Beatnik Audio vs Shelv Player
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Beatnik Audio
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Beatnik Controller is a remote control for your Beatnik Pi or Snapcast multi-room audio server. It allows you to easily manage and control audio streams from any device.
Shelv Player
Stream your personal music library with a native client. Enjoy offline listening, smart playlists, and synced lyrics. This app offers advanced queue management and cross-device synchronization for a seamless listening experience.
- Offline music downloads
- Smart playlist generation
- Global search with lyrics
- Transcoding support
- Advanced queue management
- Cross-device sync
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Shelv is a native music player for Navidrome and Subsonic-compatible servers. Stream your own music library, download it for offline listening, add radio stations, and enjoy smooth playback with gapless, transcoding and smart pre-cache. Shelv also includes mixes, synced lyrics, queue sync and listening insights. Features: - Smart Mixes - Instant Mix - Infinity Mix - Random Albums - Shuffle All - Radio Stations - Offline Downloads - Full Library Download - Listening Insights - Synced Lyrics - LRCLIB Support - Gapless Playback - Transcoding - Smart Pre-cache - Queue Sync - Scrobbling - ReplayGain - Multiple Servers - AirPlay & CarPlay - iCloud Sync Shelv requires your own Navidrome or Subsonic-compatible music server.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Shelv Player at every 2 weeks against Beatnik Audio's every 2 months. Beatnik Audio's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Beatnik Audio ships an update every 2 months, Shelv Player every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Beatnik Audio | Shelv Player |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (7 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 7 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 25 MB | 25 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | +4 |
| Developer | Byrds & Bytes GmbH | Vasco Kugler |
In-app purchases
Beatnik Audio
No in-app purchases
Shelv Player
No in-app purchases
