Comparison

JRemote vs Pioneer Remote App

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

Head to head
About

JRemote

Control your JRiver Media Center library remotely from your iOS devices. Manage playback, edit metadata, and stream audio, even outside your home network. Supports DLNA devices and CarPlay.

Highlights
  • Full remote control of JRiver Media Center
  • DLNA device control and zone management
  • Automatic and manual server setup
  • Edit and view file metadata
  • Playback controls with HUD
  • Audio streaming to iOS device
  • CarPlay enabled
Features
Read full description

JRemote is a full featured native iOS remote for JRiver Media Center. JRemote was developed to offer you full remote control of your JRiver Media Center from any of your iDevices. Please note that you need JRiver Media Center version 15 or later. We recommend you always run the latest version. Features and specs: Universal app JRemote is a universal iOS application. The application will run on both iPhone/iPod touch as well as iPad’s. Each version is optimized for it`s screen size. Navigation JRemote uses the navigation setup from JRMC itself. This allows you to customize the navigation menu and sub-menus from within the JRiver application. - Multiple view modes (list, imagelist, thumbnails) - Search using JRMC`s fuzzy search engine - Virtual remote for controlling theater view DLNA and zones Use JRemote to control all your DLNA supported devices. Any device supported in JRMC can be controlled from JRemote by switching to that specific zone. You can link and unlink zone for multi-room playback. Easy setup Connecting to your computer is fully automatic, no need to enter your IP-address and Port number. You only need to enter the access key found in JRMC`s option panel (We do provide an option for you to add IP-address and Port manually if needed). - JRemote will let you connect to your server from outside your wifi, using standard mobile networks. For this to work you need to configure port forwarding on your internet router. - Wake-On-LAN is supported if you provide your machines MAC address. (Automatic when adding a server by access key) - JRemote is CarPlay enabled. Edit and view metadata Any metadata attached to a specific file can be viewed and edited. You can update multiple files in one operation. Rating may be set from multiple locations depending on iPhone/iPad version. Player controls JRemote includes all common playback controls including repeat mode, and shuffle mode. Control volume and progress from sliders while getting feedback from the HUD display Audio streaming JRemote lets you stream all your audio files to the device itself. Just select “This device” as the current zone. - Gapless playback - Stream any file up to 96kHz, 24 bit - Downloaded progress indicator - Supported audio formats include AAC, AIFF, ALAC, APE, DSF/DFF, FLAC, M4A, MP3, OGG, and WAV. - All files may be transcoded to MP3 from 128Kbs up to 320Kbs

About

Pioneer Remote App

Control compatible Pioneer and Elite audio-visual products from your smart device. Stream music from various services, adjust sound settings, and manage connected devices for an enhanced home entertainment experience.

Highlights
  • Music streaming integration
  • Intuitive remote control
  • AV receiver sound adjustment
  • Control connected Pioneer devices
  • Automatic sound field correction
Read full description

Pioneer Remote App is an application that allows users to enjoy their favorite music at home on compatible Pioneer & Elite products. The Pioneer Remote App lets you intuitively operate compatible Pioneer products (control the volume, select the input source and listing mode, etc.), granting more sophisticated and convenient control. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to enjoy innovative AV entertainment. Main Features 1. Play music in each room or every room - Lets you play music from music streaming services such as Pandora, Tune in, Spotify, Amazon music, DEEZER and TIDAL, your music library on your smart device, or your NAS drive on compatible products. - You can play your music via radio, Bluetooth and USB. 2. Lets you intuitively operate remote control functions (control the volume, select the input source and listing mode, etc.), granting more sophisticated and convenient control over Pioneer stereo systems. 3. AV receiver sound quality adjustment feature You can adjust the equalizer settings, the channel levels of individual speakers, and the bass and treble settings to adjust sound quality to suit your own particular preferences. 4. Operation of connected Pioneer product(home theater product such as AV amplifier) Let you control a Pioneer Blu-Ray Disc player or TV that is connected to an AV amplifier or home theater product via HDMI. 5. Dirac Live-enabled products measure automatic sound field correction. In addition, filters can be edited. *By setting the “Network Standby” menu item in the unit’s initial settings to ON, you can use this application to turn on the power of the unit. Compatible models Network ready AV receivers/ Network Audio Player/ Hi-Fi/ Mini Component/ Wireless Speaker/ Speaker bar in April 2016 or later ■ Please note ・To use Application it needs to read and agree Terms of Service. ・All models require a firmware update to use Pioneer Remote App. ・The device on which Pioneer Remote App is installed and the FireConnect compatible model must be connected to the same router. ・Available music service depend on regions. ・Why Device's location is needed? Answer: In order to set-up your wireless devices which are located around you, SSID and Access Point info is needed. There is no other purpose to use the information of Device’s Location.

