KEXP vs NearHear
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
KEXP
Discover and enjoy a diverse range of music from a global community of artists and fans. This app offers live radio broadcasts and exclusive in-studio performance videos, connecting you to influential music across genres and traditions.
- Live radio broadcasts
- Exclusive in-studio performances
- Global music community
- Music across eras and styles
- Online streaming
Read full descriptionHide full description
KEXP is an international community of music lovers and music makers, championing music that spans eras, styles and traditions. One of the most influential listener-supported music stations in the world, KEXP radio broadcasts on-air and online from our studios in Seattle and the Bay Area. Each week on KEXP's YouTube channel, millions of viewers worldwide enjoy Live on KEXP sessions featuring exclusive in-studio performances. Listen in and join our community at KEXP.ORG.
NearHear
Discover live music events and explore new artists with this music event calendar. Seamlessly integrate with Spotify to find shows based on your favorite genres and venues. Build playlists, listen to artists before they perform live, and add your own events to share with the community.
- Music event calendar
- Spotify integration
- Artist and show discovery
- Genre and venue filtering
- Playlist creation
- User-added events
Read full descriptionHide full description
NearHear is a music event calendar, designed for discovery and exploration. With seamless Spotify integration, you can easily explore unfamiliar artists while filtering by genre and venue to find your next favorite show. Why NearHear? - Playlists with a Purpose: Build your own playlists or follow ours—all featuring artists with upcoming shows. - Upcoming Shows: Every artist featured on NearHear has an upcoming live performance. - Smart Filters: Narrow down events by date, venue, and genre to find exactly what you're looking for. - Listen Before You Go: Browse upcoming shows by ear and get a feel for the artists you'll see live. - Add Your Events: Add your own shows to the calendar to share them with the NearHear community. - Venues of All Sizes: From parks and dive bars to arenas, discover shows at venues big and small. - Free and Ad-Free: Enjoy all these features without any cost or interruptions. - Spotify Integration: Link your account for to see shows for artists you already love. Deep dive into your local scene and discover more shows with NearHear.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: NearHear at 100% against KEXP's 42%. NearHear also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.0). KEXP's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 22 months) and ratings volume (278 vs 5). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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.
NearHear holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: KEXP has 278 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 42% of KEXP's written reviews are positive against 100% of NearHear's.
KEXP ships an update every 2 months, NearHear every 22 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | KEXP | NearHear |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (278 ratings) | 5.0 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 42.4% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 278 — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 22 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17.5 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 56 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | KEXP.ORG 90.3FM Seattle | Offline Development, LLC |
Customer experience
KEXP
NearHear
In-app purchases
KEXP
No in-app purchases
NearHear
No in-app purchases
