# SubStreamer vs Sonora

SubStreamer and Sonora both sit at 4.0 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Sonora's written reviews are positive against 72% of SubStreamer's. SubStreamer's advantage is ratings volume (141 vs 4). On price, rating, update cadence 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 Sonora. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SubStreamer has 141 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 72% of SubStreamer's written reviews are positive against 100% of Sonora's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | SubStreamer | Sonora |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.0 (141 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/substreamer/id1012991665/reviews) | [4.0 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sonora-navidrome-client/id6760624152/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **141** | 4 |
| Positive reviews | 72.2% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 55 MB | 6 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.4** | 17.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad** | iPhone |
| Age rating | +4 | 4+ |
| Developer | [Gaven Henry](https://appshunter.io/developer/925249622) | [GRANT JAMES MADISON](https://appshunter.io/developer/1885374942) |

## 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


### Sonora

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sonora-navidrome-client/id6760624152)

This app provides a smooth and native mobile interface for accessing and streaming your self-hosted music library. Browse artists, albums, and playlists with a fast search and enjoy your personal collection anywhere.

**Highlights:** Browse artists, albums, songs, and playlists, Fast and clean interface, Search personal music collection, Stream music on the go, Native iPhone experience

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is SubStreamer free?

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

### Is Sonora free?

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

### Which has better reviews, SubStreamer or Sonora?

SubStreamer and Sonora are both rated 4.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 141 and 4 ratings respectively.

### Do SubStreamer or Sonora have ads?

Neither SubStreamer nor Sonora shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, SubStreamer or Sonora?

SubStreamer ships an update every 2 weeks, and Sonora every 2 weeks. Most recently, SubStreamer was updated on October 18, 2026 and Sonora on October 5, 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.*