sleepcast .pro

Sleep timers, and how to switch them on

If you came here to turn on a sleep timer, the steps are below. You do not need anything of ours to do it, and this page is not going to make you scroll past an argument to reach them.

Each app was checked on 14 August 2026. Where the claims come from someone other than the app's own makers, it says so under that app.

Pocket Casts

  1. Start playing an episode.
  2. Open the mini player.
  3. Tap the sleep icon.
  4. Pick a duration, End of Episode, or a custom time.
  5. To restart the timer by shaking the phone: Profile → Settings → General → Shake to restart Sleep Timer.
Durations:
15 min, 30 min, 1 hour, custom, adjusted with +/- from 5 min
Ends by:
stopping abruptly
Adding time:
Tap the sleep icon again for +5 minutes, or switch to End of Episode.

Can also stop after a set number of episodes, and on Android after a number of chapters.

Source: the app's own documentation

Apple Podcasts

  1. Start playing an episode.
  2. Tap the player at the bottom to open the Now Playing screen.
  3. Scroll up, tap the sleep timer button, then choose an option.
Ends by:
stopping abruptly

Apple's own documentation says only "Tap, then choose an option" and does not publish the list of durations, so this page does not either. Third-party guides commonly report 5, 10, 15, 30, 45 and 60 minutes plus end of episode, which we have not been able to confirm from Apple.

Source: the app's own documentation

Spotify

  1. Start playing an episode.
  2. Open the Now Playing view.
  3. Tap the three-dot menu, then Sleep Timer. On podcasts there may be a clock button directly in the player.
  4. Pick a duration, or the end of the current episode.
Durations:
5 min, 10 min, 15 min, 30 min, 45 min, 1 hour
Ends by:
stopping abruptly

Playback stops abruptly when the timer ends; a standing request on Spotify's own community site asks for a fade-out. Not available over Spotify Connect, or on desktop at all. Spotify has no reachable support article for this — their help site returns a page for URLs that do not exist, so these steps come from third-party guides and the community forum.

Source: third-party documentation · not yet confirmed against Spotify itself, so treat the exact durations as approximate

Overcast

  1. Start playing an episode.
  2. Open the player screen.
  3. Tap the sleep timer control.
  4. Set the interval you want.
Durations:
any interval you set
Ends by:
fading out

Overcast's own description: "Sleep timer automatically stops playback after any time interval you set" — an arbitrary interval rather than a row of preset buttons. A release note records that the sleep timer now fades out at the end. It is the only app here besides this one that fades.

Source: the app's own documentation

Why a preset is an awkward instrument

A preset duration is a guess, made while you are awake, about when you will be asleep. Set it short and the silence can wake you; set it long and it plays for hours after you have gone under. Pocket Casts lets you shake the phone to restart the timer, which is a genuinely good idea — and it exists because the guess is usually wrong. Using it requires being awake enough to notice and move.

The other half is what happens at zero. Spotify stops dead, and its own community has a standing request asking for a fade. Overcast fades — its release notes say so plainly — and lets you set any interval rather than picking from a row of buttons. Of the apps here, it has thought about this most, and if you are on iOS it is the honest recommendation.

What this site does instead

In all-night mode the rest engine ends the night when it believes you are asleep, rather than at a time chosen in advance. Every ending is a fade, never a cut.

  1. Open the player.
  2. Add a podcast feed, or start from one of the built-ins.
  3. Choose minutes, one episode, or all night.
  4. Start the night.

Open the player

Something to point it at

Whichever app you use, it needs a show. Sleep podcasts that are still running — each checked against its own feed on a stated date, with the ones that quietly stopped listed rather than hidden.

Where those apps beat this one

They are podcast apps and this is not. They have libraries and search, accounts that sync across devices, offline downloads, chapters, CarPlay and Android Auto, and people you can email when something breaks. This site has no account, no library, no downloads, and plays only the feeds you paste into it. If you want one app for podcasts generally, use one of theirs — several of them will put you to sleep perfectly well.