Listennotes
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy it if you research podcasts professionally or need a podcast API . the database depth is real.
Comparison
Listennotes vs Apple Podcasts
Listennotes lands on Depends, and Apple Podcasts lands on Worth it.
Apple Podcasts
Worth it
Confidence: Medium
Use it if you own Apple devices and want a free, zero-setup podcast player.
| Compare | Listennotes | Apple Podcasts |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Worth it |
| Best for | Journalists researching podcasts | Apple device owners |
| Who it's not for | Casual listeners . free podcast apps suffice | Android-first listeners |
| Privacy | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed; site lacks a security page and its open-source JS SDK had a flagged Axios dependency issue.⁸ | Caution: a late-2025 hack warning and reported cross-site risk on the web player; no confirmed breaches found. |
| Support quality | Solo founder; support capacity limited | No support-quality evidence found |
| Public sentiment | Chatter praises the search depth and API, but Reddit threads about leaving and finding cheaper alternatives signal pricing friction.⁷ | Sentiment is polarized: free and convenient as the Apple default, but many listeners find it bare-bones and frustrating. |
| Biggest gotcha | No security page; may stall vendor security reviews at larger companies⁹ | Web player behavior could enable cross-site hacking attempts, per security researchers |
Pick Listennotes when
- Journalists researching podcasts
- Developers needing a podcast API
- PR teams hunting guest slots
- Power listeners who deep-search
When Listennotes is not a fit
- Casual listeners . free podcast apps suffice
- Teams wanting enterprise support or SLAs
- Procurement requiring a vendor security page
- Podcast hosting or analytics needs
Pick Apple Podcasts when
- Apple device owners
- Casual podcast listeners
- Offline downloaders who want free
- Creators targeting Apple audiences
When Apple Podcasts is not a fit
- Android-first listeners
- Power users wanting chapters, trimming, deep customization
- Creators allergic to a 30% subscription cut
- Households syncing across mixed Android/iOS devices
Sources
- Listen Notes homepagelistennotes.comofficial
- Podcast API Pricing and Planslistennotes.comofficial
- Listen Notes Review & Walkthrough (Buzzsprout)buzzsprout.comreview
review
- Bye listennotes (Reddit)reddit.comreview
review
security
- Listen Notes security page crawllistennotes.comsecurity
- Listen Notes Reviews (Trustpilot)trustpilot.comreview
- Launched Listen411 (beta)changelog.listennotes.comofficial
- Listen Notes . Wikidatawikidata.orgofficial
- Apple Podcasts . official pageapple.comofficial
- Apple Podcasts web apppodcasts.apple.comofficial
- Apple Podcasts . App Storeapps.apple.comofficial
- Apple Podcasts Subscriptions for Creatorspodcasters.apple.comofficial