How to switch podcast apps without losing your subscriptions

Switching podcast apps shouldn't feel like packing a moving truck. Most listeners stay in a mediocre app for years because they assume migrating means re-subscribing to fifty shows by hand. It doesn't. There's a universal file format that lives inside every major podcast app, and once you know about it, switching takes about five minutes.

This guide covers the export and import process for the apps people actually use, plus what moves over, what doesn't, and when switching is worth the effort.

TL;DR

• Every major podcast app supports OPML — a universal subscriptions file that holds your list of shows.
• Export an OPML from your current app, import it into your new one, and your subscriptions are back instantly.
• OPML moves the shows. It does not move your playback positions, queue order, playlists, or downloaded files.
• Apple Podcasts and Spotify both make OPML export awkward but possible.
• Most third-party apps (Pocket Casts, Overcast, Castbox, Podtastic) handle export in one or two taps.

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Start with OPML — the universal subscriptions file

OPML stands for Outline Processor Markup Language. For podcast purposes you can ignore the full name. What matters is that OPML is a small text file that lists every podcast you follow, with the RSS feed URL for each one. Every major podcast app understands it.

Export your OPML from one app, import it into another, and within seconds the new app has the same subscriptions, in the same order, ready to fetch episodes.

OPML files are small (usually a few kilobytes), they're text, and they're portable. You can open one in a text editor if you're curious about what's inside. You can email it to yourself as a back-up. You can keep one in your cloud storage so that any future app switch is one upload away.

What OPML actually contains — and what it doesn't

OPML carries:

• The list of shows you follow
• The RSS feed URL for each show
• The folder or category structure if your current app uses one and supports exporting it

OPML does not carry:

• Your listening history or which episodes you've marked as played
• Your playback position within episodes you've started
• Your queue order — the up-next list
• Your playlists or starred episodes
• Downloaded files — the actual audio
• App-specific settings like playback speed, skip-silence preferences, or sleep timer defaults

That's the trade-off. OPML solves the subscriptions problem instantly. The rest is per-app and has to be set up again on the other side. If your old app has a richer export (some do), use it instead of OPML when available. Otherwise, OPML is the lowest common denominator that works everywhere.

Exporting from Apple Podcasts

Apple Podcasts doesn't have an export button. To get an OPML out, you need a small workaround on Mac or PC.

On Mac:

1. Open Apple Podcasts on your Mac.
2. Sign in with the same Apple ID as your iPhone so subscriptions sync.
3. Open a Terminal and run sqlite3 queries against the Podcasts library to extract subscriptions. The exact script varies by macOS version. Several third-party utilities (Podcastr, OPML for Apple Podcasts) automate this if you'd rather not touch SQLite.

On iOS without a Mac:

1. Use a third-party utility like "Export OPML for Podcasts" from the App Store. These apps read your Apple Podcasts subscriptions via the public APIs and generate an OPML file you can share to Files, email, or AirDrop.

The slightly awkward path is the price of Apple's tight integration. Once you have the OPML, the rest of the process is the same as any other app.

Exporting from Spotify

Spotify is the hardest to migrate out of because the company doesn't expose your podcast subscriptions through any standard API.

The cleanest path is manual:

1. Open Spotify on desktop and click on Your Library.
2. Filter by Podcasts.
3. List the shows you follow, then add each one to your new app by searching its title.

For larger libraries (50+ shows), a few third-party tools (Soundiiz, TuneMyMusic) can transfer Spotify podcasts to other services. Their hit rate is decent but not perfect, so cross-check the imported list against your Spotify Library.

If you've been using Spotify mainly for music and only follow a handful of podcasts, manual transfer is usually faster than installing another service.

Exporting from Pocket Casts, Overcast, and Castbox

The third-party apps treat export as a feature, not a workaround.

Pocket Casts:

1. Open Pocket Casts on web (pocketcasts.com) and sign in.
2. Go to Profile → Settings → Export OPML.
3. Save the file.

The mobile app also supports export via Profile → Settings → Import & Export.

Overcast:

1. Open Overcast.
2. Tap the gear icon → Export OPML.
3. Share or save the file.

Overcast's OPML is clean and well-formatted, which means import on the other side tends to go smoothly.

