Comparison

RetroPlayer vs MusicFreq

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

Head to head
About

RetroPlayer

This music player offers a unique retro experience by simulating an old-style record player. Customize audio effects like distortion and noise, and control playback speed and pitch by interacting with the virtual turntable.

Highlights
  • Simulates retro record player
  • Adjustable distortion, skip, and noise effects
  • Control music pitch via turntable speed
  • Direct turntable manipulation with fingers
  • Re-experience familiar music with a vintage feel
Features
Read full description

RetroPlayer is a music player which simulates an old style reproducer. You can change settings such as distortion, skip, noise as you like and enjoy your favorite musics. Moreover, you can change pitch of musics by changing speed of turntable or rotating turntable directly by your fingers. Please re-enjoy a piece of music that you have listened to for many times.

About

MusicFreq

This app visualizes music playback with real-time frequency spectrum graphs. It offers extensive customization for graph types, colors, and playback controls, syncing with your device's music library. Enjoy dynamic visualizers that react to your audio.

Highlights
  • Real-time frequency spectrum graph
  • Customizable graph types (line, scatter, bar)
  • Album artwork color matching
  • Intuitive tap and swipe controls
  • iOS system player integration
  • Bluetooth remote control support
  • BPM analysis and title animations
Read full description

MusicFreq is a music player. MusicFreq analyzes the audio data of the DRM Free music being played and visualizes it in a real-time frequency spectrum graph. This graph appears when you're playing DRM-free (unprotected) MP3, M4A, AIFF, etc. music files that have been synced to your Music Library using your Mac or Windows computer and then downloaded to your device. Music purchased from AppleMusic or iTunesStore is in m4p (AAC) format protected by DRM (Apple FairPlay). Please note that protected audio files and cloud items will not be displayed in the graph. (Music can still be played.) Graphs can be customized as line, scatter, and bar graphs. The screen color changes to the same color as the album artwork of the music being played. You can control music with tap, long tap, left and right swipe. Display the simplified setting menu with the upper swipe. You can quickly change the basic color of the screen to your favorite color with few operations. Screen rotation is automatic and can be displayed and operated in both portrait and landscape. MusicFreq controls the iOS system player, so the music to be played is shared with the music library of the iOS Music App, the music controller widget in the lock screen and the control center, the equalizer for the music in the settings app. You can also use the timer stop setting within the settings app to stop playback. It is also possible to remotely control the player from a Blutooth device. Preparation Add DRM-free music files such as MP3 and M4A (unprotected AAC) to the Music app library on your Mac or Windows computer. Connect your iPhone to your Mac or Windows computer and sync your music library. Download the synced DRM-free music in the Music app on your iPhone and start playing it. Make sure the graph is displayed in the MusicFreq App. Function FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) of voice data and high frequency real time display of frequency spectrum graph MP3 BPM (Beat Per Minutes) analysis and title string blink animation Title string morphing animation Album artwork display Forced screen rotation lock operation Reproduction of iTunes playlist folder hierarchy Automatic scale expansion/contraction for MP3 in linear scale graph display Player operation Tap: Play / Pause Swipe left / right: Back / forward Long tap on left / right area of ​​screen: fast reverse / fast forward Seek bar (slider) tap: Move to any playback time position Swipe up: Display customization menu Swipe down: Display song list Two finger swipe left and right : Change graph type Two finger swipe up and down : Change graph granularity Two finger rotation : Change graph layout Pinch-in: Logarithmic scale Pinch out: Linear scale Graph customization Select from 5 types: line graph, scatter diagram, bar graph (short, long, dotted line) Audio stereo channel left / right graph independent, right channel graph reversed left / right, left / right mixed drawing Graph peak hold, descent, and bound display Automatic adjustment of graph drawing timing (Automatic audio delay matching with Bluetooth audio device connection, manual adjustment is also possible) Adjustment of drawing display information amount Adjustment of drawing update speed Change color (customize menu) Linear scale / logarithmic scale graph display change Notes All audio files in the music library can be played, but only DRM-free (unprotected) music files such as mp3 and m4a can be displayed as a graph. Also, cloud items cannot be analyzed on the device and will not be displayed in graphs, so please download them to the device using a genuine iOS music app. You cannot add DRM-free music files to your library on only device such as an iPhone iPad or iPod Touch. You need a Mac or Windows Computer to load DRM-free (unprotected) music files such as mp3s and m4a into your iOS Music App library. Graph drawing is a heavy processing load, which can cause your device to overheat and consume more power. Please be careful of your battery level.

Screenshots

RetroPlayer2 screens
MusicFreq4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: RetroPlayer at $1.99 against MusicFreq's $35.99. RetroPlayer also leads on iOS requirement (9.0 vs 13.0). MusicFreq's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 54 months) and review sentiment (67% vs 43%). On rating, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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

RetroPlayer costs $1.99 and MusicFreq $35.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.0 for RetroPlayer against 3.0 for MusicFreq. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 2 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 43% of RetroPlayer's written reviews are positive against 67% of MusicFreq's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RetroPlayer ships an update every 54 months, MusicFreq every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
RetroPlayer versus MusicFreq: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRetroPlayerMusicFreq
Price$1.99 — better$35.99
Rating3.0 (2 ratings)3.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews43.2% of reviews66.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings22
Update frequencyEvery 54 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS9.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTahito Aokijunichi sakonaka

Customer experience

RetroPlayer

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews37 reviews
Positive43.2%
Neutral8.1%
Negative48.6%

MusicFreq

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

None

RetroPlayer

No in-app purchases

None

MusicFreq

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is RetroPlayer free?
RetroPlayer costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is MusicFreq free?
MusicFreq costs $35.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, RetroPlayer or MusicFreq?
RetroPlayer and MusicFreq are both rated 3.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 2 ratings respectively.
Do RetroPlayer or MusicFreq have ads?
Neither RetroPlayer nor MusicFreq shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RetroPlayer or MusicFreq?
RetroPlayer ships an update every 54 months, and MusicFreq every 2 months. Most recently, RetroPlayer was updated on October 31, 2026 and MusicFreq on November 3, 2026.

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