How to skip podcast ads: four ways, compared
Updated November 2026
Most podcasts are paid for by ads. If you’d like to hear fewer of them, there are four common ways to do it. Here’s what each one does and what it asks of you.
| Way | What you do | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Skip buttons | Tap skip forward when a break starts | Free, in every app. You need your phone in your hand. |
| Chapter markers | Tap next chapter | Free. Works only when the show adds chapters around its breaks. |
| The show’s ad-free feed | Pay the show for a version without ads | No ads at all, and the money goes to the show. |
| Automatic skipping | Use a player or service that finds the breaks | Hands-free. Works across many shows. |
1. Skip buttons
Every podcast app has a skip forward button, usually 15 or 30 seconds. When a break starts, tap it a few times until the show comes back. It’s free and works with any show.
The catch is that you have to be holding your phone, and it’s easy to land a little early or a little late. Spotify is testing a button that jumps past a whole break for some Premium listeners. More on Spotify’s Skip Ahead button.
2. Chapter markers
Some shows split their episodes into chapters. If a break sits between two chapters, your app’s next chapter button jumps past it in one tap.
Chapters are added by each show, so many episodes don’t have them, and not every app shows them.
3. The show’s own ad-free feed
Many shows sell a version without ads, often with bonus episodes. You’ll find these on Apple Podcasts Subscriptions, on Patreon, or on the show’s own website.
If a show you listen to a lot has one, this is the best option. You hear no ads, and the money goes straight to the people who make the show.
Patreon and similar sites give members a private feed link to add to a podcast app. Safi plays private feeds like these: paste the link and the show plays like any other. Ad-free subscriptions bought in Apple Podcasts are different. How Apple Podcasts subscriptions work.
4. Automatic skipping
Some players and services find the ad breaks for you, so you don’t have to touch your phone. They work in one of two ways.
A player that skips breaks while you listen
The player streams the episode from the show’s own host, the same file any podcast app gets, and jumps past each break as it plays. The audio isn’t changed. If you want to hear a break, you can undo the skip.
Safi works this way. Skipping depends on the show and its host. Safi also keeps promo codes and links from sponsor reads Safi skipped in Offers, when Safi can tie them to a sponsor in your copy of the episode.
A service that edits the audio and gives you a new feed
The service cuts the ads out of each episode, hosts the edited file, and gives you a personal feed link to add to your podcast app. You keep the app you use now, and the episodes you hear come from the service’s copy instead of the show’s host. ZeroAds describes its service this way.
Which one to pick
- If a show you love sells an ad-free feed, start there.
- For a show you hear now and then, the skip button is often enough.
- If you often listen with your hands full, automatic skipping saves you reaching for your phone.
Safi’s web player works in your browser, on your phone too. iOS and Android apps are on the way.
Try a 3-minute preview before creating an account.