AFR vs Z98.5
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
AFR
Listen to Christian conservative talk radio and music, or enjoy podcasts on demand. Download episodes for offline listening and integrate with your car's CarPlay system. Stay informed with push notifications about recently played songs and important broadcasts.
- Listen to AFR Talk and AFR Music
- Listen to podcasts
- Download podcasts
- Background audio playback
- CarPlay integration
- View recently played songs
- Push notifications
Read full descriptionHide full description
Features: Listen to AFR Talk and AFR Music Listen to the radio in the background Listen to Podcasts Download Podcasts Listen in your car with CarPlay View recently played songs Push Notifications Works with iPhone and iPad American Family Radio is a listener supported broadcast ministry of the American Family Association. AFR exists to be a voice for AFA to help motivate and equip individuals to restore American culture to its moral foundations. AFR does this in a variety of ways with both its music/teaching format as well as its Christian Conservative Talk format. AFR understands that politics and polices alone will not change America. It will take an intervention of Christ and our hearts turned back to Him. AFR hopes to educate our listeners with news and issues of the day but more importantly convey the Truth of Christ through clear presentations of the Gospel.
Z98.5
Listen to North Mississippi's Classic Rock station live, anywhere. Stream your favorite classic rock hits from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Enjoy the music that defined a generation.
- Live radio streaming
- Classic rock music
- Nationwide listening
- Mobile app access
Read full descriptionHide full description
Z98.5 is North Mississippi\'s Classic Rock! Shaking your speakers across North MS at 97.5fm, and nationwide at Z985.net or via the Z98.5 app! Showing tribute to the Classic Rock legacies you grew up listening to on cassette! Keep calm and rock on!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: AFR at 4.6 against Z98.5's 2.3. AFR also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 months vs every 20 months). 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.
AFR holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: AFR has 372 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 63% of AFR's written reviews are positive against 50% of Z98.5's.
AFR ships an update every 3 months, Z98.5 every 20 months. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | AFR | Z98.5 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (372 ratings) — better | 2.3 (4 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 63.2% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 372 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 20 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 25 MB | 12 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | American Family Association | San-Dow Broadcasting, Inc. |
Customer experience
AFR
Z98.5
Bugs and requests
AFR
Reported bugs
10 issues- App crashes immediately upon launch
- Audio plays but screen shows different content
- Incompatibility with iOS 13, 14, 15 updates
- App won't open after recent updates
- Playback stops after 5-10 seconds
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Buffering causes choppy audio
- Streaming interrupts when accessing other apps
- App freezes with spinning loading circle
- Podcast restart from beginning when paused
- Audio completely absent on some iOS versions
Requested features
9 requests- Update and display current show/host information
- Add rewind and fast-forward controls
- Implement clock radio/alarm functionality
- Allow app to continue playing with screen locked
- Set default station preference
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Resume playback from where user left off
- Improve podcast update frequency
- Better integration with other apps
- Separate music-only streaming option
Z98.5
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
AFR
No in-app purchases
Z98.5
No in-app purchases
