# MusicMachine vs StarTone

The clearest difference is rating: StarTone at 4.0 against MusicMachine's 3.0. StarTone also leads on update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (17 vs 1). MusicMachine's advantage is review sentiment (75% vs 67%) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

MusicMachine costs $0.99 and StarTone $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

StarTone holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: StarTone has 17 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 75% of MusicMachine's written reviews are positive against 67% of StarTone's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

MusicMachine ships an update every 3 months, StarTone every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | MusicMachine | StarTone |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $0.99 | $0.99 |
| Rating | [3.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/musicmachine/id426016410/reviews) | **[4.0 (17 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/startone/id1216107501/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 1 | **17** |
| Positive reviews | **75.0% of reviews** | 66.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Every 5 weeks** |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Size | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| Requires iOS | **14.0** | 18.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Jason Santos](https://appshunter.io/developer/413331243) | [乃波 黄](https://appshunter.io/developer/680348637) |

## What reviewers say

### MusicMachine

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/musicmachine/id426016410)

This app functions as a digital jukebox, letting users select songs for playback. It's designed for social gatherings like parties, allowing multiple people to contribute to a music queue. Users can manage the queue, control playback, and create playlists.

**Highlights:** Select music for playback, Manage song queue, Full playback controls (seek, skip, pause, stop), Background playback, Create and save playlists, Share/export non-DRM songs

**In-app purchases:** none


### StarTone

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/startone/id1216107501)

This music player allows you to rate songs with stars and love statuses directly from your device's library or audio files. It offers convenient rating options via widgets and Apple Watch, with iCloud sync for your ratings.

**Highlights:** Rate music with stars and love statuses, iCloud sync for ratings across devices, Rating support on Today Extension and Apple Watch, Play and rate common audio formats including Flac and MIDI, Embed lyrics and support for .lrc files, Smart playlist creation

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is MusicMachine free?

MusicMachine costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is StarTone free?

StarTone costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, MusicMachine or StarTone?

StarTone is rated higher. MusicMachine averages 3.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while StarTone averages 4.0 from 17 ratings.

### Do MusicMachine or StarTone have ads?

Neither MusicMachine nor StarTone shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, MusicMachine or StarTone?

MusicMachine ships an update every 3 months, and StarTone every 5 weeks. Most recently, MusicMachine was updated on November 1, 2026 and StarTone on November 2, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*