Comparison

Roon vs Holography

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

*** 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.

About

Holography

Immerse yourself in music with interactive visualizations. This player offers a unique visual experience to complement your audio. Enjoy your favorite tracks with dynamic and engaging graphics.

Highlights
  • Interactive music playback
  • Dynamic visualizers
  • Enhanced audio experience
  • Customizable graphics
Features
Read full description

Holography Interactive Music Player

Screenshots

Roon4 screens
Holography4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Holography at 100% against Roon's 33%. Holography also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.6) and update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). Roon's advantage is ratings volume (556 vs 2) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Holography holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Roon has 556 ratings behind it against 2, 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 100% of Holography's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Roon ships an update every 3 weeks, Holography weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Roon versus Holography: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRoonHolography
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.6 (556 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews32.6% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings556 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterAd-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size616 MB892 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRoon LabsBrian J Baumbusch

Customer experience

Roon

All ratings556 ratings
Positive59.2%
Neutral9.0%
Negative31.8%
Written reviews233 reviews
Positive32.6%
Neutral15.5%
Negative51.9%

Holography

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Holography

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Roon

No in-app purchases

None

Holography

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Roon free?
Roon is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Holography free?
Holography is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Roon or Holography?
Holography is rated higher. Roon averages 3.6 out of 5 from 556 ratings, while Holography averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Roon or Holography have ads?
Neither Roon nor Holography shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Roon or Holography?
Roon ships an update every 3 weeks, and Holography weekly. Most recently, Roon was updated on October 13, 2026 and Holography on September 27, 2026.

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