Comparison

Beatz Buddy vs Crate for Plex

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

Head to head
About

Beatz Buddy

Read full description

Metronome designed for ease of use. Features: - Vibrate to set BPM - Large bpm indicator with animation - Settings for Tempo, Vibration and Appearance

About

Crate for Plex

A native, unofficial music player for your Plex Media Server, designed for iPhone and Apple Watch. Enjoy your owned music library with features like offline listening, crossfade, and queue management without subscriptions or ads.

Highlights
  • Plex music library browsing
  • Offline listening
  • Apple Watch app
  • Crossfade playback
  • Queue management
  • Smart caching
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Your Plex music library, finally given the iOS music player it deserves. Crate is a native, unofficial music player for your Plex Media Server, built for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and CarPlay. Pay once. No subscription. No ads. No tracking. Just your music, played beautifully. ON IPHONE - Browse your entire library — albums, artists, playlists - Now Playing reimagined with crossfade, queue, lyrics, and hearts - Stations built from your own library — Hits, Heart Beats, On Repeat, and more - Discover view to rediscover albums you'd forgotten you loved - Download albums for offline listening - Smart caching keeps recently-played tracks ready offline - Pick up where you left off — Crate restores your last session on launch - Light and dark modes that actually look like iOS IN THE CAR - Full CarPlay app — Home, Library, Discover, Stations, and Search - Top Picks and recent albums the moment you connect - Hands-free with Siri: "Hey Siri, play House in Crate" - Ask Siri for a playlist, an artist, or a station, or say "I like this song" to heart it ON IPAD - A layout built for the big screen, in both orientations - Lyrics alongside the artwork, the way they should be ON APPLE WATCH - A real watchOS app — browse, download, and play from your wrist - Doubles as a remote when your iPhone is the one playing - Download albums directly to your watch - Phone-optional playback with AirPods THE FUNDAMENTALS, DONE RIGHT - Gapless playback with crossfade between tracks - Volume matching, so quiet albums and loud ones sit at the same level - Lossless FLAC playback on iPhone (Apple Watch auto-transcodes for compatibility) - Stream quality control, with Data Saver and Low Data Mode respected automatically - Shuffle with no repeats - Hearts to track what you love - Queue management you can actually use WHAT'S NOT INSIDE - No subscription - No ads - No tracking - No login wall to a service that isn't yours Crate connects directly to your own Plex Media Server. Your music. Your server. Your player. REQUIREMENTS Crate requires a Plex Media Server with a music library and a free Plex account. Plex Pass is not required. Crate is an unofficial third-party application and is not made by, endorsed by, or affiliated with Plex Inc.

Screenshots

Crate for Plex4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Beatz Buddy at Free against Crate for Plex's $3.99. Beatz Buddy also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). Crate for Plex's advantage is chart position (#190 vs unranked). On ads, in-app purchases, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Beatz Buddy is free to download; Crate for Plex costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Beatz Buddy ships an update every 3 weeks, Crate for Plex every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Beatz Buddy versus Crate for Plex: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBeatz BuddyCrate for Plex
PriceFree — better$3.99
Rating—4.7 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—75.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—7 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Paid
Best chart rank—#190 — better
DevicesiPhone, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS26.0 — better26.4
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB28 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSam Edwards-MarshDarren Ebbing

In-app purchases

None

Beatz Buddy

No in-app purchases

None

Crate for Plex

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Beatz Buddy free?
Beatz Buddy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Crate for Plex free?
Crate for Plex costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Beatz Buddy or Crate for Plex have ads?
Neither Beatz Buddy nor Crate for Plex shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Beatz Buddy or Crate for Plex?
Beatz Buddy ships an update every 3 weeks, and Crate for Plex every 2 months. Most recently, Beatz Buddy was updated on October 28, 2026 and Crate for Plex on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons