# SubStreamer vs ListenNow+

The clearest difference is update cadence: SubStreamer at every 2 weeks against ListenNow+'s every 3 months. ListenNow+'s advantage is review sentiment (83% vs 72%). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.0 for SubStreamer against 4.0 for ListenNow+. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 131 and 53 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 72% of SubStreamer's written reviews are positive against 83% of ListenNow+'s.

SubStreamer ships an update every 2 weeks, ListenNow+ every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and July 21, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | SubStreamer | ListenNow+ |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.0 (131 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/substreamer/id1012991665/reviews) | [4.0 (53 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/listennow-plus/id6477358667/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **131** | 53 |
| Positive reviews | 72.4% of reviews | **82.5% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 54 MB | 74 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.4** | 17.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, Apple TV** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Gaven Henry](https://appshunter.io/developer/925249622) | [Shanghai Yanghe Culture Media Co., Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1548192867) |

## What reviewers say

### SubStreamer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/substreamer/id1012991665)

Access and stream your personal music library from a Subsonic-compatible server on your mobile device. Enjoy offline playback, personalized mixes, and detailed listening analytics without ads or subscriptions.

**Highlights:** Stream and download music library, Offline listening with background processing, Personalized smart mixes, Listening analytics and scrobbling, Playlist and library management, Background playback with lock screen controls, Open source

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Siri integration, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🎨 Beautiful and modern UI design
- ⚡ Clean, intuitive interface
- 🎵 Excellent Navidrome server compatibility
- 📱 Works seamlessly with self-hosted music servers
- 🔄 Reliable background playback functionality

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent playback failures and stalling
- 🐛 Random crashes during playback
- 🐛 Scrobbling not working reliably
- 🐛 Large file playback issues (10MB+)
- 🐛 AirPlay/Apple TV streaming broken

**Reported bugs**

- Songs fail to play without double-pressing play button
- Playback stops with 4 seconds remaining in track
- Skipping back crashes the app
- Large files (10MB+) require pause-then-play to start
- Scrobbling fails despite server support

**Requested features**

- CarPlay support for in-car use
- Traditional Chinese language support
- Simplified Chinese language support
- All-songs library view (not just albums/artists)
- Lyrics API integration


### ListenNow+

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/listennow-plus/id6477358667)

Stream music from Apple Music and access your personal media library via Subsonic or Navidrome. Enjoy features like crossfading, Siri integration, HomeKit lighting control, and lyrics display. Play music in your car with CarPlay and identify songs easily.

**Highlights:** Stream Apple Music library, Connect to Subsonic/Navidrome servers, Crossfading playback, Siri integration, HomeKit lighting control, Singing lyrics display, CarPlay support

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Siri integration

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🌟 Beautifully designed UI
- 🎶 Comprehensive music library
- 💰 Free and accessible
- 🔍 Detailed and thoughtful features
- 🤖 Smooth and responsive performance

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Limited to Subsonic server support
- 🔍 Lack of Navidrome server integration
- 💔 Inability to favorite songs


## Frequently asked questions

### Is SubStreamer free?

SubStreamer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is ListenNow+ free?

ListenNow+ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, SubStreamer or ListenNow+?

SubStreamer and ListenNow+ are both rated 4.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 131 and 53 ratings respectively.

### Do SubStreamer or ListenNow+ have ads?

Neither SubStreamer nor ListenNow+ shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, SubStreamer or ListenNow+?

SubStreamer ships an update every 2 weeks, and ListenNow+ every 3 months. Most recently, SubStreamer was updated on September 22, 2026 and ListenNow+ on July 21, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*