# StarTone vs MusicBottle

The clearest difference is price: MusicBottle at Free against StarTone's $0.99. MusicBottle also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.0). StarTone's advantage is update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 19 months) and ratings volume (16 vs 1). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

MusicBottle is free to download; StarTone costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

MusicBottle holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: StarTone has 16 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

StarTone ships an update every 5 weeks, MusicBottle every 19 months. The most recent releases landed on September 13, 2026 and September 9, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | StarTone | MusicBottle |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $0.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.1 (16 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/startone/id1216107501/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/musicbottle/id1438242237/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **16** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 weeks** | Every 19 months |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free** |
| Size | 24 MB | 1 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [乃波 黄](https://appshunter.io/developer/680348637) | [Low Step Productions](https://appshunter.io/developer/461940525) |

## 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


### MusicBottle

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/musicbottle/id1438242237)

Explore your personal music library by starting with a single song. Easily navigate to related tracks, albums, or songs within the same genre. This app offers a streamlined way to discover music without intrusive overhead.

**Highlights:** Play music from your library, Navigate music from a selected song, Expand to full albums, Discover songs in the same genre, Find songs with similar names, Ad-free music exploration

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is StarTone free?

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

### Is MusicBottle free?

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

### Which has better reviews, StarTone or MusicBottle?

MusicBottle is rated higher. StarTone averages 4.1 out of 5 from 16 ratings, while MusicBottle averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do StarTone or MusicBottle have ads?

Neither StarTone nor MusicBottle shows ads.

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

StarTone ships an update every 5 weeks, and MusicBottle every 19 months. Most recently, StarTone was updated on September 13, 2026 and MusicBottle on September 9, 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.*