Comparison

WFMT vs The New ClassicalFM

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

Head to head

WFMT

Free

🎵 Music

★ 3.762 ratingsView app →

The New ClassicalFM

Timeless Hits!

Free

🎵 Music

★ 3.313 ratingsView app →

About

WFMT

Stream live classical music from a world-renowned radio station. Enjoy exclusive broadcasts of concerts, live events, and performances from major orchestras and opera companies.

Highlights

Live classical music streaming
Exclusive concert broadcasts
Orchestra and opera performances
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Metropolitan Opera
Salzburg Festival

Features

Read full description

Listen to WFMT, one of the world’s most renowned classical music radio stations, wherever you are. You will hear superlative programs, concerts, and live events you cannot hear anywhere else – broadcasts from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Santa Fe Music Festival, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Metropolitan Opera, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the Salzburg Festival, San Francisco Opera and Symphony, and more.

About

The New ClassicalFM

This app offers a curated selection of beautiful classical music to help you relax and refresh. Enjoy timeless hits, interviews with renowned artists, live performances, and arts news.

Highlights

Classical music streaming
Artist interviews
Live performances
Arts news and information
Relaxing music selection

Read full description

The New Classical FM plays Beautiful Music For A Crazy World. Relax, refresh and recharge with the greatest classical music hits of all time, interviews and live performances with the biggest artists on the world stage today, plus arts news and information.

Screenshots

WFMT2 screens

The New ClassicalFM4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: The New ClassicalFM at none against WFMT's shown. The New ClassicalFM also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 7 months) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). WFMT's advantage is rating (3.7 vs 3.3) and ratings volume (62 vs 13). On price, review sentiment, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

WFMT holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 3.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 62 and 13 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 32% of WFMT's written reviews are positive against 26% of The New ClassicalFM's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

WFMT ships an update every 7 months, The New ClassicalFM every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level

WFMT versus The New ClassicalFM: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter	WFMT	The New ClassicalFM
Price	Free	Free
Rating	3.7 (62 ratings) — better	3.3 (13 ratings)
Positive reviews	32.0% of reviews — better	26.4% of reviews
Number of ratings	62 — better	13
Update frequency	Every 7 months	Every 2 weeks — better
Ads	Yes	No — better
In-app purchases	No	No
Monetization	Ad-supported	Free — better
Devices	iPhone, iPad, iPod	iPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS	15.0 — better	15.6
Further details — not scored
Size	47 MB	85 MB
Age rating	4+	17+
Developer	WFMT	MZMEDIA Inc.

Customer experience

WFMT

All ratings62 ratings

Positive62.9%

Neutral11.3%

Negative25.8%

Written reviews50 reviews

Positive32.0%

Neutral20.0%

Negative48.0%

The New ClassicalFM

All ratings13 ratings

Positive53.8%

Neutral15.4%

Negative30.8%

Written reviews72 reviews

Positive26.4%

Neutral20.8%

Negative52.8%

User reviews

WFMT

From 62 App Store ratings

What we love

👍 Great station content
👍 Easy to use interface
👍 Free to use
👍 Good sound quality (sometimes)
👍 Access to archives (recent)

Room to improve

🐛 Frequent stream interruptions
🐛 Constant crashing
🐛 Battery drain issues
🐛 Poor sound quality (compressed)
🐛 Outdated performance

The New ClassicalFM

From 13 App Store ratings

What we love

🎶 Great music selection
👍 Generally good app functionality (historically)
🎵 High-quality sound

Room to improve

❌ App frequently not working
❌ Frequent buffering/stopping
❌ Outdated interface
❌ Video playback issues
❌ High data usage (video)

Bugs and requests

WFMT

Reported bugs

15 issues

App stops playing frequently
Stream cuts out often
App crashes unexpectedly
Live stream stops without reason
App freezes and requires restart

Show 10 more

Title displayed doesn't match music
App drains battery
Streaming is touchy and stops on interruptions
On-demand feature is worthless
App compresses music heavily
Virtual volume slider not working on iPad
App quits without warning
Spinning circle and no stream
Website access has ad splash blocking navigation
App crashes after entering zip code

Requested features

8 requests

Update app performance
Fix app dropouts
Improve streaming stability
Add playlist information
Provide access to full archives

Show 3 more

Implement clock radio/sleep timer
Add concert notes/deep dives
Fix virtual volume slider on iPad

The New ClassicalFM

Reported bugs

45 issues

ObjectMapper failed to serialize response
App no longer working
Station will not broadcast
Cannot get station to play
Error message when trying to send notifications

Show 40 more

App tries to play two audio streams at once
App won't stop playing
Playback stops when app is minimized or phone is locked
App randomly starts playing
No more playback in iOS 18
Video not working in full screen
Video no longer working after website update
Website version gets interrupted
App doesn't load
No reception at all
Forces video streaming
Cannot stream using satellite internet
Constantly buffering
Live stream takes too much data
Cannot check other apps while listening
Video player goes on automatically
No option for radio only
App is very limited
No 'what's playing now' feature
App stopped working mid-October
App not working after update
Station keeps pausing
Cannot get AM or FM to stop buffering
Cannot listen to radio stations
App is cut off at the top and bottom of the phone
Signal drops after several minutes
Does not play stations
App isn't working at all
App constantly shuts off
App hangs when using email link
Feed keeps dropping
App is buggy
Cannot get 'last song' feature to work
Cannot see current pages of the Last Song
App doesn't work on Wi-Fi
App crashes or drops if other apps are open
Broken feed in 'what was that song' feature
Cannot get alarm to go off when set
Alarm doesn't go off when stop streaming is pressed
App stops streaming all the time

Requested features

6 requests

Add a sleep timer
Option for audio-only streaming
Show what music is playing
Optimize for newer iPhone screens
Add a timer for automatic pausing

Show 1 more

Improve website playlist functionality

In-app purchases

None

WFMT

No in-app purchases

None

The New ClassicalFM

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is WFMT free?

WFMT is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

Is The New ClassicalFM free?

The New ClassicalFM is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

Which has better reviews, WFMT or The New ClassicalFM?

WFMT is rated higher. WFMT averages 3.7 out of 5 from 62 ratings, while The New ClassicalFM averages 3.3 from 13 ratings.

Do WFMT or The New ClassicalFM have ads?

WFMT shows ads; The New ClassicalFM does not.

Which is updated more often, WFMT or The New ClassicalFM?

WFMT ships an update every 7 months, and The New ClassicalFM every 2 weeks. Most recently, WFMT was updated on October 17, 2026 and The New ClassicalFM on October 12, 2026.