# StarTone vs PlayingAlbums

The clearest difference is review sentiment: StarTone at 67% against PlayingAlbums's 0%. StarTone also leads on update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 9 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

StarTone costs $0.99 and PlayingAlbums $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

StarTone ships an update every 5 weeks, PlayingAlbums every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on September 13, 2026 and September 14, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | StarTone | PlayingAlbums |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $0.99 | $0.99 |
| Rating | **[4.1 (16 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/startone/id1216107501/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **16** | — |
| Positive reviews | **66.7% of reviews** | 0.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 weeks** | Every 9 months |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Size | 24 MB | 6 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **17.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [乃波 黄](https://appshunter.io/developer/680348637) | [Yuki Kuroki](https://appshunter.io/developer/1247199041) |

## What reviewers say

### StarTone

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/startone/id1216107501)

This music player allows you to rate songs with stars and love statuses directly from your device's library or audio files. It offers convenient rating options via widgets and Apple Watch, with iCloud sync for your ratings.

**Highlights:** Rate music with stars and love statuses, iCloud sync for ratings across devices, Rating support on Today Extension and Apple Watch, Play and rate common audio formats including Flac and MIDI, Embed lyrics and support for .lrc files, Smart playlist creation

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### PlayingAlbums

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/playingalbums/id1247199042)

This app shuffles songs within playlists by album, allowing you to listen to entire albums sequentially. It integrates with Apple Music and iTunes Match, and playlists can be shared across devices. Users can choose to use the standard Music app player or a separate mode.

**Highlights:** Shuffle songs by album, Integrates with Apple Music/iTunes Match, Cross-device playlist sharing via iCloud, Option to use standard Music app player, Separate player mode available, Supports multi-disc albums

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is StarTone free?

StarTone costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is PlayingAlbums free?

PlayingAlbums costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Do StarTone or PlayingAlbums have ads?

Neither StarTone nor PlayingAlbums shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, StarTone or PlayingAlbums?

StarTone ships an update every 5 weeks, and PlayingAlbums every 9 months. Most recently, StarTone was updated on September 13, 2026 and PlayingAlbums on September 14, 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.*