Stylus Tracker vs Play Dead
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Stylus Tracker
This app helps vinyl enthusiasts track their turntable stylus lifespan to maintain optimal sound quality and protect their record collection. Log listening sessions, view history, and know exactly when to replace your stylus to prevent damage and ensure perfect playback.
- Log listening sessions
- Track accumulated stylus hours
- View and edit listening history
- Prevent accidental date changes
- Vinyl-inspired design
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Stylus Tracker is the essential app for serious vinyl collectors who want to maintain optimal sound quality and protect their precious record collection. This elegant, intuitive tracker helps you monitor the lifespan of your turntable stylus to ensure perfect playback every time. FEATURES Simple Hour Tracking: Easily log listening sessions with just a few taps Beautiful Vinyl-Inspired Design: Enjoy a sleek interface that celebrates vinyl culture Detailed History: View and edit your complete listening history by date Running Total: Keep track of accumulated hours on your current stylus Date Locking: Prevent accidental changes to your tracking start date WHY TRACK YOUR STYLUS? Most styli have a recommended lifespan between 500-1000 hours of play. Using a worn stylus can permanently damage your vinyl collection and compromise sound quality. Stylus Tracker helps you know exactly when it's time for a replacement. Perfect for audiophiles, vinyl collectors, and anyone who values their analog music experience. Keep your records sounding their best with Stylus Tracker – where precision meets passion. "For the love of vinyl, track your stylus."
Play Dead
Access a vast library of officially remastered live Grateful Dead concert recordings. Discover previously unreleased shows every week, including rare CD-only releases now available in high-resolution audio. Listen across your devices with seamless playback.
- Official Grateful Dead live recordings
- Hi-res remastered audio
- Exclusive 'Dead Drops' weekly
- CD-only releases now streaming
- Vault organized by year
- Cross-device listening
- Apple CarPlay support
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Play Dead is the official Grateful Dead streaming app, offering unprecedented hi-res access to the Grateful Dead Vault of live recordings. For the first time, the band’s live legacy is brought together in a single official streaming service, with newly transferred and mastered recordings from the original sources. Previously unreleased shows - called Dead Drops - will be available every Tuesday, augmenting the catalog of official live Grateful Dead releases, many of which have never been available on any streaming service. The Vault Unlocked Exclusive Hi-Res Recordings Access new high resolution transfers, mastered for the first time and available exclusively on Play Dead. Dead Drops Every Tuesday Previously unreleased recordings added, every Tuesday, curated by Grateful Dead archivist and legacy manager David Lemieux, mastered for the first time by David Glasser. CD-Only Releases, Now Streaming Shows previously available only on CD from box sets and Dave’s Picks are now streaming for the first time -only on Play Dead- in higher-than-CD-quality. The Vault by Year Live recordings are presented in order of performance date for the first time in the band’s history. Play Dead brings together three decades of live recordings into a single, evolving app designed for both longtime Dead Heads and those who just got on the bus. Listen Anywhere Listen and resume listening across devices, including Apple CarPlay. Subscription Subscriptions available starting at $9.99/month or $99.99/year. Official Access to the Grateful Dead Vault Created for Grateful Dead Productions and Rhino Entertainment, longtime stewards of the Grateful Dead catalog. Built by nugs, the leading platform for live music. For nugs Subscribers Play Dead is also available as an add-on to nugs. PlayDead Payment and Auto-Renewal Terms: Play Dead offers auto-renewing monthly and annual subscriptions to stream music from the Play Dead catalog. Two subscription types are available, monthly (30 days) and annual (365 days). All subscriptions auto-renew. A Play Dead monthly subscription is $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year for new users. Plans auto-renew at $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year after the first year. Payment will be charged to the iTunes Account at the time of your purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Accounts will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the users Account Settings after purchase. Terms of Use at http://nugs.net/terms.aspx Privacy Policy at http://nugs.net/privacy.aspx
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Play Dead at Free against Stylus Tracker's $3.99. Play Dead also leads on review sentiment (64% vs 33%) and update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 8 months). Stylus Tracker's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On ads, 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
Play Dead is free to download; Stylus Tracker costs $3.99 up front. Play Dead sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Stylus Tracker asks for nothing beyond the download.
Play Dead holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Play Dead has 93 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of Stylus Tracker's written reviews are positive against 64% of Play Dead's.
Stylus Tracker ships an update every 8 months, Play Dead every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Stylus Tracker | Play Dead |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.0 (4 ratings) | 4.3 (93 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 33.3% of reviews | 64.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 4 | 93 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 8 months | Every 4 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | — | #100 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 18.2 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 88 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Rick DeCost | nugs.net enterprises, LLC |
Customer experience
Stylus Tracker
Play Dead
In-app purchases
Stylus Tracker
No in-app purchases
Play Dead
- Monthly$9.991 Month
- Yearly$99.991 Year









