Dromio vs Vinylock
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Dromio
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Dromio is a free open-source Navidrome client for iPhone. It does not support any other type of Subsonic server — it is Navidrome-only. Small and simple, typically occupying just 2MB of your iPhone’s storage, Dromio adopts a minimalist attitude. Its goal is to let you survey, select, and play your music — and that’s all. It is oriented particularly towards Classical music collections, fully displaying long track titles and artist information, and supporting tagging for Composer and Year. Unlike some Subsonic clients, sequential playback of multiple tracks is gapless. Requirements: Dromio requires iOS 18 and a Navidrome server running the “BFR” (0.55.0) or later. You will need to have Subsonic.ArtistParticipations set to true in your configuration; otherwise, Dromio’s artist and composer support will not work. Interface ======= Dromio displays the following information: * Albums and their tracks. * Random albums and their tracks. * Artists and their albums (and those albums’ tracks). * Composers and their albums (and those albums’ tracks). * The current queue (tracks to be played, or currently playing). * Albums, artists, and composers are properly alphabetized, and searchable. Album tracks are searchable. No information is fetched from the server unless you ask for it by navigating to that screen. Full Display ======== Titles and artists can be lengthy, especially for Classical music. Unlike many Subsonic clients, Dromio does _not_ truncate this information. Dromio provides a full display of the information that it fetches — album title and artist; track title, artist, composer, year, and duration. Minimalism ========= Dromio doesn't waste of your time, your space, or your attention: * There is no account administration (e.g. creation of users), because you can do that with Navidrome’s web interface. * There is no creation and storage of named playlists. * Secondary features like favorites, play counts, genres and so forth are unsupported. * No artwork is fetched or displayed. * No “database” is stored on disk! Dromio works by talking to the Navidrome server, not by creating a database and consulting that database. Navidrome is the database. You never need to “update” Dromio’s copy of the database; there is no such copy. Unlike some Subsonic clients, Dromio lets you store credentials for multiple accounts on multiple servers. There is no difficulty or delay switching servers, because no track information has been stored. How to Use ========= Launch the app. The first time, you will be asked to enter your Navidrome server information. You are then taken to the list of Albums. The “page-turn” button at the top left lets you switch between All Albums, Random Albums, Artists, and Composers. You can also use it to return to the app’s initial screen to manage the app’s list of Navidrome servers. Tapping an album takes you to the list of its tracks. Tap a track to add it to the Queue. Nothing will appear to happen. But now, on any screen, tap the “list” button at the top right, to see the Queue. The tracks that you have tapped are here! Now you can tap a track to start listening. About the Queue Screen ================== On the Queue screen, tap a track to begin listening to the Queue, starting with the track you tapped. Download progress is displayed; a downloaded track is fully marked in yellow. Once Dromio has started playing, the currently playing track is marked with a “note” icon in the Queue, and the “playpause” button is enabled, allowing you to pause and resume play. The “scissors” button at the top left makes the queue editable. You can delete a track from the queue, and you can rearrange the order or tracks. While you are editing, the “scissors” changes to a “checkmark”; tap the “checkmark” when you are done editing. The “x” button at the top right clears the queue and erases the downloads. Issues? Suggestions? ================ https://github.com/mattneub/dromio
Vinylock
Stream your self-hosted music library with this native player. Organize by artist, album, or genre, download for offline listening, and enjoy a parametric equalizer. Supports CarPlay and internet radio.
- Browse and stream self-hosted music
- Download music for offline listening
- Parametric equalizer with presets
- CarPlay support
- Internet radio stations
- Customizable appearance
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Vinylock is a native music player for your own Navidrome server. If you self-host your music library with Navidrome, Vinylock gives you a fast, fully native way to browse and stream it on iPhone, iPad, and Mac — no ads, no subscriptions, no third-party cloud in between. Just your library, your rules. Your library, properly organized Browse by artist, album, song, genre, or playlist, with fast alphabetic scrubbing through large libraries. Mark favorites, build playlists, and pick up recently played or recently added albums right from Home. Take it offline Download albums and songs for offline listening — perfect for flights, commutes, or spotty connections. Original quality is always preserved for downloads, with adjustable streaming quality for WiFi and cellular separately. A real equalizer Vinylock includes a full parametric EQ — Bass Booster, Vocal Booster, Small Speakers, Loudness, and more — off by default, on when you want it. Built for how you actually listen • Full CarPlay support for browsing and playback on the road • Background audio with lock screen and Control Center controls • Internet radio stations • Sleep timer, shuffle, repeat, and a persistent play queue • Animated cover art playback for albums with animated artwork Discover what's missing (optional) Connect a Lidarr instance to browse and request albums you don't have yet, right alongside your existing library. Make it yours Choose from a wide range of accent colors, each with a matching alternate app icon, and switch between light, dark, or system appearance. Vinylock is fully localized in English, Spanish, French, German, Simplified Chinese, and Japanese. Requirements Vinylock connects to a Navidrome server (or any Subsonic/OpenSubsonic-compatible server) that you or someone you trust runs. It does not include or provide any music itself.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Dromio at none against Vinylock's 1. Vinylock's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (17.6 vs 26.0). 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
Both are free to download. Vinylock sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Dromio asks for nothing beyond the download.
Dromio ships an update every 2 months, Vinylock every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Dromio | Vinylock |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 17.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Matt Neuburg | Alexandr Garlock Development House LLC |
In-app purchases
Dromio
No in-app purchases
Vinylock
- Pro$0.99









