Pinepods Review, Pricing & Features

Pinepods review: features, self-hosting setup, pricing (free/open source) and alternatives like AntennaPod for self-hosted podcast management.

Category
Media & Audio/Video Tools
Pricing
Open Source, from Free
Verified
Not yet
Last updated
July 19, 2026
Headquarters
Not publicly disclosed (open-source project with no corporate headquarters)
WindowsWeb AppiOSAndroidOpen SourceSelf-HostedMac

Overview

Pinepods is a self-hosted alternative to commercial podcast apps, built for people who want to keep their listening data on their own server instead of a third-party company's cloud. It is developed as an open-source project by Collin Pendleton and distributed under the GPL-3.0 license, with the source code hosted publicly on GitHub.

Because it is self-hosted, running Pinepods requires setting up a server, typically via Docker Compose with a PostgreSQL or MySQL/MariaDB database, which makes it best suited to users with at least basic homelab or self-hosting experience rather than complete beginners.

Key Features

A single Pinepods server can host multiple user accounts, each with its own subscriptions, playback history, downloads and settings, making it a natural fit for households or small teams that want to share infrastructure without sharing a single account. Clients are available for web, Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS, plus a command-line client called Firewood.

Pinepods includes a built-in gpodder-compatible sync server so it can interoperate with other open-source podcast apps like AntennaPod, supports search across the Podcast Index, iTunes and YouTube, and adds security features like OIDC/SSO and TOTP multi-factor authentication that are important for anything exposed to the internet.

Pricing

Pinepods itself is completely free and open source, with no license fees, subscription tiers or paid feature gates. The only cost users incur is for whatever server or hosting infrastructure they choose to run it on, whether that is a home server, a small VPS or a NAS device.

Because there is no commercial entity behind Pinepods selling a hosted plan, support is community-driven through GitHub and community channels like Discord rather than a paid support contract.

Key Features

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Completely free and open source under GPL-3.0
  • Full data ownership; no vendor lock-in or ad-supported model
  • Supports multiple users on one self-hosted instance
  • Broad platform coverage including CarPlay and Android Auto support
  • Actively translated into many languages by the community

Cons

  • Requires self-hosting knowledge such as Docker and database setup, unlike turnkey apps
  • No official managed or hosted version for non-technical users
  • Smaller ecosystem and support base than commercial podcast apps
  • User is responsible for backups, uptime and server security
  • Mobile app maturity may lag behind established commercial podcast apps

Pricing

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Pinepods free?

Yes, it is fully free and open source with no paid tiers.

Do I need to host Pinepods myself?

Yes, it is self-hosted software; there is no official hosted SaaS version.

What is Pinepods built with?

It is written primarily in Rust, with PostgreSQL or MySQL/MariaDB used for storage.

Can multiple people use one Pinepods server?

Yes, it supports multiple user accounts with separate libraries and settings on a single instance.

Does Pinepods work with AntennaPod?

Yes, via its built-in gpodder-compatible sync server.

What platforms does Pinepods support?

Web, Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS and a command-line client called Firewood.

Is Pinepods open source?

Yes, it is licensed under GPL-3.0 and hosted publicly on GitHub.

Who created Pinepods?

Developer Collin Pendleton, known on GitHub as madeofpendletonwool.

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