Comparison

Plio vs LumiWave

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

Head to head
About

Plio

Features
Read full description

Create your own mix by combining your Apple Music playlists. Mix chart hits with your favourite tracks, bring your own playlists together with curated collections, or blend different genres and moods into one shuffled mix. Choose the playlists you want to hear, and Plio brings their music together. Then narrow your mix with filters. Focus on unplayed tracks, music released within the past year, or both. Explore new music or rediscover songs waiting in your library. An active Apple Music subscription and permission to access your music library are required.

About

LumiWave

Features
Read full description

LumiWave is a music player that lets you see your music, no matter where it comes from. โ–  One playlist across every source Files on iCloud Drive, Google Drive and other cloud services, local audio on your iPhone, and Apple Music (including tracks in your library imported from CDs) โ€” LumiWave brings them together into a single playlist built around your mood, not around where each track came from. โ–  Visualizers that react to sound The playback screen is more than artwork and a play button. Five visualizers move in real time with your music: - CG: reactive particles and waveforms - Bottle: liquid fills as playback progresses - Creature: little creatures gather when you tap - Slide: your chosen photos or playlist artwork slowly pan and zoom - Aquarium: a school of fish swims to the music and gathers when you tap to drop food Pinch out for full-screen mode: nothing but the visualizer and minimal controls, so you can sink into the music. For late-night listening, focus sessions, or just changing the mood of a room. โ–  Honest about audio The more striking the visuals, the more the sound has to be trustworthy. LumiWave treats the audio path with care. - Supports WAV, AIFF, FLAC, ALAC, AAC and MP3 (up to 192kHz / 24-bit) - Plays imported files at their original quality - Lossless and Hi-Res tracks are clearly badged, with format, sample rate and bit depth shown - Playback comes first: under load, rendering quality drops automatically to protect the sound โ–  Privacy No account, no servers. Imported audio, playlists, photos and settings stay on your device, and audio analysis runs locally. Nothing is collected. โ–  Visualizer Pro (one-time purchase) All playback features, the CG and Slide visualizers, playlists and quality display are free. A one-time Pro purchase โ€” not a subscription โ€” unlocks the Bottle, Creature and Aquarium visualizers and any Pro features added later. You can preview the Pro visualizers for free before buying. Music, set free.

Screenshots

Plio4 screens
LumiWave4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Plio at none against LumiWave's 1. LumiWave's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 months). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. LumiWave sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Plio asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Plio ships an update every 2 months, LumiWave every 4 days. Both last shipped on November 5, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
Plio versus LumiWave: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPlioLumiWave
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 4 days โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo โ€” betterYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad โ€” better
Requires iOS18.017.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size5 MB28 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperPHILIP CHRISTOPHER PIESCHELPAOSystem

In-app purchases

None

Plio

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

LumiWave

One-time1
  • Visualizer Pro$4.99

Questions

Is Plio free?
Plio is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is LumiWave free?
LumiWave is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Plio or LumiWave have ads?
Neither Plio nor LumiWave shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Plio or LumiWave?
Plio ships an update every 2 months, and LumiWave every 4 days. Most recently, Plio was updated on November 5, 2026 and LumiWave on November 5, 2026.

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