Comparison

StarTone vs GPS Tunes

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

StarTone

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
Read full description

StarTone is a music player which can play songs in your "Music" library and audio files stored in your device, including common format like mp3 and lossless format of Flac, also it support MIDI playback and support customize sound bank. StarTone was came out for rating music with stars and "love" statues. The rating bar stands out in the main page, so it just need one touch to make the rating, no need to open many submenus. In addition,  StarTone provides Today Extension and Watch app, so you can also make music ratings on the Widget Screen and your Apple Watch. StarTone now also equips some handy features to make the music listening easy and happy. Please try to play with them. Features:  1. Quickly set star and love ratings for music on your local library, Apple Music or audio file. 2. Sync music ratings with other devices or iTunes via iCloud on the go. 3. With iCloud Sync enabled, love / dislike rating are available. 4. Support rating on today extension (widget). 5. Share music ratings with family and friends. 6. Support embed lyrics, .lrc lyrics file and online lyrics. 7. Support automatically play when launch the app. 8. Support star music rating on Apple Watch. 9. Play and rate audio files of general format and Flac lossless format. 10. Support MIDI playback. 11. Smart playlist for both Music Library and audio files. 12. Play audio files on Apple Watch. 13. Scheduled music playback.

About

GPS Tunes

Features
Read full description

GPS Tunes turns your map into a music player. Draw a circle around any place — your home, gym, office, favourite café, commute route, or anywhere that deserves its own soundtrack — and assign Apple Music playlists, songs, or voice recordings to it. Step inside and your music starts playing automatically. Walk out and it pauses. It's that simple. HOW IT WORKS 1. Open the Map tab and tap anywhere to place a region, or tap + to add one at your current location. 2. Set the size of the circle — from a single room to an entire neighbourhood. 3. Attach any Apple Music playlist, a set of songs, or a voice recording. 4. Walk in. Music plays. Walk out. Music pauses. KEY FEATURES LOCATION-TRIGGERED PLAYBACK Music starts the moment you cross a region boundary — even when your screen is off or the app is closed. Background location keeps it working all day. APPLE MUSIC INTEGRATION Attach any playlist or song from your Apple Music library or the full catalogue. GPS Tunes queues and plays everything automatically. SMART RESUME Briefly stepped out and came back? GPS Tunes remembers exactly where you were in the queue and picks up right where it left off — no restart, no skipping. MULTIPLE REGIONS, ONE MAP Create as many regions as you like. Overlapping regions? No problem — GPS Tunes always plays the region whose centre you're closest to. VOICE RECORDINGS Record voice memos directly in the app and attach them to any region. Perfect for reminders, guided tours, or personal messages tied to a place. REGION ENTRY NOTIFICATIONS Get a heads-up banner when you enter a music region so you can tap Play Now even if the app is in the background. BACKGROUND AND KILLED-STATE SUPPORT GPS Tunes uses iOS CoreLocation region monitoring so it can wake itself up and start playing even if you force-quit the app. ORDERED MEDIA BLOCKS Mix playlists, individual songs, and voice recordings in any order within a single region. GPS Tunes plays them sequentially and loops back automatically. PERFECT FOR • Morning routines — upbeat playlist triggers the moment you step into the kitchen • Gym sessions — workout mix starts when you walk through the door • Commutes — music switches as you leave home and again when you arrive at work • Home office — focus music plays only at your desk • Road trips — region-specific soundtracks for different cities or highways • Guided walks and tours — voice narration plays as you move between landmarks PRIVACY Your location is used only on-device to detect region boundaries. GPS Tunes never uploads, shares, or sells your location data. Requires Apple Music subscription or library access for music playback. Voice recordings are stored locally on your device. https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/en-ww/

Screenshots

StarTone4 screens
GPS Tunes3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: StarTone at $0.99 against GPS Tunes's $2.99. StarTone also leads on iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.5). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

StarTone costs $0.99 and GPS Tunes $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

StarTone ships an update every 5 weeks, GPS Tunes every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
StarTone versus GPS Tunes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStarToneGPS Tunes
Price$0.99 — better$2.99
Rating4.0 (17 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings17 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.5
Further details — not scored
Size24 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer乃波 黄Vijayvir Singh

In-app purchases

None

StarTone

No in-app purchases

None

GPS Tunes

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is StarTone free?
StarTone costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is GPS Tunes free?
GPS Tunes costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do StarTone or GPS Tunes have ads?
Neither StarTone nor GPS Tunes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, StarTone or GPS Tunes?
StarTone ships an update every 5 weeks, and GPS Tunes every 3 weeks. Most recently, StarTone was updated on October 24, 2026 and GPS Tunes on October 16, 2026.

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