Smooth Player vs Community Radio Plus
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Smooth Player
Stream your favorite music and radio stations on the go. Enjoy live broadcasts, curated playlists, and a vast library of podcasts. Stay updated with news, sports, and finance, all in one easy-to-use application.
- Live radio streaming
- Curated music playlists
- Hundreds of podcasts
- On-demand news
- Switch between stations
- Apple CarPlay support
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The easy place to relax is with you wherever you go thanks to the official Smooth Player app. You’ll enjoy free and unlimited access to all your favourite Smooth FM stations, an endless playlist of songs you know and love, the latest news, sport and finance on the go, plus hundreds of podcasts to explore from the NOVA Entertainment Podcast Network. Features: - Listen live to Smooth FM stations wherever you are with local news, traffic and weather. - Keep track of your favourite Smooth FM shows and switch between different music playlists. - Enjoy more music and radio stations than ever before from within the app switch from Smooth FM to Nova, FIVEAA and Star 104.5 with a swipe. - Access on-demand news from within the Player sourced from our partners including The Australian, News24, The Daily Telegraph, Fox Sports Australia, and News.com.au. - Listen your way through hundreds of podcast titles in the Nova Podcast Network. - Choose from news, sports, comedy and entertainment titles with new content uploaded daily. - Listen with Apple CarPlay - Enter Smooth radio competitions for your chance to win! From Michael Bublé to the Bee Gees, Backstreet Boys to George Michael, Madonna to Robbie Williams, the Smooth FM playlist includes all your favourite music to shut out the noise of everyday life. Join hosts Cameron Daddo, Richard Wilkins, David Campbell Bogart Torrelli, Ty Frost, Simon Diaz & Byron Webb as they take you on your smooth listening journey with more music, less talk. Listen to: - Smooth FM 95.3 Sydney - Smooth FM 91.5 Melbourne - Smooth FM Adelaide - Smooth FM Perth - Smooth FM Brisbane - Smooth Relax - Smooth 80s - Smooth Vintage - Access all of NOVA Entertainment's FM and AM stations including Nova, Star 104.5 and FIVEAA. - Listen to our Partner stations, such as News24 Radio, The Rock, Coles Radio, FOX SPORTS News and talkSPORT - Plus hundreds of podcast titles on the NOVA Entertainment Podcast Network
Community Radio Plus
Stream live radio from over 300 Australian community stations. Access diverse content including specialist music, podcasts, and news. Discover independent radio catering to various communities and interests.
- Stream live radio
- Access over 300 Australian stations
- Discover diverse content
- Listen to podcasts
- Get local, national, and international news
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Community radio’s official app allows you to stream live radio from over 300 stations across Australia to your mobile device, giving you instant access to diverse content including specialist music, a variety of podcasts and news bulletins that deliver local, national, and international stories. Alongside your favourite station, discover independent radio by community for community – from First Nations, to youth, seniors, faith-based, LGTBQIA+, multicultural, regional and diverse arts, music and cultural communities. Discover diverse stories and new favourite podcasts from a variety on offer, including wellbeing, arts, current affairs, science and technology, astronomy, health/medical, community service, sports, book and movie reviews, and more. Disclaimer: Usage of this app may result in additional data charges. Please check with your provider for more details. For customer service inquiries about the usage of the app, please contact us.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Smooth Player at 5.0 against Community Radio Plus's 4.2. Smooth Player also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (72 vs 6). Community Radio Plus's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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.
Smooth Player holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Smooth Player has 72 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 67% of Smooth Player's written reviews are positive against 92% of Community Radio Plus's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Smooth Player ships an update monthly, Community Radio Plus every 4 months. Both last shipped on October 23, 2026.
| Parameter | Smooth Player | Community Radio Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (72 ratings) — better | 4.2 (6 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 67.5% of reviews | 92.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 72 — better | 6 |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 61 MB | 84 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nova Entertainment | Community Broadcasting Association of Australia Limited |
Customer experience
Smooth Player
Community Radio Plus
User reviews
Smooth Player
From 72 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎶 Great music selection
- 😌 Relaxing vibes
- 📻 Favorite radio station
- 🎵 Continuous music
- 🎶 Awesome throwbacks
Room to improve
- 😩 Pre-roll advertising irritant
- 📱 App not working
- ⚠️ App crashes on startup
- 🚫 Won't open
- ❌ Can't login
Community Radio Plus
From 6 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 🔍 Diverse station selection
- 🌍 Ability to listen to stations across Australia
- 👍 Reliable streaming quality
- 🎶 Great music and content
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional app crashes or bugs
- 🔍 Missing some local stations
- 🔌 Compatibility issues with older devices
- 🔧 UI could be improved
Bugs and requests
Smooth Player
Reported bugs
19 issues- App crashes on startup
- Blank white screen on startup
- Opens to blank page
- Cannot log in on iPad
- Login button off screen
Show 14 moreShow fewer
- App not working on iPhone 14 Pro
- App not working on iOS 12.5.7
- CarPlay integration broken after update
- Player stops when volume is down
- Cannot raise volume when player is not playing
- App frozen on privacy page
- App doesn't load
- Cannot mute without shutting down
- App drops out frequently
- App doesn't automatically pick up after calls or leaving car
- App drops out on Wi-Fi, requires phone data
- Play button does nothing
- App chewing through data (2GB+ in 2 hours)
- Streaming quality not optimal
Requested features
8 requests- Support Siri Shortcuts
- Timer/sleep function
- Alarm function
- Siri functionality
- Improve streaming bandwidth
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Bring back Smooth Vintage
- Bring back Smooth 80's, 90's & Relax
- Bring Koffee back
Community Radio Plus
Reported bugs
3 issues- Favorites stations disappearing from the app
- Slow connection speeds and loading times
- Inability to find basic stations even with the correct address
Requested features
4 requests- Add Chromecast or Bluetooth streaming support
- Improve search and discovery of stations
- Introduce a dark mode option
- Allow users to delete shows from 'Continue Listening'
In-app purchases
Smooth Player
No in-app purchases
Community Radio Plus
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Smooth Player free?
Is Community Radio Plus free?
Which has better reviews, Smooth Player or Community Radio Plus?
Do Smooth Player or Community Radio Plus have ads?
Which is updated more often, Smooth Player or Community Radio Plus?
Other comparisons
