In a recent and unusual instance of a product becoming more affordable, rather than increasing in price like many other services, the popular podcast service Pocket Casts has made its web player and desktop apps free to use. While premium features still require a subscription, the only devices that now require a paid subscription to access Pocket Casts are smartwatches without a paired phone, a relatively niche market.

Prior to this change, users could listen to podcasts for free on the Pocket Casts Android and iOS apps, but accessing the web player and desktop apps required a premium subscription, starting at $4 per month or $40 per year. Now, users can access their favorite podcasts on their Mac or PC without incurring any costs. Although free alternatives like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube Music already offered similar functionality, many Pocket Casts enthusiasts, including some Engadget staff members, prefer the service due to its clean user interface, features like silence trimming and voice boosting, and queue management.

The Automattic-owned service framed this move as a commitment to open podcasting, making it accessible to everyone, everywhere. “By making our Web Player available to everyone, we’re reinforcing our belief that podcasts belong to the people, not corporations,” the company stated in its announcement. This sentiment is admirable, and it would be great to see more companies adopt a similar approach.

However, it’s also possible to interpret this move as a response to the growing competition in the podcast market. YouTube recently announced that it has surpassed one billion monthly active podcast viewers, with third-party data indicating that it’s the most popular podcast service in the US. Additionally, Apple has introduced a web player for its free podcast service, potentially making Pocket Casts’ paid model less competitive. By making its web player and desktop apps free, Pocket Casts may be attempting to stay relevant in a market where paid services are becoming less appealing to users.

Pocket Casts still offers premium features, including a shuffle feature, bookmarks, chapter preselection, 20GB of cloud storage, and watchOS and Wear OS apps, for a monthly or annual fee. The Plus tier costs $4 per month or $40 per year, while the Patron tier, which includes additional features like early access, 100GB of cloud storage, and extra icons, costs $10 per month or $100 per year. It remains to be seen whether these premium features will be enough to entice users to pay for the service, but for now, Pocket Casts is making a bold move to stay competitive in the podcast market.