Screenshots

JRemote4 screens
Pioneer Remote App4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Pioneer Remote App at Free against JRemote's $12.99. Pioneer Remote App also leads on ratings volume (230 vs 28). JRemote's advantage is rating (3.8 vs 2.2) and review sentiment (63% vs 24%). On update cadence, ads, 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

Pioneer Remote App is free to download; JRemote costs $12.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

JRemote holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 2.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pioneer Remote App has 230 ratings behind it against 28, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 63% of JRemote's written reviews are positive against 24% of Pioneer Remote App's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
JRemote versus Pioneer Remote App: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterJRemotePioneer Remote App
Price$12.99Free — better
Rating3.8 (28 ratings) — better2.2 (230 ratings)
Positive reviews62.7% of reviews — better24.5% of reviews
Number of ratings28230 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size53 MB78 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJRiver11 Trading Company LLC

Customer experience

JRemote

All ratings28 ratings
Positive67.9%
Neutral14.3%
Negative17.9%
Written reviews303 reviews
Positive62.7%
Neutral13.5%
Negative23.8%

Pioneer Remote App

All ratings230 ratings
Positive23.9%
Neutral8.7%
Negative67.4%
Written reviews147 reviews
Positive24.5%
Neutral11.6%
Negative63.9%

User reviews

JRemote

From 28 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent remote control
  • 🔒 Stable and reliable
  • 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
  • 🚀 Fast and responsive
  • 👍 Great companion to JRiver Media Center

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and connection issues
  • 🐛 Compatibility problems with latest iOS versions
  • 🐛 Bugs with video playback
  • 🐛 Settings revert unexpectedly
  • 🔋 High battery consumption

Pioneer Remote App

From 230 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Works great from day one!
  • 👍 Great app
  • 👍 Solid app
  • 👍 Loving the app

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Unstable connectivity
  • 🐛 Constantly locks up
  • 🐛 Buggy
  • 🐛 Frequently freezes
  • 🐛 App crashes when opening

Bugs and requests

JRemote

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashes when trying to play videos
  • Inability to connect to media server
  • Inconsistent behavior when changing media server IP
  • Playback issues with certain audio formats
  • Album art not updating when song changes

Requested features

8 requests
  • Offline music playback
  • Ability to control DSP settings
  • Customizable views and layouts
  • Gapless playback
  • Playlist creation and management
Show 3 more
  • CarPlay support
  • Synced cover art display
  • Metadata editing capabilities

Pioneer Remote App

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • EQ settings don't save
  • Can't save EQ settings
  • EQ change doesn't get saved
  • Equalizer settings don't persist
  • App won't stay connected to certain models
Show 3 more
  • App can't detect certain receiver models
  • Dirac Live doesn't work
  • Pandora takes 30 seconds to 1 minute to load

Requested features

8 requests
  • Adjust 'voice/dialogue' by single increments
  • Show settings in a list rather than cycling through
  • Add ability to control zone 2 and 3 volume
  • Add ability to group speakers
  • Add button to choose speakers (A, B, A+B)
Show 3 more
  • Add dark mode option
  • Add advanced analytics dashboard
  • Bring back MCACC Pro settings view

In-app purchases

None

JRemote

No in-app purchases

None

Pioneer Remote App

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is JRemote free?
JRemote costs $12.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pioneer Remote App free?
Pioneer Remote App is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, JRemote or Pioneer Remote App?
JRemote is rated higher. JRemote averages 3.8 out of 5 from 28 ratings, while Pioneer Remote App averages 2.2 from 230 ratings.
Do JRemote or Pioneer Remote App have ads?
Neither JRemote nor Pioneer Remote App shows ads.
Which is updated more often, JRemote or Pioneer Remote App?
JRemote ships an update every 3 months, and Pioneer Remote App every 3 months. Most recently, JRemote was updated on October 19, 2026 and Pioneer Remote App on October 13, 2026.

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