Sonos S1 Controller vs HEOS
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sonos S1 Controller
Manage your older Sonos systems with ease. This app allows you to control volume, group rooms, set alarms, and stream from your favorite services. Enjoy thousands of free stations with Sonos Radio.
- Control older Sonos products
- Adjust volume
- Group rooms
- Save favorites
- Set alarms
- Stream from services
- Listen to Sonos Radio
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This app controls systems that include the earliest Sonos products: Zone Players, Play:5 (Gen 1), Bridge, Connect (Gen 1) and Connect:Amp (Gen 1) Easily control your system. Adjust volume levels, group rooms, save favorites, set alarms, and more. Stream from popular services. Connect your streaming services and browse all your music, podcasts, radio, and audiobooks in a single app. Listen to Sonos Radio. Enjoy thousands of stations free on your system, including live radio from around the world, genre stations, artist-curated stations, and original programming from Sonos. If you are a California resident, for more information about our privacy practices, please see: California Privacy Notice: https://www.sonos.com/legal/privacy#legal-privacy-addendum-container
HEOS
Control a wide range of connected audio devices from Denon, Marantz, and Definitive Technology. Stream music from online services or local storage, and enjoy true multi-room audio with easy setup and intuitive control.
- True multi-room audio
- Quick and easy setup
- Access online music services
- Search across multiple music sources
- Control playback remotely
- Access locally stored music
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HEOS is the controller app for the world’s biggest and best range of connected audio gear. It is a smart music streaming technology found in all devices Powered by HEOS from Denon, Marantz, and Definitive Technology. HEOS is for music lovers who want a beautiful and intuitive way to enjoy the latest advances in connected audio. You can find HEOS built into great sounding AV receivers, Hi-Fi equipment, sound bars, speakers, mini systems and specialty multi-room models. Features: True multi-room audio: play different songs in different rooms or the same song in multiple rooms. Quick and easy setup: add all your speakers with step-by-step instructions. Instant access to your favorite music: play from your favorite online music services, like Spotify, Amazon Music, TIDAL, and more. Search your music in one place: use one search function to browse across multiple music sources. See what’s playing any time: play, pause, and skip music from anywhere in the app. Access locally stored music: play music saved to your phone, USB, analog inputs, computers, and NAS drives. Share with your friends and family: support for multiple users and multiple music service accounts.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Sonos S1 Controller at 52% against HEOS's 24%. Sonos S1 Controller also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.4) and ratings volume (821K vs 27K). HEOS's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and monetization model (ad-supported vs free with in-app purchases). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Sonos S1 Controller holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sonos S1 Controller has 821K ratings behind it against 27K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 52% of Sonos S1 Controller's written reviews are positive against 24% of HEOS's.
Sonos S1 Controller ships an update every 2 months, HEOS every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Sonos S1 Controller | HEOS |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (821K ratings) — better | 4.4 (27K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 52.1% of reviews — better | 24.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 821K — better | 27K |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Ad-supported — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 103 MB | 327 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sonos, Inc. | D&M Holdings |
Customer experience
Sonos S1 Controller
HEOS
User reviews
Sonos S1 Controller
From 821K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great sound quality
- 🔍 Versatile and easy to use
- 💡 Whole-home audio experience
- 🎨 Sleek and modern design
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent connectivity issues
- 🔀 Confusing and unintuitive app updates
- 🔍 Difficult to navigate and control
- ⚠️ Planned obsolescence of older products
HEOS
From 27K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent sound quality
- 🔒 Robust wireless connectivity
- 👍 Convenient app control
- 💡 Integrates with various music services
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy and unstable app
- 👎 Poor user interface and navigation
- 🔌 Connectivity issues and frequent disconnects
- 💤 Slow app performance and loading times
Bugs and requests
Sonos S1 Controller
Reported bugs
3 issues- App fails to recognize speakers
- Music playback randomly cuts out
- Inability to control volume from lock screen
Requested features
4 requests- Restore previous app interface
- Improve search and playlist management
- Add Bluetooth connectivity
- Better integration with personal music libraries
HEOS
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashes and freezes frequently
- Speakers randomly disappear from the network
- Volume controls are inconsistent and unreliable
- Sync issues between grouped speakers
Requested features
4 requests- Add support for Apple Music
- Improve playlist management and queue functionality
- Provide better customization options for rooms and speakers
- Implement a more intuitive and user-friendly app design
In-app purchases
Sonos S1 Controller
No in-app purchases
HEOS
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Sonos S1 Controller free?
Is HEOS free?
Which has better reviews, Sonos S1 Controller or HEOS?
Do Sonos S1 Controller or HEOS have ads?
Which is updated more often, Sonos S1 Controller or HEOS?
Other comparisons
