# Longplay vs MusicSmart

The clearest difference is price: MusicSmart at Free against Longplay's $7.49. Longplay's advantage is review sentiment (78% vs 53%) and rating (4.6 vs 4.3). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

MusicSmart is free to download; Longplay costs $7.49 up front. Longplay sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and MusicSmart sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Longplay holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 166 and 274 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 78% of Longplay's written reviews are positive against 53% of MusicSmart's.

Longplay ships an update every 3 weeks, MusicSmart fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Longplay | MusicSmart |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $7.49 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[4.6 (166 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/longplay/id1495152002/reviews)** | [4.3 (274 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/musicsmart-liner-notes/id1512195368/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 166 | **274** |
| Positive reviews | **78.0% of reviews** | 52.6% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 40 MB | 50 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | **17** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Vision Pro | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Adrian Schoenig](https://appshunter.io/developer/1004508517) | [Loop Apps LTDA](https://appshunter.io/developer/1352747115) |

## What reviewers say

### Longplay

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/longplay/id1495152002)

Rediscover your music library with this app that beautifully displays your album artwork. Explore forgotten favorites and play music with smart sorting options like addiction, brightness, and recency. Organize albums into collections and enjoy infinite shuffle.

**Highlights:** Album artwork display, Smart sorting options, Album collections, Infinite album shuffle, Home screen widget, CarPlay and Siri support, Shortcuts integration

**Features:** Siri integration

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Small Tip | $2.00 | one-time |
| Medium Tip | $5.00 | one-time |
| Large Tip | $10.00 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🎵 Excellent album-focused listening experience
- 👍 Intuitive and minimalist user interface
- 🎨 Beautiful visual presentation of album artwork
- 🔍 Unique sorting options (Addiction, Negligence, Brightness)
- 🚗 CarPlay support for album browsing

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes with large music libraries
- ❄️ UI freezing and performance issues
- 🔥 Device overheating during operation
- ⏱️ Slow album loading and updating process
- 🚫 Doesn't display all albums in library

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes on startup with large libraries
- UI constantly freezes during album loading
- Device becomes very hot during operation
- Doesn't load entire music library
- Gapless playback creates overlapping songs

**Requested features**

- Search functionality for albums and artists
- Track listing display during playback
- Skip/back track controls
- Volume control in app
- Sort by release year


### MusicSmart

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/musicsmart-liner-notes/id1512195368)

Instantly discover detailed credits for any song, from songwriting and performance to marketing and visuals. This app acts as an IMDb for your music library, offering insights into the creation process and roles involved. Explore information about recordings, backstories, and even visual credits.

**Highlights:** Instant music credit discovery, Detailed songwriting and composition info, Performance and recording credits, Marketing, distribution, and business details, Visual and location credits, Instrument breakdowns, Integration with Apple Music, Spotify, and Shazam

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| MusicSmart Premium | $1.99 | per month |
| MusicSmart Premium | $9.99 | per year |
| MusicSmart Premium (Lifetime) | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great app for music credits lovers
- 👍 Fantastic background information
- 👍 Excellent depth of detail
- 👍 Highly recommended
- 👍 Essential for Apple Music users

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Inconsistent information quality
- 🐛 Limited data for classical/jazz albums
- 🐛 Doesn't work with iTunes purchases
- 🐛 Crashes when switching tabs
- 🐛 Lacks search and sorting features

**Reported bugs**

- Continuous crashes on certain devices
- Incorrect release dates shown
- Fails to recognize many albums in library

**Requested features**

- Integrate with YouTube Music
- Add lyrics/Genius integration
- Improve formatting for a more aesthetic look
- Allow access to liner notes without adding to library
- Provide musician credits for each track


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Longplay free?

Longplay costs $7.49, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is MusicSmart free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Longplay or MusicSmart?

Longplay is rated higher. Longplay averages 4.6 out of 5 from 166 ratings, while MusicSmart averages 4.3 from 274 ratings.

### Do Longplay or MusicSmart have ads?

Neither Longplay nor MusicSmart shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Longplay or MusicSmart?

Longplay ships an update every 3 weeks, and MusicSmart fortnightly. Most recently, Longplay was updated on September 22, 2026 and MusicSmart on September 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.*