How to Download Apple Music Podcasts & Audiobooks

Here’s something worth clearing up before anything else, because it trips up a lot of people searching for this exact topic: Apple Music itself doesn’t include podcasts or audiobooks. It’s a common assumption, especially since services like Spotify bundle music, podcasts, and audiobooks into one app. Apple does the opposite — it splits them into separate, dedicated apps. Podcasts live in Apple Podcasts. Audiobooks live in Apple Books.

That’s not a limitation so much as a different design philosophy, and once you know where each type of content actually lives, downloading them for offline listening is straightforward. This guide covers both, honestly and completely, so you end up with real answers instead of a workaround for a feature that was never there in the first place.

Why Apple splits things up this way

Back in the iTunes era, everything lived under one roof — music, podcasts, movies, audiobooks, all in a single sprawling app. Apple eventually broke that apart into specialized apps: Apple Music for streaming songs and playlists, Apple Podcasts for episodic audio content, and Apple Books for both e-books and audiobooks. Apple TV handles video separately too.

The upside of this split is that each app is built specifically for its content type. Apple Podcasts is tuned for discovery and episode management. Apple Books gives audiobooks a proper listening experience with chapters, narration speed controls, and a dedicated library. The downside is exactly what brought you here — it requires switching between apps, and it’s easy to assume Apple Music does more than it does.

Now let’s get into how to actually download and listen to each offline.

Downloading podcasts for offline listening (Apple Podcasts)

Good news here: Apple Podcasts is free, requires no subscription for the vast majority of content, and downloading episodes for offline listening is built right in and easy.

On iPhone or iPad:

1. Open the Apple Podcasts app.
2. Find the show you want, either by searching or from a link.
3. Subscribe or follow the show if you plan to keep up with new episodes (this also enables automatic downloads if you want them).
4. On the episode list, tap the download icon (a small downward arrow) next to any episode you want offline.
5. Once downloaded, the episode plays without a data connection, accessible from your Library.

Automatic downloads: In the Podcasts app settings, you can configure shows you follow to automatically download new episodes as they’re released, so you never have to remember to grab them manually. This is handy for shows you listen to regularly, since fresh episodes are just waiting for you offline the next time you open the app.

On Mac: The Podcasts app on macOS works the same way — subscribe to a show, then click the download icon next to individual episodes, or turn on automatic downloads in preferences.

Some paid content exists too. Certain shows offer paid subscriptions for ad-free episodes or bonus content through Apple Podcasts’ channel subscriptions feature, separate from any Apple Music or Apple One plan. If you’ve subscribed to a specific show’s premium tier, those episodes download the same way as free ones once you’re subscribed.

Because Apple Podcasts episodes are downloaded as standard files within the app rather than wrapped in the same kind of DRM that protects Apple Music streaming tracks, this is usually a smooth, no-friction experience. You’re not fighting any restrictions here — just use the download button and you’re set.

Downloading audiobooks for offline listening (Apple Books)

Audiobooks work differently because, unlike podcasts, they’re generally something you purchase individually rather than stream as part of a subscription (with the exception of a small number of included titles in certain bundles).

Buying and downloading an audiobook:

1. Open the Apple Books app on iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
2. Tap the Audiobook Store tab to browse, or use Search to find a specific title.
3. Select a title, view its details, and tap the price to purchase.
4. Once purchased, the audiobook appears in your Library under the Audiobooks section.
5. If it isn’t already downloaded, tap the cloud or download icon next to the title to save it to your device for offline listening.

Once downloaded, playback includes chapter navigation, adjustable narration speed, and a sleep timer, with your progress synced across devices signed into the same Apple Account — so you can pause on your phone and pick up right where you left off on your iPad.

Windows users: Apple Books isn’t available on Windows, so audiobooks purchased through Apple’s ecosystem are generally accessed via iTunes on older setups or through Apple devices directly. If you’re on Windows and want audiobooks, you may find it easier to look at platforms with proper Windows apps, like Audible.

Android users: Apple Books doesn’t have an Android app either. If you’re on Android, Apple’s audiobook ecosystem largely isn’t accessible to you, and a cross-platform service like Audible is the more practical choice.

What about audiobooks or podcasts you already own as files?

If you have DRM-free audiobook or podcast files — say, ones you’ve legitimately obtained and want organized differently, or in a different format for a specific device — that’s a separate, simpler task from streaming or DRM removal. A straightforward file converter can switch formats for files you already own. Tools like Online Convert or Convertio handle converting audio files between formats in the browser, which is useful if you need an audiobook or podcast file in MP3 for a device that doesn’t play its original format.

This only applies to files you already have and own outright — it’s a housekeeping step for your own library, not a way around any protection on purchased or streamed content.

Where Apple Music actually fits into all this

To be clear about what Apple Music does offer, since the confusion is understandable: Apple Music is built for songs, albums, playlists, and music videos, with offline downloads for all of that content once you’re subscribed. If you want to save actual Apple Music tracks for permanent offline listening — including keeping them after a subscription ends — that’s a different topic from podcasts or audiobooks, and it’s covered well in this guide to saving Apple Music songs offline.

If your goal is specifically to keep Apple Music songs as standalone files that don’t depend on your subscription, a free tool like Apl Music Downloader saves Apple Music songs as MP3s with clear audio quality, no subscription required to keep them afterward. That’s the music side of the equation — worth knowing about, but distinct from the podcast and audiobook question this guide is really addressing.

A quick comparison to keep it all straight

Keeping this table in mind saves a lot of confusion the next time you’re hunting for a download button in the wrong app.

A note on doing this responsibly

Downloading content for your own personal, offline use through the official apps — with your own subscription or purchase — is exactly what these features are built for. If you’re dealing with any DRM-free files of your own for personal reorganization, keep conversions strictly for your own listening, never sell or share them, and follow the terms of the relevant service and the copyright rules where you live.