# StarTone vs NowPlay Studio

The clearest difference is price: NowPlay Studio at Free against StarTone's $0.99. NowPlay Studio also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.1) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 5 weeks). StarTone's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ratings volume (16 vs 1). On ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

NowPlay Studio is free to download; StarTone costs $0.99 up front. NowPlay Studio sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. StarTone asks for nothing beyond the download.

NowPlay Studio 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, NowPlay Studio every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and September 12, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | StarTone | NowPlay Studio |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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/nowplay-studio/id6755917734/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **16** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | **Every 10 days** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Size | 24 MB | 32 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 18.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [乃波 黄](https://appshunter.io/developer/680348637) | [MAROSCH UG (haftungsbeschränkt)](https://appshunter.io/developer/1857272062) |

## 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


### NowPlay Studio

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nowplay-studio/id6755917734)

Control your music playback with convenient widgets without needing to open the main application. Display album art, track title, and artist with customizable widget sizes. Enjoy reliable playback controls like play/pause and track skipping.

**Highlights:** Fast playback controls, Now Playing widget, Artwork-driven design, Apple Music support, Three widget sizes, Play/pause and skip tracks

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

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Background Styles | $1.99 | one-time |
| Widget Controls | $1.99 | one-time |
| Quick Play Widget | $1.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is StarTone free?

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

### Is NowPlay Studio free?

NowPlay Studio is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, StarTone or NowPlay Studio?

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

### Do StarTone or NowPlay Studio have ads?

Neither StarTone nor NowPlay Studio shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, StarTone or NowPlay Studio?

StarTone ships an update every 5 weeks, and NowPlay Studio every 10 days. Most recently, StarTone was updated on October 1, 2026 and NowPlay Studio on September 12, 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.*