Comparison

Narjo vs BeatPlay

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

Head to head
About

Narjo

Stream your personal music library from various servers or local storage. Enjoy lossless playback, synced lyrics, and extensive library exploration. Cast to multiple devices and customize your listening experience with a powerful equalizer and offline downloads.

Highlights
  • Connect to Navidrome, Subsonic, Jellyfin, Emby, Plex
  • Lossless playback and gapless support
  • Real-time synced lyrics with translation
  • Browse by artist, album, genre, decade, folder
  • UPnP/DLNA casting and Sonos support
  • 10-band graphic equalizer
  • Offline downloads and full offline mode
Features
Read full description

Your music. Your server. Brought to life. Narjo is a beautiful, powerful player for the music you already own. Connect directly to Navidrome, Subsonic, Jellyfin, Emby, or Plex and enjoy lossless playback, synced lyrics, deep customization, and immersive animated artwork wherever you listen. No Narjo account. No ads. No behavioral tracking. Just your collection, your way. CONNECT YOUR LIBRARY • Navidrome, Subsonic, Jellyfin, Emby, and Plex • Add multiple servers and switch between them instantly • Automatically switch between home and remote addresses as your network changes • Client certificates (mTLS), custom headers, reverse proxies, Cloudflare Tunnels, and self-signed certificates • No server? Local Library mode plays music stored directly on your device ARTWORK THAT MOVES • Bring covers to life with animated artwork in Now Playing and album views • Display animated artwork on the Lock Screen on supported devices and system versions • Play animated WebP covers from your library • Add custom video artwork to individual songs or complete albums • Dynamic interface colors inspired by the current artwork PLAYBACK, DONE RIGHT • Lossless FLAC and ALAC, plus MP3, AAC, WAV, and AIFF • Gapless playback and customizable crossfade • BPM-aware AutoMix transitions with a smooth adaptive fallback • ReplayGain normalization with clipping protection • Separate streaming and download quality for Wi-Fi and cellular • Smart pre-caching for smooth, responsive playback • 10-band equalizer with 18 presets, custom presets, Simple and Advanced modes, and Equalizer APO import LYRICS THAT KEEP UP • Synced lyrics with real-time, line-by-line highlighting • Lyrics from your server, embedded tags, LRC files, and LRCLIB • On-device translation into your preferred language • Adjustable timing, text size, and alignment REDISCOVER YOUR COLLECTION • Browse artists, albums, songs, genres, decades, and folders • Recently Played, Recently Added, Most Played, and Time Capsule • Song, Artist, and Album Radio • Smart playlists, favorites, hearts, and 5-star ratings • Fast library-wide search • Optional AudioMuse-AI for similar songs and Song Path • Optional Lidarr integration for discovering and adding music OFFLINE AND AROUND THE HOME • Download songs, albums, and playlists • Auto-download and smart playlist downloads • Full Offline Mode when no connection is available • Favorites, ratings, play counts, and scrobbles sync when you reconnect • AirPlay, Sonos, and speaker groups • Bit-perfect UPnP/DLNA casting with native DSD passthrough on compatible renderers • Navidrome Jukebox mode MAKE NARJO YOURS • Dark, Light, and System themes with customizable accent colors • Personalize the player, Home screen, tab bar, and artwork presentation • Sleep timer and configurable swipe gestures • Sport Mode can match playback to your target running BPM EVERYWHERE YOU LISTEN • iPhone and iPad • Apple TV for big-screen listening • Apple Watch with volume and playback controls, library browsing, Up Next, and offline playback • CarPlay • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets • Siri and Shortcuts • Available in 11 languages PRIVATE BY DESIGN Narjo connects directly to your server. Your credentials stay securely stored in the Keychain. Narjo contains no advertising and does not use your activity for cross-app behavioral tracking. A compatible server account is required for server features. Availability may vary by server, configuration, device, operating system, and audio renderer. Your collection deserves a player as expressive as the music itself. Download Narjo and hear—and see—your music in a new way. TERMS & PRIVACY Terms of Use: https://narjomusic.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://narjomusic.com/privacy

About

BeatPlay

Features
Read full description

Your music is yours. BeatPlay puts it on your iPhone and Apple Watch — without streaming, without the cloud, without a subscription. Import audio files on your Mac. BeatPlay Bridge converts them to compact AAC and sends them to your iPhone over Wi-Fi. Open the app and press play. It's that simple. Going for a run? Sync songs to your Apple Watch and leave the phone behind. BeatPlay plays directly from your wrist — no connection needed. HOW IT WORKS 1. Import — Drag audio files into BeatPlay Bridge on Mac. Any format works. 2. Convert — Bridge compresses everything to AAC automatically. 3. Transfer — Send songs to iPhone over local Wi-Fi. No cables. No iTunes. 4. Listen — Full offline library on iPhone with every control you need. 5. Sync — Push songs to Apple Watch and play music from your wrist. WHAT YOU GET • Offline playback — no internet connection required, ever • Apple Watch player — music straight from your wrist • Play, pause, skip, loop, shuffle — full controls, minimal interface • Manual reorder — arrange your list however you like • Wi-Fi transfer from Mac — fast, cable-free, painless • Local-only library — your music never leaves your devices • Zero account — no login, no cloud, no tracking WHY BEATPLAY Streaming services are great for discovery. But when you own your music — ripped CDs, purchased albums, your own productions — you shouldn't need a monthly fee to play it on your own devices. BeatPlay is built for people who want their music in their pocket. Not locked behind a subscription. Not dependent on a signal. BEATPLAY PRO The free version supports up to 25 tracks. Upgrade to Pro for an unlimited library, playlists, and more. • Pro Annual — €9.99/year • Pro Lifetime — €39.99 (one-time) WHAT YOU NEED • iPhone with iOS 16+ • BeatPlay Bridge for Mac — free download at beatplay.app (macOS 13+) • Apple Watch — optional, for watch playback BeatPlay Bridge is the starting point. Download it for free, import your music, and carry your library everywhere. Privacy Policy: https://beatplay.app/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Narjo4 screens
BeatPlay4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Narjo at 15.0 against BeatPlay's 17.0. 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Narjo sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and BeatPlay sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Narjo ships an update every 11 days, BeatPlay every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Narjo versus BeatPlay: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNarjoBeatPlay
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (31 ratings) — better
Positive reviews82.4% of reviews
Number of ratings31 — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 daysEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size74 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperArturo YumpoAnthony Sychev

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Narjo

Subscriptions1
  • Narjo Pro Monthly7 Days trial$1.991 Month
One-time1
  • Narjo Lifetime$29.99
2 purchases

BeatPlay

Subscriptions1
  • BeatPlay Pro$8.991 Year
One-time1
  • BeatPlay Pro Lifetime$34.99

Questions

Is Narjo free?
Narjo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BeatPlay free?
BeatPlay is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Narjo or BeatPlay have ads?
Neither Narjo nor BeatPlay shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Narjo or BeatPlay?
Narjo ships an update every 11 days, and BeatPlay every 10 days. Most recently, Narjo was updated on September 21, 2026 and BeatPlay on September 10, 2026.

Other comparisons