Comparison

SubStreamer vs slowscribe

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

SubStreamer

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
Read full description

Your music. Your server. Everywhere you go. Substreamer turns your Subsonic-compatible server into a personal streaming service. Browse, play, and download your entire music library on iPhone and iPad — free, with no ads, no subscriptions, and no data collection. Verified with Navidrome, Subsonic, Gonic, Nextcloud Music, and Ampache. Also compatible with Airsonic-Advanced, Funkwhale, Supysonic, and other Subsonic API servers. STREAM & DOWNLOAD Stream in full quality or choose a bitrate that suits your connection. Download albums and playlists for offline listening with background queue processing and automatic recovery. Substreamer switches to offline mode automatically when your server is unreachable. TUNED IN — SMART MIXES Personalised playlists powered by your listening history. Time-of-day mixes, deep cuts from similar artists, decade time machines, genre blends, favorites radio, and a custom mix builder — all generated from your own library, not an algorithm trained on someone else's taste. LISTENING ANALYTICS See your play history, top artists, albums, and songs, most active listening hours, activity heatmaps, and listening streaks. Scrobbles queue locally when you're offline and sync automatically when you reconnect. Exclude specific albums or artists so one-off plays don't skew your stats. LIBRARY MANAGEMENT Browse by album, artist, or playlist. List and grid views with alphabetical quick-scroll for large libraries. 5-star ratings and favorites sync with your server. Create and manage playlists, reorder tracks, or save your current queue as a new playlist. PLAYBACK Background playback with full lock screen and notification controls. Adjustable playback speed, shuffle, and repeat. Share albums or playlists with configurable links. BEAUTIFUL & PRIVATE Light, dark, and system themes with custom accent colors. Album art color extraction for immersive detail views. No tracking, no analytics, no account required — your music stays between you and your server. OPEN SOURCE Substreamer is open source under the GPL-3.0 license. Browse the code, report issues, or contribute at github.com/ghenry22/substreamer.

About

slowscribe

This app helps musicians learn by ear by slowing down audio without changing pitch and looping specific sections. It's ideal for practicing solos, harmonies, lyrics, and rhythmic details, turning your device into a portable practice tool.

Highlights
  • Slow down audio without pitch change
  • Import songs and videos
  • Precise waveform loop points
  • Transpose passages by semitone
  • Save and return to practice sessions
  • Offline practice capability
Features
Read full description

Slowscribe is a focused practice studio for musicians who learn by ear. Import a song or video, slow it down without changing pitch, and loop the exact section you want to study. Whether you’re learning solos, harmonies, chord voicings, lyrics, or rhythmic details, Slowscribe helps you hear more clearly and practice more deliberately. Built for serious repetition, Slowscribe gives you the tools to stay inside difficult passages until they feel natural. Features Slow down audio while preserving pitch Import songs and videos from your device Set precise waveform loop points Transpose passages up or down by semitone Save songs and return to your practice later Create repeat-based speed training routines Practice offline with no desktop required Great for Transcribing solos and riffs Learning fast passages by ear Practicing vocals and harmonies Studying reference tracks Repeating difficult sections until they stick Slowscribe turns your phone into a portable transcription and practice tool, so you can focus less on rewinding and more on improving. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://slowscribe.com/privacy

Screenshots

SubStreamer4 screens
slowscribe3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: slowscribe at 5.0 against SubStreamer's 4.0. SubStreamer's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (144 vs 1). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. slowscribe sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. SubStreamer asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

slowscribe holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SubStreamer has 144 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
SubStreamer versus slowscribe: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSubStreamerslowscribe
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (144 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews72.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings144 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.415.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size55 MB37 MB
Age rating+44+
DeveloperGaven HenrySagar Lama

Bugs and requests

SubStreamer

Reported bugs

18 issues
  • 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
Show 13 more
  • AirPlay to Apple TV doesn't work
  • Time display incorrect for songs over 1 hour
  • Metadata loads too frequently, causing lag
  • App freezes when pulling down menu on player screen
  • Radio tab causes app freeze
  • Occasional non-responsive behavior
  • Crashes when switching between songs on cellular
  • Image optimization never completes on large libraries
  • Duplicate songs appear in multi-disc albums
  • Offline folder structure doesn't match server
  • Bluetooth playback sometimes plays two songs simultaneously
  • SSL support issues in older versions
  • Slow metadata loading from server

Requested features

18 requests
  • 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
Show 13 more
  • Replay gain support
  • Smart playlists for yearly recaps
  • Batch download for offline music
  • Display codec and bitrate information
  • Better shuffle/random playback options
  • Improved pull-down gesture for minimizing player
  • Unified offline music view with filters
  • Song sorting options in playlists
  • Album art display in more views
  • Radio station support visibility fix
  • Genre sorting capability
  • Lock screen playback controls
  • Queue clearing functionality

slowscribe

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

SubStreamer

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

slowscribe

Subscriptions2
  • Ad-Free Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Annual Ad-Free$24.991 Year

Questions

Is SubStreamer free?
SubStreamer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is slowscribe free?
slowscribe is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, SubStreamer or slowscribe?
slowscribe is rated higher. SubStreamer averages 4.0 out of 5 from 144 ratings, while slowscribe averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do SubStreamer or slowscribe have ads?
Neither SubStreamer nor slowscribe shows ads.

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