# HiByMusic vs foobar2000

The clearest difference is rating: foobar2000 at 4.5 against HiByMusic's 3.4. foobar2000 also leads on review sentiment (79% vs 42%) and update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

foobar2000 holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 140 and 187 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 42% of HiByMusic's written reviews are positive against 79% of foobar2000's.

HiByMusic ships an update every 3 months, foobar2000 monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | HiByMusic | foobar2000 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.4 (140 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hibymusic/id1048838844/reviews) | **[4.5 (187 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/foobar2000/id1072807669/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 140 | **187** |
| Positive reviews | 42.0% of reviews | **79.4% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 48 MB | 13 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 12.1 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Dongguan Hiby Music Technology Co., Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1048838843) | [Resolute](https://appshunter.io/developer/1072793620) |

## What reviewers say

### HiByMusic

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hibymusic/id1048838844)

A free, high-fidelity audio player for audiophiles and music lovers. It supports a wide range of lossless and lossy formats, offering high-precision decoding and advanced audio features for a premium listening experience.

**Highlights:** Wide lossless/lossy audio format support, CUE sheets and ISO image support, High precision decoding (32-bit output, 64-bit float), External USB DAC support, Gapless playback, 10 band graphic EQ, MSEB support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🎵 Excellent hi-res audio support (DSD, FLAC, WAV, APE)
- 🆓 Free app without ads or hidden fees
- 🎨 Clean and intuitive user interface
- 🔗 HibyLink functionality for controlling compatible devices
- ⚙️ Effective equalizer and DSP effects

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
- 📱 Poor iOS optimization compared to Android version
- 🔌 Unreliable Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity
- 🎯 Clunky and unintuitive user experience
- 🚫 CarPlay support removed in recent updates

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes during music library scanning (around 3,000 files)
- HibyLink connection drops repeatedly
- Music playback stops when app is backgrounded
- Rewind button behavior inconsistent (goes to previous song instead of replaying)
- Album shuffle mixing with existing playlist songs

**Requested features**

- Manual playlist reordering
- ID3 tag editing capability
- Folder-based music library scanning
- Album artist sorting (not just track artist)
- Album favorites/bookmarking


### foobar2000

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/foobar2000/id1072807669)

An advanced audio player for mobile devices supporting a wide range of formats. Enjoy gapless playback, automatic volume adjustment, and customization options. Stream music from UPnP servers.

**Highlights:** Wide audio format support (MP3, FLAC, AAC, etc.), Gapless playback, ReplayGain volume adjustment, UPnP media server streaming, Customizable appearance with skins

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Good for offline use
- 🚀 Fast and responsive
- 💡 Customizable with skins
- 👍 Plays a variety of audio formats
- 👍 Convenient FTP transfer

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and bugs
- 🔍 Lacking search functionality
- 🔍 Difficult to manage playlists and delete songs
- 🔍 Inconsistent UI and navigation
- 🔍 Missing CarPlay support

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes on startup for some users
- Playback issues with certain audio formats
- Network detection failures
- SMB/DLNA server connectivity problems
- Album art not displaying correctly

**Requested features**

- Add queue and repeat single track features
- Improve playlist management and song deletion
- Implement CarPlay support
- Add more UI customization options
- Improve search functionality


## Frequently asked questions

### Is HiByMusic free?

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

### Is foobar2000 free?

foobar2000 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, HiByMusic or foobar2000?

foobar2000 is rated higher. HiByMusic averages 3.4 out of 5 from 140 ratings, while foobar2000 averages 4.5 from 187 ratings.

### Do HiByMusic or foobar2000 have ads?

Neither HiByMusic nor foobar2000 shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, HiByMusic or foobar2000?

HiByMusic ships an update every 3 months, and foobar2000 monthly. Most recently, HiByMusic was updated on September 22, 2026 and foobar2000 on September 24, 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.*