Comparison

JPLAY vs LyrPlay

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

Head to head
About

JPLAY

This app is a high-fidelity music player designed for audiophiles. It seamlessly integrates streaming services like Qobuz and Tidal with local music files, offering a unified interface for all your audio content. Experience superior sound quality and discover new music through its intuitive design and advanced features.

Highlights
  • Plays Qobuz, Tidal, and local music files
  • Works with most streamers and network DACs
  • HQPlayer Control API integration
  • Dramatically better sound quality
  • Radio feature for music discovery
  • Extended playlist management
  • Artist bios and album reviews
Features
Read full description

JPLAY is an award winning music playback app for audiophiles. It works instantly with nearly every streamer or network DAC on the market. It combines Qobuz, Tidal and local content in a single interface allowing user to access each library separately. Main features: • Beautiful, clean and easy to use app allowing you to play music on nearly all streamers/network DACs - no core needed! (UPnP AV/DLNA) • Plays from Qobuz, Tidal and files on local libraries • HQPlayer Control API – Seamlessly integrate and remotely control HQPlayer directly from JPLAY • Dramatically better sound quality thanks to minimizing network traffic • Radio feature discovers new music for you • Single library, individual library and folder views • Extended playlists management • Advanced search, sort, focus • Artists bios, album reviews etc • Highlighted audiophile formats • My Activity, My history keep your playback stats • Native iOS controls from locked screen • Sharing your favorite music on social media • And much, much more! JPLAY requires an active subscription to access its content and features. Sign up for a JPLAY subscription in the app. New users can enjoy a 14-day free trial period that will be automatically converted into a yearly subscription. Subscription is automatically renewed and charged on a yearly basis. You can cancel it at any time up until the day before renewal and you can at any time turn off the auto renewal.

About

LyrPlay

Transform your iPhone or iPad into a premium Squeezebox player. Stream your personal music collection with native FLAC support, seamless web interface integration, and high-quality audio streaming. Enjoy continuous playback with lock screen and Control Center controls.

Highlights
  • Native FLAC and Opus support
  • Material Web Interface integration
  • CarPlay support
  • Background audio playback
  • Lock screen and Control Center controls
  • Automatic server discovery
Features
Read full description

Transform your iPhone and iPad into a premium Squeezebox player with LyrPlay, the ultimate iOS companion for Lyrion Media Server (LMS). Enjoy your personal music collection with native FLAC / Opus support, seamless Material web interface integration, and high-quality audio streaming. KEY FEATURES Native FLAC Support Stream lossless audio with native decoding for 16-bit and 24-bit FLAC files. Experience your music collection with crystal-clear quality that preserves every detail. Material Web Interface and CarPlay Support Integrates with the Material Skin by CDrummond, providing full LMS control through a touch-optimized interface. Access your entire music library, playlists, and server settings with intuitive navigation. Background Audio Continuous playback with proper iOS integration including lock screen controls, Control Center access, and background audio support. Your music never stops, even when switching apps. Server Discovery Automatic LMS server detection with backup server support and failover capabilities. Connect effortlessly to your home server with robust connection management. Performance Optimized Built specifically for iOS with efficient networking, smart buffering, and bandwidth optimization options for various connection speeds. AUDIO FORMAT SUPPORT FLAC (16-bit, 24-bit) with native decoding AAC, MP3, M4A, Opus and other standard formats Configurable transcoding for bandwidth optimization Lock screen and Control Center integration Volume control through LMS and device buttons Gapless Playback Player Synchronizaton - restart track after sync REQUIREMENTS iOS 15.6 or later Lyrion Media Server (LMS) Material Skin plugin installed on your LMS server Local network connection to your LMS server TECHNICAL SETUP For advanced configuration options including transcoding optimization, visit the project documentation at github.com/mtxmiller/LyrPlay. Built with SwiftUI for iOS interface, Bass for native FLAC / Opus support, and WebKit for Material skin integration. LyrPlay delivers a quality Squeezebox experience on your iOS device. Turn your iPhone or iPad into a network audio player for your personal music server.

Screenshots

JPLAY4 screens
LyrPlay4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: LyrPlay at free against JPLAY's subscription. LyrPlay also leads on rating (4.5 vs 4.3). JPLAY's advantage is review sentiment (59% vs 50%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). On price, ratings volume, update cadence 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. JPLAY sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $49.99 per year and LyrPlay sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

LyrPlay holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 52 and 19 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 59% of JPLAY's written reviews are positive against 50% of LyrPlay's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

JPLAY ships an update every 3 weeks, LyrPlay monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
JPLAY versus LyrPlay: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterJPLAYLyrPlay
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (52 ratings)4.5 (19 ratings) — better
Positive reviews58.9% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings52 — better19
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size50 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMarcin OstapowiczEric Miller

Customer experience

JPLAY

All ratings52 ratings
Positive80.8%
Neutral5.8%
Negative13.5%
Written reviews190 reviews
Positive58.9%
Neutral6.3%
Negative34.7%

LyrPlay

All ratings19 ratings
Positive84.2%
Neutral5.3%
Negative10.5%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative25.0%

Bugs and requests

JPLAY

Reported bugs

14 issues
  • Tracks fail to render or play from Tidal
  • App crashes on startup with older iOS versions
  • Playback stuttering and lag issues
  • Renderer in transition errors
  • Device discovery failures
Show 9 more
  • Missing cover art for local files
  • Playback gets stuck at end of songs
  • Random track order despite settings
  • Skips tracks mid-playback
  • Connection drops with certain streamers
  • Metadata not syncing properly
  • Album art not loading from Synology/Plex servers
  • Qobuz favorites import not working
  • Tidal playlist suggestions missing

Requested features

16 requests
  • Monthly subscription option
  • Cross-device synchronization for playlists and favorites
  • EQ and tone adjustment controls
  • DSD file playback support
  • Multi-room audio capability
Show 11 more
  • Apple Watch control support
  • AirPlay support
  • Android version
  • Gapless playback improvement
  • Family sharing support
  • Apple Music integration
  • Internet radio support
  • Volume control in player screen
  • Automatic iCloud backup between devices
  • WebDAV support
  • Better error messages for troubleshooting

LyrPlay

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

JPLAY

Subscriptions1
  • JPLAY Premium14 Days trial$49.991 Year
One-time2
  • Lifetime$149.00
  • JPLAY Lifetime$199.00
1 purchases

LyrPlay

One-time1
  • Icon Pack$2.99

Questions

Is JPLAY free?
JPLAY is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is LyrPlay free?
LyrPlay is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, JPLAY or LyrPlay?
LyrPlay is rated higher. JPLAY averages 4.3 out of 5 from 52 ratings, while LyrPlay averages 4.5 from 19 ratings.
Do JPLAY or LyrPlay have ads?
Neither JPLAY nor LyrPlay shows ads.
Which is updated more often, JPLAY or LyrPlay?
JPLAY ships an update every 3 weeks, and LyrPlay monthly. Most recently, JPLAY was updated on September 25, 2026 and LyrPlay on September 16, 2026.

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