf is a free self-hosted audiobook and podcast server.
Features
- Fully open-source, including the android & iOS app (in beta)
- Stream all audio formats on the fly
- Search and add podcasts to download episodes w/ auto-download
- Multi-user support w/ custom permissions
- Keeps progress per user and syncs across devices
- Auto-detects library updates, no need to re-scan
- Upload books and podcasts w/ bulk upload drag and drop folders
- Backup your metadata + automated daily backups
- Progressive Web App (PWA)
- Chromecast support on the web app and android app
- Fetch metadata and cover art from several sources
- Chapter editor and chapter lookup (using Audnexus API)
- Merge your audio files into a single m4b
- Embed metadata and cover image into your audio files (using Tone)
- Basic ebook support and ereader
- Epub, pdf, cbr, cbz
- Send ebook to device (i.e. Kindle)
- Open RSS feeds for podcasts and audiobooks
advplyr3. Astropod
Astropod is a free, open-source, serverless podcast solution that supports various deployment services and audio hosting options. It includes a customizable, easily deployable website with a personalized domain and a user-friendly CMS for straightforward podcast management.
manuelernestog4- Escapepod
EscapePod is not just another podcast manager, it's a standalone, self-hosted solution that comes with a sleek, modern frontend web interface. It proudly includes a built-in player and a robust API for mobile applications, demonstrating its versatility and adaptability.
rphillips5. Castopod
Castopod is a free and open-source solution for podcasting 2.0, allowing users to self-host podcasts, maintain control over their content, and communicate with their audience without intermediaries.
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6. Bokskog
Bokskog is a simple self-hosted audiobook streaming service that allows streaming to your favorite podcast app.
kaller017. miniCast
miniCast is a free and open-source web-based podcasts player that is written using PHP, and Clojure.
AppMini8. Selfpod
Selfpod is a free, open-source, self-hosted app for podcast owners and authors that automatically duplicates their podcasts to YouTube.
The app receives a webhook from a cast, downloads the audio and cover files, creates a video from these files using ffmpeg, generates a YouTube description from the RSS feed, and uploads the video to YouTube.
VovaStelmashchuk9. Tape Drive
Tape Drive is a self-hosted podcast client focused on long-term storage of episodes. It organizes subscribed podcasts on disk with a robust naming scheme and includes available metadata such as shownotes, episode and season numbering.
Note that the app is still in active development.
Features
- Aesthetically pleasing presentation of podcasts, episodes, and their metadata
- Fully responsive web-UI with distinctively unexcited behavior (no fancy animations, clean look, etc.)
- Automatic episode downlodas for subscribed podcasts, including downloading the back catalog
- Storage according to a robust and human-readable naming scheme, including shownotes metadata
- Manually initiated episode downloads possible
- Ability to efficiently fetch multi-page feeds
- Easy to deploy using Docker.
janw10. Podcatcher
This open-source free app is privacy-focused, self-hosted podcatcher.
Features
- Self hostable
- Privacy oriented
- No data or usage collection
- Proxy and cache podcast feeds to reduce your traffic to data collecting feed and media servers.
- Per episode artwork is supported
- Supports streaming audio files (e.g. seek to any part of a podcast)
- OPML Import & Export
- Import your current subscriptions from another app
- Export subscriptions to podsumer feeds for use in your mobile or other podcast app.
- Single file library (optional)
- Easily move and migrate your library via a single SQLite DB file.
- Avoid file permissions headches in docker
- Save media to disk (optional)
- If you prefer to store audio and images on disk instead of in the database.
- Faster backups for very large libraries.
- Automatic feed refresh
- Original feeds checked for updates when proxied feeds are queried.
- Codebase contains zero 3rd-party dependencies.
- Content focused UI
joshwbrick11. Pinepods
PinePods is a Python-based podcast management system that allows users to play, download, and track podcasts. It features a modern UI, multi-user support, and a search function using The Podcast Index. All data, including user settings and podcast episodes, are stored in a MySQL database.
The system is fully self-hosted and dockerized, with options for using a hosted API or a personal one. Multiple themes are also available.
madeofpendletonwool12. Local Podcasts
Local Podcasts is a self-hosted podcast manager that allows you to download and save the full history of a podcast on a local server for quick access. However, it only saves podcasts on the local server and does not provide offline or remote access outside of your home network.
nathanamorin13. Hedgehog
Hedgehog is an authoritative podcast player and organizer, boasting a terminal-based user interface.
Features
- Terminal-based user interface
- Comprehensive tool for managing RSS feeds
- Automatic updates
- Episode tracking
- Online search for new feeds
- Flexible theming
- Configurable keybindings
- Integration with external programs via MPRIS
- Mouse support in the terminal-based UI
- Subscription management and automatic feed updates
- Resume playback feature
- Built-in themes
- Status reporting through MPRIS
- Mouse actions for playback control, navigation, episode and feed selection
poletaevvlad14. Svelte Podcast
Svelte-Podcast is a toolset for building custom podcast sites with Svelte, offering components for creating custom audio players, managing audio state, and tracking user preferences.
It simplifies state management in Svelte apps and will soon provide SSR utilities for consuming RSS podcast feeds.
Features
- 🔊 Load and play audio files via URL or local files
- 🔃 Navigate via client-side routing while audio continues to play
- 🎛️ Simpler control over audio playback:
- Seek to a specific time
- skip forward ﹢ backward
- play ﹢ pause
- mute ﹢ unmute
- 🛟 Save and load a users progress for each episode in localStorage
- 💾 Save and load a users preferences (like playback speed) in localStorage
- ﹢ volume
- ﹢ playback speed
- 🖼️ Inject episode metadata into the audio store for ea
15. PodKatch
PodKatch is a free and open-source podcast app for Windows, macOS, and Linux, with PodKatch currently in development. They allow users to subscribe to, download, and listen to podcasts.
StaticallyTypedRice16. Shikwasa
Shikwasa is a web audio player designed specifically for podcasts, offering features common to podcasts that are not supported by traditional music players.
Features
- 🚀 Ultra lightweight
- 🐣 Dependency free
- 🎬 Podcast chapters
- 🏎 Playback speed control
- 🎮 Skip forward/backward
- 👓 Accessibility-aware
- 🌙 Dark Mode
- 📻 Audio stream support
- 💻 SSR compatible
jessuni17. Winds
Winds is an open-source RSS and Podcast app built with React & Redux and Express.js. It offers a free hosted version or can be customized on a personal server.
It utilizes Stream for activity feeds and discovery, Algolia for search, AWS for hosting, MongoDB Atlas for a hosted database, and SendGrid for email.
GetStream18. Santamonica
The Santamonica app is a simple Zola-based podcast website designed for fans of self-hosting. It features static generation, RSS support, support for static pages like 'About', content in markdown files, a 'Read more' feature, and a native HTML audio player.
Features
- Statically generated
- RSS support
- Support for static pages (eg. About page)
- Content in markdown files
- "Read more" feature
- Native HTML
<audio>player - Simple, responsive CSS based only on normalize.css
- Easily customisable
- No JS
- Zola is the only third-party dependency used
sirodoht19. Simple Podcasting
Simple Podcasting for WordPress allows users to easily set up multiple podcast feeds using built-in WordPress posts. It includes a podcast block and podcast transcript block for the WordPress block editor.
Podcasts can be published on a WordPress site and made available for listeners in Apple Podcasts and through direct feed links for other podcasting apps.
10up20. VerbaCap
VerbaCap is a Podcast Manager that allows users to download and listen to their favorite podcasts in a centralized manner. It utilizes Django to facilitate easy integration for the platform.
Mirio
