Manet Music vs Crate for Plex
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Manet Music
Stream music from your Jellyfin server with this iOS app. Enjoy offline playback, Siri voice commands, and CarPlay integration. It offers a native iOS experience with a sleek design and Shortcuts support.
- Offline playback
- Siri voice commands
- CarPlay integration
- Native iOS experience
- Shortcuts integration
- Sleek design
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** You'll need a Jellyfin server and an account to use this app ** Experience seamless music streaming from Jellyfin for free with Manet, your go-to music app for iOS. Offline Playback * Download your favorite music for offline listening, perfect for when you're on the go or conserving data. Siri Support * Command your music effortlessly using Siri. Simply ask Siri to play artists, playlists, albums, or tracks. CarPlay Integration * Safely control playback while driving with our intuitive CarPlay interface, keeping your focus on the road. Native iOS Experience * Built with native iOS technologies, Manet seamlessly integrates with your device for optimal performance. Sleek Design * Purpose-built for iOS, Manet blends seamlessly with the platform's aesthetics, offering a familiar and intuitive user experience. Shortcuts Integration * Easily start playback as part of larger automations using Shortcuts. --- Manet+ is an optional subscription to unlock custom app icons and support development. https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Crate for Plex
A native, unofficial music player for your Plex Media Server, designed for iPhone and Apple Watch. Enjoy your owned music library with features like offline listening, crossfade, and queue management without subscriptions or ads.
- Plex music library browsing
- Offline listening
- Apple Watch app
- Crossfade playback
- Queue management
- Smart caching
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Your Plex music library, finally given the iOS music player it deserves. Crate is a native, unofficial music player for your Plex Media Server, built for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and CarPlay. Pay once. No subscription. No ads. No tracking. Just your music, played beautifully. ON IPHONE - Browse your entire library — albums, artists, playlists - Now Playing reimagined with crossfade, queue, lyrics, and hearts - Stations built from your own library — Hits, Heart Beats, On Repeat, and more - Discover view to rediscover albums you'd forgotten you loved - Download albums for offline listening - Smart caching keeps recently-played tracks ready offline - Pick up where you left off — Crate restores your last session on launch - Light and dark modes that actually look like iOS IN THE CAR - Full CarPlay app — Home, Library, Discover, Stations, and Search - Top Picks and recent albums the moment you connect - Hands-free with Siri: "Hey Siri, play House in Crate" - Ask Siri for a playlist, an artist, or a station, or say "I like this song" to heart it ON IPAD - A layout built for the big screen, in both orientations - Lyrics alongside the artwork, the way they should be ON APPLE WATCH - A real watchOS app — browse, download, and play from your wrist - Doubles as a remote when your iPhone is the one playing - Download albums directly to your watch - Phone-optional playback with AirPods THE FUNDAMENTALS, DONE RIGHT - Gapless playback with crossfade between tracks - Volume matching, so quiet albums and loud ones sit at the same level - Lossless FLAC playback on iPhone (Apple Watch auto-transcodes for compatibility) - Stream quality control, with Data Saver and Low Data Mode respected automatically - Shuffle with no repeats - Hearts to track what you love - Queue management you can actually use WHAT'S NOT INSIDE - No subscription - No ads - No tracking - No login wall to a service that isn't yours Crate connects directly to your own Plex Media Server. Your music. Your server. Your player. REQUIREMENTS Crate requires a Plex Media Server with a music library and a free Plex account. Plex Pass is not required. Crate is an unofficial third-party application and is not made by, endorsed by, or affiliated with Plex Inc.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Manet Music at Free against Crate for Plex's $3.99. Manet Music also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (226 vs 7). Crate for Plex's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and rating (4.7 vs 4.4). On review sentiment, 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
Manet Music is free to download; Crate for Plex costs $3.99 up front. Manet Music sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per year. Crate for Plex asks for nothing beyond the download.
Crate for Plex holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Manet Music has 226 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 79% of Manet Music's written reviews are positive against 75% of Crate for Plex's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Manet Music ships an update every 2 weeks, Crate for Plex every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 12, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Manet Music | Crate for Plex |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $3.99 |
| Rating | 4.4 (226 ratings) | 4.7 (7 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 78.7% of reviews — better | 75.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 226 — better | 7 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #191 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 — better | 26.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 22 MB | 28 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Tilo Software AB | Darren Ebbing |
Customer experience
Manet Music
Crate for Plex
Bugs and requests
Manet Music
Reported bugs
5 issues- Playback issues when switching networks
- Inconsistent behavior when deleting songs
- Syncing problems with Jellyfin library
- Freezes and lags with large libraries
- Unreliable CarPlay integration
Requested features
8 requests- Ability to download entire library
- Support for more audio formats (e.g., FLAC)
- Lyrics synchronization
- Customizable library views
- Offline playback improvements
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- Playlist editing and reordering
- Dark mode and other theming options
- iPad-specific UI optimizations
Crate for Plex
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Manet Music
- Manet+3 Days trial$9.991 Year
Crate for Plex
No in-app purchases









