Onion Podcasts

What Onion Podcasts is

Onion Podcasts brings podcast discovery, listening, playlists, and live radio together in a player. Listeners can browse public episodes without creating an account, find shows by category, language, or trending topic, and search titles, descriptions, and categories in three languages. They can create and share playlists to organize episodes. The service is available on Android and the web: Android supports unlimited episode downloads with no expiry or account requirement, while the web player streams episodes. The Android app supports Android 7 and later; there is no iOS app.

Creators can upload and publish podcasts through free hosting, listed as free, without a monthly fee or expiring trial. Each podcast receives an open RSS feed, and paid subscribers can use private feeds in other podcast apps. Creators can configure up to three subscription tiers, with payments charged to their own Stripe account, and attach up to 10 extras to each episode. Extras can include documents, videos, audio, notes, or links, and can be limited to selected tiers. The privacy policy says most personal data is stored on Hetzner servers in Germany and is not sold or rented for commercial or advertising purposes. It lists encryption at rest, password hashing, HTTPS/TLS, role-based access controls, EU data-centre hosting, and regular database backups. Email support is available, with a stated aim to respond within two business days.

Who it suits

Onion Podcasts suits listeners who want to find and organize shows, play live radio, or download episodes on Android without signing up. It also suits creators looking to host a podcast for free and offer paid subscriptions, private feeds, or tier-gated episode extras.

Limits

Creator hosting is free, but unusually large podcast archives may eventually require a paid plan, with advance notice. Offline downloads are supported in the Android app; the web player streams episodes.

Getting started

1. Open the Onion Podcasts website or use the Android app on Android 7 or later.
2. Browse and play public episodes without signing up, or search titles, descriptions, and categories.
3. Create and share playlists to organize episodes.
4. Creators can upload and publish a podcast using the free hosting plan.
5. Set up subscription tiers and optional tier-gated extras; payments go to the creator’s Stripe account.

Verdict

Choose Onion Podcasts if you want podcast discovery and live radio in one player, or free creator hosting with subscription options. Android listeners get unlimited offline downloads, while creators can offer paid tiers, private RSS feeds, and gated extras. Look elsewhere if you need an iOS app.