Comparison

Lysten vs Loop

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

Head to head
About

Lysten

Easily discover and listen to podcasts with a privacy-focused player. Enjoy features like offline listening, interactive widgets, and seamless sharing with friends. Syncs via iCloud for a personal experience.

Highlights
  • Privacy-focused design
  • iCloud sync for progress
  • Offline episode downloads
  • Interactive widgets
  • Sleep timer
  • Adjustable playback speed
  • Spotlight search indexing
Features
Read full description

Start listening in seconds — search for any show, follow it, and get a clean list of episodes ready to play. Share episodes and shows with anyone, whether or not they have the app. iPhone and iPad users get an App Clip that drops them straight into playback. Tap the share button to invite your friends and loved ones. Lysten is a lightweight podcast player. Sign in with your email to keep your followed shows, episodes, and listening progress in sync across all your devices — iPhone, iPad, and CarPlay. Features: - Sync your library and listening progress across devices with a simple email sign-in - Interactive widgets showing your feed and unfinished episodes — catch up where you left off with a tap - Sidebar on iPad with cover art and grouped sections - CarPlay support, including a Continue Listening carousel - Download episodes to listen offline — long press an episode and select Download - Sleep timer, set, enjoy & sleep - Adjustable playback speed - Podcasts and episodes indexed in Spotlight - SharePlay support — listen to episodes with friends and family - Extremely lightweight If you run into any trouble or have any questions, please reach out: - E-mail: support@ambi.se - X (Twitter): @ambiApps - Mastodon: @ambiApps@mastodon.social Privacy policy: https://ambi.se/privacy Terms of use: https://ambi.se/terms

About

Loop

An independent podcast player designed for a superior audio experience on Apple devices. It offers features like sleep timers, chapter support, and automatic backups, all within a minimalist and privacy-focused interface.

Highlights
  • Sleep Mode with auto-pause timer
  • Episode chapter support
  • Podcast collections for sequential playback
  • Automatic iCloud backup
  • Privacy-first, no user tracking
  • Offline episode downloads
  • Podcast description translation
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

A simple and intuitive podcast player, without a big company behind it — Loop is an independent podcast player, designed to provide the best possible audio experience on Apple platforms. Loop is a modern and full-featured podcast player with several useful features in a simple and intuitive interface: - Sleep Mode: Dim the player’s brightness and set a timer for automatic pause. - Chapter Support: View episode topics without leaving the player. - Collections: Create collections from your favorite podcasts and listen to the latest episodes of all podcasts in sequence. - Automatic Backup: Your collections and favorite podcasts are always saved in iCloud. - Podcast Discovery: Explore content randomly, with no algorithms behind it. - Apple Standard Experience: A smooth and intuitive experience for Apple ecosystem users. - Privacy First: Your data stays on your device, with no tracking. - Customization: Personalize your Loop experience your way. - Wallpaper Studio: Turn podcast covers into wallpapers. - High-Quality Streaming: Listen to your podcasts in the best quality, without restrictions. - Episode Download: Enjoy your favorite content even offline. - Podcast Description Translation: Learn more about the podcast, even if you don't know the language spoken in it. - Smart Search: Ask Loop to find podcasts related to a topic, and it will find related podcasts powered by Apple Intelligence. Loop is funded by each unit sold. Payment will be charged to your App Store account upon purchase confirmation. Privacy policy: https://loop-app.framer.website/privacy Designed and developed in Brazil.

Screenshots

Lysten4 screens
Loop4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Lysten at Free against Loop's $4.99. Lysten also leads on review sentiment (80% vs 67%) and ratings volume (10 vs 2). Loop's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). On rating 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

Lysten is free to download; Loop costs $4.99 up front. Lysten sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Loop asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for Lysten against 4.5 for Loop. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Lysten has 10 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 80% of Lysten's written reviews are positive against 67% of Loop's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lysten ships an update every 2 months, Loop fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Lysten versus Loop: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLystenLoop
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating4.4 (10 ratings)4.5 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews — better66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings10 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#12 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size44 MB74 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAmbi Studio ABAugusto Simionato

Customer experience

Lysten

All ratings10 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%

Loop

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Lysten

Subscriptions2
  • Lysten+3 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Lysten+ Yearly7 Days trial$19.991 Year
None

Loop

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Lysten free?
Lysten is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Loop free?
Loop costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Lysten or Loop?
Loop is rated higher. Lysten averages 4.4 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while Loop averages 4.5 from 2 ratings.
Do Lysten or Loop have ads?
Neither Lysten nor Loop shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Lysten or Loop?
Lysten ships an update every 2 months, and Loop fortnightly. Most recently, Lysten was updated on October 23, 2026 and Loop on October 25, 2026.

Other comparisons