How to Move Your Podcasts Off Spotify in 20 Minutes (2026 Guide)
You’re Paying $13 a Month and Still Hearing Ads
Section titled “You’re Paying $13 a Month and Still Hearing Ads”You signed up for Spotify Premium so the ads would stop. Music? Ad-free. Podcasts? Same as before. Mattresses, meal kits, razors, every single episode.
Spotify Premium only removes ads from music. The company confirms it directly: upgrading “will not give you a 100% ad-free podcast experience.” Host-read endorsements, sponsorships, and dynamic ads all still play for Premium subscribers.
At $12.99 a month, that is $156 a year for something that does not solve the biggest complaint most listeners have.
Leaving Spotify for your podcasts is simpler than you think. Keep using Spotify for music, and listen to podcasts in a better app that supports clean, ad-free feeds. This guide takes under 20 minutes. No coding, no weird apps.
Why Spotify Is a Bad Home for Podcasts
Section titled “Why Spotify Is a Bad Home for Podcasts”A few things to know before you start:
- Spotify does not let you export your podcast subscriptions. There is no “Export OPML” button and no plan to add one, even after years of user requests.
- Spotify blocks external RSS feeds. Any clean feed you might use elsewhere cannot be added to Spotify.
- The ads Spotify plays are not always the ones the show’s own sponsors paid for. Spotify can and does insert fresh ads into episodes you downloaded months ago.
The longer you stay, the more your listening habits lock into an app that has no interest in giving you control. The fix: move your podcasts somewhere that plays by the normal rules of the open web.
The 20-Minute Plan
Section titled “The 20-Minute Plan”Step 1: Write Down the Podcasts You Still Listen To
Section titled “Step 1: Write Down the Podcasts You Still Listen To”Open Spotify, go to your library, and look at the shows you subscribe to. Ignore the ones you added once and never opened. You are probably down to 8 to 15 shows you care about.
Write the names down in your notes app. Spotify has no export button, so a pencil beats fighting third-party tools.
If you want an export tool anyway, Spotifeed turns a Spotify show link into a regular RSS feed. It works for anything that is not a Spotify exclusive.
Step 2: Pick a New Podcast App
Section titled “Step 2: Pick a New Podcast App”Any of these three are great. Pick one and move on.
- Apple Podcasts. Already on your iPhone. Free. Simple. Syncs to iPad and Mac.
- Overcast. iPhone only. Free with ads or $10 a year for Premium. Has Smart Speed, which shortens silences between words.
- Pocket Casts. Works on iPhone, Android, and the web. Reliable sync across devices.
On iPhone, Apple Podcasts is the easiest. On Android, Pocket Casts is the best pick.
Step 3: Re-Subscribe to Your Shows
Section titled “Step 3: Re-Subscribe to Your Shows”Open your new app. Search for each show by name. Tap subscribe. Repeat.
With 10 shows, this takes about 8 minutes. While you are at it, skip the two or three you stopped listening to a year ago. Everyone has them.
Step 4 (Optional): Swap in Clean Feeds for Your Favorite Shows
Section titled “Step 4 (Optional): Swap in Clean Feeds for Your Favorite Shows”Almost every good podcast app lets you add a custom RSS feed by URL — something Spotify does not allow. You can replace a show’s normal feed with a cleaned version that has the ads already removed.
That is what ZeroAds does. Paste a show URL on our site. We transcribe, cut host reads, programmatic ads, and dynamic insertions, and give you back a clean RSS URL to subscribe to instead.
Same show, same host, same content, minus about 6 to 10 minutes of ads per episode.
How Long This Takes
Section titled “How Long This Takes”- Writing down your shows: 3 minutes
- Downloading a new app: 1 minute
- Re-subscribing to 10 shows: 8 minutes
- Setting up clean feeds for 3 favorite shows: 5 minutes
Total: under 20 minutes, one time.
Compare that to the alternative, which is hearing a meal kit ad every third episode for the rest of your life.
What Happens to My Playlists and Downloads?
Section titled “What Happens to My Playlists and Downloads?”Spotify’s podcast playlists do not move. Most people do not use them; if you do, rebuild in a few minutes.
Downloads do not move either. Your new app re-downloads recent episodes automatically when you subscribe.
Nothing you paid for on Spotify is affected. Keep Premium for music. Your podcast life lives somewhere else.
What About Spotify Exclusive Shows?
Section titled “What About Spotify Exclusive Shows?”Some shows are only on Spotify, like certain Joe Rogan episodes or a handful of Spotify-owned originals. You have three options:
- Accept that you will keep opening Spotify for those specific shows.
- Check if the show has re-released episodes elsewhere (many have).
- Skip them and find a similar show with an open feed.
The Spotify exclusives list is shorter than Spotify wants you to believe.
Will I lose my listening history?
Yes. Most podcast apps do not carry over progress from another app. You will restart each show from where you were or jump to the latest episode.
Is this legal?
Yes. Subscribing to a public RSS feed is how podcasts have worked since 2004. Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, and 40 other apps all use RSS.
Can I still use Spotify for music?
Yes. Keep your Premium subscription. Open Spotify for music, open your podcast app for podcasts. That is it.
Does ZeroAds work on Android?
Yes. Any app that supports custom RSS URLs works. Pocket Casts, Podcast Addict, and AntennaPod all do.
Is this worth it for casual listeners?
If you listen under two hours a week, probably not. The ads are annoying but not a big time cost. If you listen five or more hours a week, the math tilts in your favor fast. A regular listener hears about 40 hours of podcast ads a year, and that number keeps climbing.
Start With One Show
Section titled “Start With One Show”A small chore, a big payoff: a better app, real ownership of your listening, and — if you want — the ads gone entirely.
Paste your favorite show URL here and we will send back a clean feed in a few minutes. First feed is free.
