Instaply vs Control Play
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Instaply
Enhance customer communication and drive sales by centralizing customer messages from SMS, social media, and web widgets into one platform. Improve team productivity with automated responses and collaboration tools, all accessible via any internet-connected device.
- Centralized messaging from multiple channels
- Automated responses and productivity tools
- Team collaboration and message forwarding
- Message archiving and history
- Open API for CRM/ERP integration
- Integrated payment solutions
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IMPROVE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION Put simply; your customers prefer to text. By providing them with a service that both allows them to do that, while saving you the grief of trying to maintain professional conversations via your mobile device, will improve your business communications. DRIVE SALES 98% of all text messages are opened within 3 minutes of receipt. Instaply will help you redefine your sales strategy, and use outbound messaging, simply text follow ups, picture messaging and automation to help you as you drive sales. INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY As text is an asynchronous channel, your ability to receive and respond to customer communication becomes more fluid and less immediate. Instaply will help you automate responses and analyze response times, to help your team focus on priorities, instead of being slaves to the first person who calls in. NO HARDWARE TO PURCHASE You can access Instaply via any desktop, laptop and tablet, with an internet connection. In addition, you can access Instaply via your mobile device. IMPROVE TELEPHONE CHANNEL You will observe an optimization of your telephone channel: fewer calls and better rate of answered calls. MULTIPLE MESSAGING CHANNELS We provide multiple paths for mobile users to communicate with your business, via test. Direct SMS, Facebook Messenger, on-site web widget, in-app SDK, Google Business Page/Ad Words, Instagram; Receive all your customer messages directly in Instaply, regardless of their origin: SMS, Messenger, web widget, in-app sdk, Google My Business, Instagram. COLLABORATE With in-app messaging between team members, conversation forwarding (between individual employees and teams, across departments, and even to specific B&M locations), Instaply allows your employees to collaborate in a variety of ways. MESSAGE STORAGE Each and every message that you receive, and every response, is automatically archived, allowing your team to reference any past conversation with just a couple of clicks! OPEN API Integrate Instaply into your CRM, ERP, etc., via a simple API integration! SECURITY Your data is safe and you comply with RGPD regulations, etc. SLA 99.9% INSTAPLY PAY Integrate your remote payment solution to allow your customers to pay directly during their interaction by message. TEXT US! 415.200.3056 Instaply: your customers have already chosen.
Control Play
This app provides licensed music and music videos for businesses, with content curated and rated for appropriate business use. It also enables digital signage and audio messaging to engage customers, and offers a library of digital assets for enhanced guest experiences.
- Licensed music and music videos for businesses
- Content rating for business demographics
- Digital signage and audio messaging
- Customizable playlists
- Library of digital assets for guest experiences
- Daily automatic content updates
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Control Play allows you to stream millions of songs from the Managed Media business-music library that features hits from the biggest artists of all time, and provides music that is specifically licensed for use in businesses. All songs are exhaustively reviewed by a team of music professionals and content-rated for business demographics to ensure that you never play inappropriate content that could jeopardize the relationship with your customer. - Available in music and/or music video formats - All music is censored, with explicit available as an option that can be scheduled to only play after a specific time of day - Human curated rating system applied to all Songs for audio and visual components, with simple ratings: Kids, All Ages, 13+, 18+, Explicit - Daily automatic content updates - Thousands of licensed HD Music Videos - Create your own custom music playlists with Playlist Builder ## Promote (Digital Signage & Audio Messaging) With the use of Screens and Speakers connected to your Control Play Player, you can promote, inform, and engage customers with your own messaging. We have professionally produced hundreds of stock pieces of content that can be used out of the box. You can also upload your own content, or get access to our professional production team to create custom promotions for special offers, products and services, upcoming events, social media, or for relaying specific messaging unique to your business. - Library of hundreds of business and industry-specific pieces of digital content which can be filtered to just the content that is relevant to your business - Multiple media formats from Video-only, to Audio-Video and Audio-only - Use Playlist Builder to create playlists, or mix with other content - Replace inappropriate content visuals with promotional messaging - Upload your own content - Custom production available ## Experience+ Control Play has been building high impact, engaging guest experiences for almost 20 years. Core to this is a Content Integration full of unique digital assets that seamlessly integrate into your other Content Integrations and take your guest experience to the next level. Experience+ content can be played on-demand, scheduled to play automatically, built into custom playlists, or automated with Seasonal Events. - Library of hundreds of business and industry-specific pieces of digital content which can be filtered to just the content that is relevant to your business - Seasonal Event Visualizers - Special Event Warm-ups - Sports-themed Pre-game & Post-game Exciters, including Fight Songs - Birthday Celebration content - Novelty Dances and Kids Novelty Montages - National Anthems - Closing Messages - Sound Effects & Background Video - Use Playlist Builder to create playlists or mix with other content - Replace inappropriate content visuals with Experience+ content - Custom production available ## Control Play: Remote App Features: - Interact with the Now Playing playlist in real-time - Search the Music, Promote and Experience+ Content Libraries - Browse Music, Promote and Experience+ Playlists - Build custom playlists with the powerful Playlist Builder, and take advantage of advanced programming features to create playlists that are fine-tuned to your business - Create and Update your Automations so that your Player runs itself - View your Player's live Schedule - Review Play History to keep tabs on what's playing - Create, update and play Video Texts - Update your Player's settings, including time-based Content Blocks - Control your Restricted Access settings to restrict staff from unauthorized use - Remote control Multiple Zone & Location Players ## PLEASE NOTE: The Control Play: Remote app requires a Control Play hardware Player and valid user account. If you don't have a Control Play Player, please visit www.controlplay.com for more information.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Control Play at 5.0 against Instaply's 4.6. Instaply's advantage is ratings volume (7 vs 1) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.6). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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.
Control Play holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Instaply has 7 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Instaply ships an update monthly, Control Play every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and June 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Instaply | Control Play |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (7 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 81.8% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 7 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 46 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Instaply, Inc. | Managed Media Inc. |
Customer experience
Instaply
Control Play
In-app purchases
Instaply
No in-app purchases
Control Play
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Instaply free?
Is Control Play free?
Which has better reviews, Instaply or Control Play?
Do Instaply or Control Play have ads?
Which is updated more often, Instaply or Control Play?
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