Comparison

Stereophile vs Hemmings

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

Head to head
About

Stereophile

This app provides authoritative reviews, informed recommendations, and helpful advice on audio components, judged by their music reproduction quality. It offers monthly issues with expert opinions and insights for audiophiles.

Highlights
  • Authoritative reviews of audio components
  • Informed recommendations
  • Helpful advice for audiophiles
  • Expert opinions on music reproduction
  • Monthly magazine issues
Features
Read full description

Every month Stereophile magazine offers authoritative reviews, informed recommendations, helpful advice, and controversial opinions, all stemming from the revolutionary idea that audio components should be judged on how they reproduce music. ---SUBSCRIPTION AVAILABLE--- 1-year subscription for $9.99 Your subscription will be billed to your iTunes account upon confirmation of purchase. ---SUBSCRIPTION WILL AUTO-RENEW--- The subscription will include the current issue if you do not already own it and subsequently published future issues. Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. This Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period, your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. The cost of the renewal will match the initial subscription price. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. You may turn off auto-renewing subscriptions by going to your user’s Account Settings after purchase. No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during your active subscription period. You can view our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use here: http://www.avtechmediausa.com/terms.html http://www.avtechmediausa.com/privacy.html

About

Hemmings

Discover and purchase classic and collector cars from a vast marketplace. Connect with sellers, save your favorites, and participate in auctions. Serving enthusiasts since 1954.

Highlights
  • Browse thousands of classic cars
  • Search by year, make, model
  • Save favorite listings
  • Save favorite searches
  • Contact car sellers
  • Participate in auctions
Features
Read full description

Search through thousands of classic and collector cars on sale through Hemmings Marketplace. Serving the collector car community since 1954, Hemmings offers thousands of vehicles for sale by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts. You can search by year, make, model, and more. Save your favorite listings and searches for later, and get in touch with car sellers through our app– or even make a bid on Hemmings Auctions.

Screenshots

Stereophile4 screens
Hemmings4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Hemmings at 4.8 against Stereophile's 4.2. Hemmings also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 20) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 2 months). Stereophile's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.5). On price, ads 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. Stereophile sells 20 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Hemmings asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Hemmings holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hemmings has 7.3K ratings behind it against 138, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 17% of Stereophile's written reviews are positive against 31% of Hemmings's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Stereophile ships an update every 2 months, Hemmings every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Stereophile versus Hemmings: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStereophileHemmings
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (138 ratings)4.8 (7.3K ratings) — better
Positive reviews17.1% of reviews31.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1387.3K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.5
Further details — not scored
Size85 MB37 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMyTimeMedia LtdHEMMINGS MOTOR NEWS, INC

Customer experience

Stereophile

All ratings137 ratings
Positive81.8%
Neutral1.5%
Negative16.8%
Written reviews123 reviews
Positive17.1%
Neutral4.9%
Negative78.0%

Hemmings

All ratings5,132 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral2.1%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews83 reviews
Positive31.3%
Neutral6.0%
Negative62.7%

User reviews

Stereophile

From 138 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 📖 High-quality magazine content and reviews
  • 📱 Works well on iPad devices
  • ✨ Professional layout resembles print edition
  • 🎯 Comprehensive audio equipment coverage

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App frequently crashes and becomes unresponsive
  • 🔐 Subscription recognition failures despite active payments
  • 📥 Issues fail to download or restore properly
  • ⚠️ Inconsistent performance across iOS versions
  • 🔄 Restore purchases function rarely works

Hemmings

From 7.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great app for finding classic cars
  • 💡 Excellent source for collector car information
  • 👍 Trusted and reliable platform

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and glitchy app experience
  • 💢 Excessive and intrusive pop-up ads
  • 🤯 Frustrating user interface and navigation

Bugs and requests

Stereophile

Reported bugs

14 issues
  • App crashes every few minutes during use
  • Subscription not recognized despite active payment
  • Issues fail to download or load
  • Restore purchases function non-functional
  • App won't open on latest iOS versions
Show 9 more
  • Lost access to entire library after app updates
  • Login failures with valid credentials
  • Pixelated and fuzzy page rendering
  • Extremely slow page navigation and loading
  • App forgets subscription status on reopening
  • Duplicate charges on subscription renewal
  • Incompatibility with iOS 8 and newer updates
  • Pages partially load then crash
  • Text illegible without zooming on smaller devices

Requested features

10 requests
  • Access to searchable article archive
  • Availability of older back issues with subscription
  • Dynamic formatting for landscape and portrait modes
  • Working hyperlinks to advertisers and external sites
  • Better text resizing and font adjustment options
Show 5 more
  • Reader mode similar to Safari for improved readability
  • Ability to remember reading position between sessions
  • Background download capability
  • Retina display support and higher resolution
  • iPad-optimized interface instead of PDF wrapper

Hemmings

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Inability to close video ads
  • Inconsistent login and account management
  • Unreliable search and filtering functions

Requested features

3 requests
  • Improve search and filtering capabilities
  • Enhance account and login features
  • Optimize app performance and stability

In-app purchases

20 purchases

Stereophile

Subscriptions2
  • 1 Month | Stereophile$2.991 Month
  • Stereophile Magazine iPad Edition1 Month trial$9.991 Year
One-time18
  • Annual$0.99
  • 2023 December$4.99
  • 2024 February$4.99
Show 15 more
  • February 2012$6.99
  • April 2012$6.99
  • June 2012$6.99
  • October 2012$6.99
  • December 2012$6.99
  • October 2013$6.99
  • 2016 Buyer's Guide$6.99
  • March 2013$6.99
  • February 2025$7.99
  • April 2023$7.99
  • December 2024$7.99
  • November 2024$7.99
  • October 2024$7.99
  • August 2024$7.99
  • July 2024$7.99
None

Hemmings

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Stereophile free?
Stereophile is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Hemmings free?
Hemmings is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Stereophile or Hemmings?
Hemmings is rated higher. Stereophile averages 4.2 out of 5 from 138 ratings, while Hemmings averages 4.8 from 7.3K ratings.
Do Stereophile or Hemmings have ads?
Neither Stereophile nor Hemmings shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Stereophile or Hemmings?
Stereophile ships an update every 2 months, and Hemmings every 10 days. Most recently, Stereophile was updated on November 1, 2026 and Hemmings on October 30, 2026.

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