Castbox:

1. Settings → Subscriptions → Export OPML.

Castbox also supports auto-backup to its own cloud, which only matters if you're moving between Castbox installs.

Importing into your new podcast app

Most apps support OPML import via Settings → Import OPML or a similar menu. The process is identical regardless of which app you're moving to:

1. Open the new app and find the OPML import option.
2. Pick the file from your Files app, cloud drive, or email.
3. The app reads the file and starts subscribing to each show.

Larger libraries can take a couple of minutes to import because the app has to fetch the RSS feed for each show and pull recent episodes. Once it's done, your new app looks much like your old one — same shows, same order, ready to play.

A few apps (Podtastic among them) also support importing directly from Apple Podcasts via a sign-in flow that pulls subscriptions automatically. If that's available, it's faster than the OPML round-trip.

What you'll lose in the move

This is the bit people don't expect. OPML carries the subscriptions, but not the state.

• Playback positions reset. If you were 18 minutes into an episode, the new app starts you at zero. Note your current positions for any in-progress episodes before switching.
• Queue order has to be rebuilt. The new app starts with an empty queue.
• Listening history doesn't transfer. The new app sees every episode as new, even ones you finished years ago. Most apps let you bulk-mark older episodes as played to clean this up.
• Downloaded files stay on the old app. The new app will re-download what you want.

Some apps (Podtastic, Pocket Casts, Overcast) sync state to their own cloud, so if you're moving between installs of the same app, more of this survives.

When to switch apps — and when to stay put

Switching is worth it when:

• Your current app is missing a feature you actually use (transcripts, smart topic indexing, decent speed controls, CarPlay parity).
• The discovery surface has gone stale and you're not finding anything new.
• Background playback or sync between devices is unreliable.
• The interface stresses you out every time you open it.

Switching is not worth it when:

• You're chasing a single tiny feature that you'd use once a month.
• You have a 200-episode queue that you've curated for years and the new app can't import it.
• The new app's parent company has shifted direction recently (some have pivoted away from podcasts entirely).

If you're on the fence, do a parallel test for two weeks. Keep your old app installed, do all new listening in the new app, and decide at the end. Most people are surprised by what they end up keeping versus what they thought they'd keep.

Our overview of the best podcast apps covers the current landscape in more detail, and the Pocket Casts vs Overcast comparison walks through one of the most common switch decisions.

Frequently asked questions

Can I import OPML on iPhone without a desktop?

Yes. Most podcast apps support OPML import on mobile directly. If you receive the OPML by email or save it to Files, the app's import option will pick it up. You don't need a Mac in the loop.

How do I keep my playback positions when switching?

Short of writing them down before the move, you can't. The cleanest workaround is to finish in-progress episodes in the old app before switching. For your queue, screenshot it so you can rebuild the order quickly in the new app.

What if the new app is missing some of my shows after import?

A few things can cause this. The most common: the RSS feed in your OPML is stale (the show changed hosting providers and the URL moved). Search for the show by name in the new app and re-subscribe manually. The second cause: the show is exclusive to the old platform (Spotify and Audible have some shows that aren't on the open RSS web).

Should I keep an OPML back-up even if I'm not switching?

Worth it. Once a quarter, export an OPML and save it to your cloud storage. If your podcast app ever breaks, gets sold, or pivots, you have a recovery point that any other app can read.

Listen smarter with Podtastic

Looking for a podcast app built around how you actually listen? Podtastic is a fully featured podcast player for iOS and Android, built around Pod-telligence (the AI features) and Audio Enhancements (deterministic DSP tuned for spoken-word audio):

• Smart Summaries — AI summaries of every podcast and episode so you know what's coming before you hit play
• Smart Topics — key topics surfaced across your favourite shows so you can jump straight to what matters
• Smart Playback — your queue fills itself based on what you actually listen to
• Smart Jump Ahead — auto-skips commonly-skipped sections of an episode (intros, recaps, asides), powered by AI topic detection plus aggregated listening data; a single tap on any control surface jumps you to the next Smart Topic on demand
• Skip Silence — auto-removes silences from speech so episodes flow without dragging
• Enhance Voices — a gentle EQ and compression preset that keeps voices clear in any room

Join the waitlist at podtastic.app to get early access.