# HiByMusic vs DS Player

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: HiByMusic at none against DS Player's 3. HiByMusic also leads on ratings volume (140 vs 46). DS Player's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months) and rating (3.8 vs 3.4). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. DS Player sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.49 per month. HiByMusic asks for nothing beyond the download.

DS Player holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 140 and 46 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 42% of HiByMusic's written reviews are positive against 69% of DS Player's.

HiByMusic ships an update every 3 months, DS Player weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | HiByMusic | DS Player |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.4 (140 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hibymusic/id1048838844/reviews) | **[3.8 (46 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ds-player/id1634518719/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **140** | 46 |
| Positive reviews | 42.0% of reviews | **69.2% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 48 MB | 16 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 13.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Dongguan Hiby Music Technology Co., Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1048838843) | [建明 肖](https://appshunter.io/developer/1634162922) |

## 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


### DS Player

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ds-player/id1634518719)

This app is a NAS music player designed for a smooth and enjoyable listening experience. It supports a wide range of audio formats, displays lyrics and album art, and offers convenient features like automatic transcoding for non-Wi-Fi environments and CarPlay integration.

**Highlights:** Smooth interface and interaction, Supports mainstream and lossless audio formats, Displays lyrics and album art, Simple music management, Automatic transcoding for Wi-Fi offload, CarPlay support

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

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 3. 连续包月 | $0.49 | per month |
| 2. 连续包季 | $0.99 | per 3 months |
| 1. 连续包年 | $1.49 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Excellent NAS music player
- 👍 User-friendly interface
- 👍 Good NAS compatibility
- 👍 Powerful lyrics download
- 👍 Customizable cover art

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent login issues
- 🐛 App crashes after updates
- 🐛 Subscription required for full use
- 🐛 Poor support/bug fixing
- 🐛 Connection problems outside Wi-Fi

**Reported bugs**

- Login failures
- App crashes on update
- Cannot connect to My Cloud Home
- CarPlay login failures
- Cannot log in

**Requested features**

- iPad app support
- Green Union NAS support
- CarPlay login stability
- Chromecast support
- Playlist import/export


## Frequently asked questions

### Is HiByMusic free?

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

### Is DS Player free?

DS Player is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, HiByMusic or DS Player?

DS Player is rated higher. HiByMusic averages 3.4 out of 5 from 140 ratings, while DS Player averages 3.8 from 46 ratings.

### Do HiByMusic or DS Player have ads?

Neither HiByMusic nor DS Player shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, HiByMusic or DS Player?

HiByMusic ships an update every 3 months, and DS Player weekly. Most recently, HiByMusic was updated on October 16, 2026 and DS Player on October 15, 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.*