Roon vs Marshall
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Roon
This app serves as a controller for a Roon Server, enabling users to browse and play their music library. It offers a rich metadata-driven interface for musical discovery, connecting to over 1,000 compatible audio devices for seamless playback.
- Music library browsing and playback
- Rich metadata for musical discovery
- Connects to 1,000+ audio devices
- Seamless in-home audio connection
- Access music library remotely via Roon ARC
- Bit-perfect playback and format support
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*** The Roon experience requires a Roon Server on your network. *** The Roon App is another controller for your Roon Server. You browse and play your music library on over 1,000 compatible audio devices, and provides a seamless in-home connection. You can install the free Roon App on as many devices as you like. What is Roon? The very best way to experience your music: Roon reshapes the way you browse and explore music. Powered by rich metadata, Roon's interface invites you on a new journey of musical discovery every time you log in. Your music library becomes the starting point on a vast map of performers, composers, influences, and genres. Follow the path emanating from the music you love to discover exciting new sounds and reconnect with long-forgotten favorites. You can delve even deeper through lyrics, artist photos, bios, reviews, and tour dates - then continue the journey with recommendations specifically tailored to your tastes and listening habits. Listen anywhere, on all your gear: Roon lets you play from your collection of music files and TIDAL, Qobuz, and KKBOX libraries on thousands of Roon Ready, Airplay, Chromecast, and USB devices from one app inside your home. Meanwhile, Roon ARC provides access, playback, and precision audio control for your entire Roon music library directly from your phone, wherever you are in the world. Flawless playback. Everywhere, every time: Roon is built to ensure your music sounds perfect every time you hit play, no matter where you are. Roon guarantees the best possible sound quality from every piece of audio gear - our MUSE sound engine delivers bit-perfect playback, exhaustive format support, and precision audio control for a fully customizable and flawless listening experience. From headphones to your home hi-fi, and everything in between.
Marshall
Customize your soundbar experience with personalized audio settings and room correction. Receive automatic updates to ensure your device is always up-to-date with the latest features and improvements.
- Personalized sound customization
- Room correction for balanced audio
- Adjustable sound modes
- Over-the-air updates
- Guided initial setup
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After spending over 60 years mastering the art of sound, we know that the only right way to listen to music, is your way. The Marshall app puts you in control, letting you shape your sound the way you want it. Let the app walk you through the initial quick setup to put the all the settings right at your fingertips. Enjoy the Marshall signature sound straight up or fine-tune it to match your playlist, your film, your mood. This app is built for listeners who refuse to settle, and the Over-the-Air updates make sure your speakers are up to date with little or no effort.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Roon at 3.6 against Marshall's 3.0. Roon also leads on ratings volume (556 vs 8) and review sentiment (33% vs 14%). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Roon holds the better App Store score, 3.6 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Roon has 556 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of Roon's written reviews are positive against 14% of Marshall's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Roon | Marshall |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.6 (556 ratings) — better | 3.0 (8 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 32.6% of reviews — better | 13.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 556 — better | 8 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 616 MB | 66 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Roon Labs | Marshall Group AB (publ) |
Customer experience
Roon
Marshall
Bugs and requests
Roon
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashes on search
- Audio devices disappearing
- Volume issues after updates
- Inability to find Roon core
Requested features
5 requests- Dark mode option
- Offline music playback
- Better Tidal/Spotify integration
- Improved metadata editing
- Apple Watch support
Marshall
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Roon
No in-app purchases
Marshall
No in-app purchases









