Bring your podcast library in, and keep the option to take it out.

OPML (Outline Processor Markup Language) is a small, plain-text file that lists the podcasts you follow along with each show's RSS feed URL. It exists so your subscription list is portable: instead of being locked inside one app, your followed shows can be exported as a standard file and imported into almost any other player. If you have ever dreaded switching apps because you'd have to search for and re-add dozens of shows one at a time, OPML is the shortcut that moves the whole list in a single step.

The workflow is straightforward in either direction. To bring shows in, export an OPML file from your current player, then in The Podcast App choose the import option and select that .opml file from your device or the system share sheet; the app reads the feed list and adds those shows to your subscriptions. To take shows out, use Export Subscriptions to generate a portable .opml file that you can save or hand to another app. Both import and export are part of the free core player, so switching in, or keeping the option to leave, is not gated behind Premium. This site also offers a free OPML generator and viewer for inspecting or tidying a list before you import it.

It is important to be precise about what OPML does and does not carry, because the wrong expectation causes frustration. OPML moves your subscription list, the shows you follow and their feed URLs, and nothing more. Playback progress, queue state, listening history, favorites, downloaded audio files, app settings, and account-specific data stay with each app and generally do not transfer. Treat OPML as a portability layer for subscriptions, not a full backup of everything inside your old player. That limitation is the same across Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, and every other app, because those private states are stored per app, not in the feed list.

A practical tip: before importing a file from another app, open it in an OPML viewer to spot dead feeds or shows you no longer want, then import a clean list rather than everything at once. This matters especially for listeners migrating away from discontinued services, for example exporting Google Podcasts subscriptions via Google Takeout, where an old list may contain stale entries. Keeping export available also means you are never locked in: your followed-show list stays yours, and you can move it again whenever you choose.