Comparison

Broadcasts vs Now Playing Plus

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

Head to head
About

Broadcasts

Stream internet radio stations from around the world with an intuitive, single-purpose application. Enjoy beautiful artwork, metadata, and cross-device syncing. Offers a free tier with a limited library or a full version for unlimited stations and advanced features.

Highlights
  • Global internet radio streaming
  • Unlimited station library (full version)
  • Station artwork and metadata display
  • Shazam integration for metadata
  • iCloud library syncing
  • CarPlay support
  • Apple Watch and Apple TV playback
Features
Read full description

Listen to streaming internet radio in an award-winning, ultra-simple, single-purpose app. Beautifully designed and fully-native on all platforms. Completely private: no accounts, no logins, and absolutely no tracking or analytics, by design. Broadcasts makes building a library of stations from around the world easier than ever. Use completely free with a handful of stations, or subscribe to unlock the full power of an unlimited library and add as many of your own stations as you like from the thousands available on the Station Browser, or manually via URL. Search for stations from around the world as easily as from your own library, by country, by genre, or on the world map. Manually add and listen to your favorite live podcasts, air traffic control, and more — just point Broadcasts at any supported streaming audio source. Use the Now Playing screen to showcase gorgeous station and track artwork (where provided). Control from the MiniPlayer, or the menu bar on your Mac. Use Broadcasts in StandBy mode on your iPhone as a bedside clock. Sync your library across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro, and Apple TV with iCloud, and Universal Purchase. Enjoy your library on the road using CarPlay and your iPhone. Listen with just your Apple Watch (Cellular) while on a run, or on Apple TV at home. Browse stations in grid or list view. Listen in Light or Dark mode. Edit stations to provide your own artwork, or use the Artwork Chooser or Image Playground to generate something fun and colorful. Use Handoff to transfer playback between devices, or AirPlay directly to a home speaker. Live Transcription uses an advanced on-device model to provide a realtime transcript so you can follow along without audio, or scroll back and see what you just missed, with support for dozens of languages. On macOS, Siri AI lets you ask questions about the transcript, like 'who is this person' or 'translate this for me'. Use Shazam to look up the current song, and add it to your music library. Supports Shortcuts & AppleScript for playback automation. Sleep Timer. Visualizer. Widgets. Spotlight. Siri. Game Controller. And much more! Supports Family Sharing. Made in Ireland. --- Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy policy: https://www.highcaffeinecontent.com/privacy

About

Now Playing Plus

Enhance your Apple Watch face with convenient audio controls. This app adds corner and circular complications, allowing quick access to playback functions without navigating through menus.

Highlights
  • Corner complications
  • Circular complications
  • Audio controls
  • Quick access
  • Customizable watch face
Features
Read full description

Now Playing Plus provides corner and circular complications for your Apple Watch face. This gives you easy access to audio controls, without needed to hunt around in the App List or Dock.

Screenshots

Broadcasts4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Broadcasts at 4.7 against Now Playing Plus's 3.7. Broadcasts also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 9 months) and ratings volume (965 vs 53). Now Playing Plus's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.0). On price, review sentiment and ads 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

Both are free to download. Broadcasts sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Now Playing Plus asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Broadcasts holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Broadcasts has 965 ratings behind it against 53, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of Broadcasts's written reviews are positive against 71% of Now Playing Plus's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Broadcasts ships an update monthly, Now Playing Plus every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Broadcasts versus Now Playing Plus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBroadcastsNow Playing Plus
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (965 ratings) — better3.7 (53 ratings)
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews — better71.4% of reviews
Number of ratings965 — better53
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 9 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPod, Apple Watch
Requires iOS18.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size34 MB1 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperSteven Troughton-SmithThe Iconfactory

Customer experience

Broadcasts

All ratings963 ratings
Positive92.8%
Neutral2.5%
Negative4.7%
Written reviews420 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral6.9%
Negative18.1%

Now Playing Plus

All ratings51 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral2.0%
Negative31.4%
Written reviews49 reviews
Positive71.4%
Neutral4.1%
Negative24.5%

Bugs and requests

Broadcasts

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Syncing issues causing data loss
  • Playback issues on CarPlay and macOS
  • Inconsistent behavior when changing stations

Requested features

5 requests
  • Improved global station search
  • Genre-based station browsing
  • Easier custom station addition
  • Airplay and Siri integration
  • Sleep timer and alarm clock functionality

Now Playing Plus

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Broadcasts

Subscriptions2
  • Broadcasts (One Month)7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Broadcasts (One Year)7 Days trial$11.991 Year
One-time1
  • Unlock All Features (Legacy)$9.99
None

Now Playing Plus

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Broadcasts free?
Broadcasts is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Now Playing Plus free?
Now Playing Plus is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Broadcasts or Now Playing Plus?
Broadcasts is rated higher. Broadcasts averages 4.7 out of 5 from 965 ratings, while Now Playing Plus averages 3.7 from 53 ratings.
Do Broadcasts or Now Playing Plus have ads?
Neither Broadcasts nor Now Playing Plus shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Broadcasts or Now Playing Plus?
Broadcasts ships an update monthly, and Now Playing Plus every 9 months. Most recently, Broadcasts was updated on October 24, 2026 and Now Playing Plus on October 22, 2026.

Other comparisons