Roon vs HRA Streaming
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.
HRA Streaming
Experience music in its original studio quality with lossless FLAC streaming up to 24 Bit / 384 kHz. Explore over 200,000 curated albums across various genres, with features like digital booklets and gapless playback.
- Lossless FLAC streaming up to 24 Bit / 384 kHz
- Over 200,000 curated high-resolution albums
- Digital booklets and exclusive album content
- Gapless playback for uninterrupted listening
- Artist discographies and composer views
- Personalized playlist creation and management
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HRA Streaming brings the entire HighResAudio catalogue to your iPhone and iPad — in true studio quality, hand-picked for listeners who care about how their music actually sounds. WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT - Hi-Res audio in original quality, up to 24-bit / 192 kHz, delivered without lossy compression. - A catalogue curated by the HighResAudio editorial team, with a strong focus on classical, jazz, and audiophile recordings. - Editorial playlists, themed selections, and new releases updated every week. - Detailed album booklets, liner notes, and background information — the kind of context that's usually missing on mainstream services. YOUR SOUND, YOUR SYSTEM - Seamless playback to UPnP/DLNA-compatible streamers, network speakers, and hi-fi components. - Full AirPlay support for AirPlay receivers and AVRs. - Background playback, lock-screen controls, and CarPlay-friendly playback for your daily listening. ACCOUNT AND SUBSCRIPTION HRA Streaming is for existing HighResAudio customers. To use the streaming features, you'll need an active HighResAudio streaming subscription, which can be obtained on the HighResAudio website. Once you're signed in, the app gives you full access to your subscription and the recordings in your personal vault. PRIVACY AND CONTROL - Account deletion is available directly inside the app. - No third-party tracking, no advertising. Your listening stays between you and HighResAudio. - Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, and Imprint are accessible at any time from the Settings screen. We hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoy curating.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Roon at free against HRA Streaming's subscription. Roon also leads on review sentiment (33% vs 0%) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). HRA Streaming's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 weeks). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Roon ships an update every 3 weeks, HRA Streaming every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Roon | HRA Streaming |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.6 (556 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 32.6% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 556 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Subscription |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 616 MB | 25 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Roon Labs | Lothar Kerestedjian |
Customer experience
Roon
HRA Streaming
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
HRA Streaming
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Roon
No in-app purchases
HRA Streaming
No in-app purchases








