# StarTone vs NextUp Music Player

The clearest difference is price: NextUp Music Player at Free against StarTone's $0.99. NextUp Music Player also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.0) and review sentiment (100% vs 67%). StarTone's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (17 vs 1). On ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

NextUp Music Player is free to download; StarTone costs $0.99 up front. NextUp Music Player sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. StarTone asks for nothing beyond the download.

NextUp Music Player holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: StarTone has 17 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of StarTone's written reviews are positive against 100% of NextUp Music Player's.

StarTone ships an update every 5 weeks, NextUp Music Player fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | StarTone | NextUp Music Player |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $0.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.0 (17 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/startone/id1216107501/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nextup-music-player/id6757323472/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **17** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Freemium** |
| Size | 24 MB | 6 MB |
| Requires iOS | **18.0** | 18.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [乃波 黄](https://appshunter.io/developer/680348637) | [William Selak](https://appshunter.io/developer/1853670847) |

## 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


### NextUp Music Player

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nextup-music-player/id6757323472)

Facilitates shared music listening by ensuring everyone gets a turn to pick the next song. It integrates with Apple Music to create a fair and predictable listening experience for groups, while Replay Shield protects your personal listening history.

**Highlights:** Turn-based song selection, Fair and predictable music queue, Seamless Apple Music integration, Replay Shield for personal history, Focus on listening, not negotiating

**Features:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| NextUp Premium (Monthly) | $2.99 | per month |
| NextUp Premium (Annual) | $29.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is StarTone free?

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

### Is NextUp Music Player free?

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

### Which has better reviews, StarTone or NextUp Music Player?

NextUp Music Player is rated higher. StarTone averages 4.0 out of 5 from 17 ratings, while NextUp Music Player averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do StarTone or NextUp Music Player have ads?

Neither StarTone nor NextUp Music Player shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, StarTone or NextUp Music Player?

StarTone ships an update every 5 weeks, and NextUp Music Player fortnightly. Most recently, StarTone was updated on October 29, 2026 and NextUp Music Player on October 24, 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.*