Echoes App vs WCBE
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Echoes App
Listen to a daily two-hour music soundscape featuring a wide array of styles from acoustic to electronic, jazz to space music. Explore interviews with modern music figures and live concert recordings.
- Daily music soundscape
- Interviews with musicians
- Live concert recordings
- Explore diverse music styles
- Public Radio International content
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Echoes App: The Echoes App allows you to listen to Echoes and Echoes Online (subscription required) and explore all the great Echoes content! Echoes is a daily two-hour music soundscape, distributed by Public Radio International and broadcast on 130 radio stations from Maine to California. With host John Diliberto, a writer for Billboard, Pulse and other magazines, Echoes brings together a wide array of styles, from acoustic to electronic, jazz to space music, the avant-garde to rock. Echoes is a sound that is cross-cultural and trans-millennial, merging cultures and forms, technology and tradition, the ancient past and the possible future. In addition to the many recordings heard on Echoes, we also produce interview features with popular modern music figures such as Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush and Enya, as well as less well-known known composers such as Dead Can Dance, Steve Roach, and The Orb. Echoesalso produces Living Room Concerts, live performances recorded in musician’s homes or studios and broadcast on Echoes. Concerts thus far have included Mark Isham, Steve Roach, Patrick O’Hearn, Ottmar Liebert, Michael Brook, Robert Fripp, Nightnoise, R. Carlos Nakai, Ancient Future, Sheila Chandra, Adrian Legg, Michael Hedges and many more. The Echoes App is brought to you by Echoes and built by Public Media Apps.
WCBE
Stream live radio and local podcasts, view program schedules, and set alarms. Enjoy DVR-like controls for live broadcasts, background listening, and send messages to the station. Access news stories and archived content.
- Live stream listening
- Podcast playback
- Program schedule
- Alarm clock functionality
- DVR-like controls (pause, rewind, fast forward)
- Background audio playback
- Send voice/video messages
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The WCBE App allows you to listen to the WCBE live stream and local podcasts, view the program schedule, and wake up to WCBE with the alarm clock! App Features • DVR-like controls (pause, rewind, and fast forward). You can pause the live stream to have a conversation and pick up right where you left off! Or rewind to catch something you just missed! • Listen to the live stream from WCBE even while traveling! • Integrated program schedule for the WCBE stream! • Listen to WCBE in the background while browsing the web or catching up on your emails! • Send the station a voice mail or video message via the Send Message feature! • Listen to WCBE podcasts and archived content! • Read or listen to WCBE news stories. The WCBE App is brought to you by the great people at the Columbus City School District and Public Media Apps. We work to provide our valued listeners with great mobile solutions. https://www.wcbe.org/ http://www.publicmediaapps.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: WCBE at 4.9 against Echoes App's 3.9. WCBE also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 58%) and monetization model (free vs subscription). On price, ratings volume, 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.
WCBE holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 48 and 35 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 58% of Echoes App's written reviews are positive against 100% of WCBE's.
Echoes App ships an update every 10 months, WCBE every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Echoes App | WCBE |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.9 (48 ratings) | 4.9 (35 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 58.3% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 48 — better | 35 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 58 MB | 38 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Pennsylvania Public Radio Associates Inc | Columbus City School District |
Customer experience
Echoes App
WCBE
In-app purchases
Echoes App
No in-app purchases
WCBE
No in-app purchases
