Does Pocket Casts Plus remove podcast ads?

No. Pocket Casts says neither Plus nor Patron removes ads from episodes. Those ads come from podcast publishers. They can be recorded into the show or inserted when you download it.

That doesn't make Plus a bad purchase. If its player features are what you want, judge it on those features. But a player subscription and a publisher's ad-free edition solve different problems. Paying for one doesn't automatically give you the other.

What can you do about the breaks?

Keep Pocket Casts and skip manually

If you like your current queue and listening routine, you can keep them. Use playback controls to move past a break. This costs no extra subscription, though it means reaching for a control when an ad starts.

Subscribe to the show's ad-free feed

Look on the publisher's website for an ad-free membership. Check which episodes it covers and whether it provides a private RSS feed you can use in your player. This can be a good choice when one or two shows account for most of your listening.

Try automatic skipping in PurerPodcasts

PurerPodcasts prepares episodes and skips detected ad breaks during playback. You listen in PurerPodcasts; it doesn't change audio inside Pocket Casts. You can keep a segment or correct a marker. Preparation takes time, and detection can miss ads or skip the wrong part.

The player is free. Automatic skipping requires a subscription: Plus covers three selected shows for US$3.99/month. Other shows remain available for ordinary listening. Check plans and trial terms before deciding whether the convenience is worth it for your routine.

How to bring your Pocket Casts subscriptions

In Pocket Casts, open Profile → Settings → Import & Export OPML, then save the file. Pocket Casts documents these export steps.
Open PurerPodcasts' OPML import. On the web, it is in Settings → Import or export OPML. Select the file and review the feeds.
Choose the shows you want automatic skipping for within your plan. Importing a list doesn't enable paid analysis for every show.
Let an episode finish preparing, then play it. Try a familiar show before moving your whole routine.

OPML moves a feed list, not your downloads, playback positions, playlists or paid memberships. Keep Pocket Casts while you check the results. You can also start by searching for one show in PurerPodcasts without importing anything.

See the full switching guide, or compare the different players and ad options.

Pocket Casts documentation checked November 6, 2026. We make PurerPodcasts and are not affiliated with Pocket Casts.