Comparison

UpNext DJ vs aud

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

Head to head
About

UpNext DJ

Allow event guests to request songs and vote on others' suggestions to influence the playlist. DJs can manage requests in real-time, moderate content, and export playlists. Ideal for parties, weddings, and club nights.

Highlights
  • Guest song requests
  • Voting on requests
  • Real-time queue management
  • Playlist export
  • Event moderation
  • Clean version restrictions
Read full description

UpNext DJ — Request & Vote for Live or Future Events Bring the music closer to the crowd. With UpNext DJ, guests can request their favorite songs and vote on songs other guests request! Great for weddings, homecomings, corporate gigs, or any event with a DJ. For guests: • Join easily with a code or QR scan — no account required. • Search songs instantly, request what you want, and watch the queue move. • Vote on others’ requests and influence what plays next. • Purchase additional votes to boost your favorite songs! For DJs / Hosts: • Create an event, share the code or display a QR to let guests join. • See requests in real time and moderate as needed. • Keep the energy high, the crowd engaged, and the dance-floor moving. • Export Playlist to CSV or Apple Music • Use the Mac or Windows app to manage your events • Restrict Events to Clean Versions of songs (Perfect for School Dances) Perfect for: weddings · homecomings · house parties · corporate events · bar/club nights Why it works: • No sign-ups needed for guests — instant access. • Simple UI means less time fussing, more time DJing. • Crowd participation makes every event feel customized and interactive. Download UpNext DJ today and let the guests help pick the playlist!

About

aud

This app combines your local music files with your Apple Music library into a single, beautifully organized interface. It offers advanced playback features and seamless import options from various sources, all while respecting your existing library structure.

Highlights
  • Combines local files and Apple Music
  • Organized library browsing
  • Multiple import methods
  • Supports various audio formats
  • Advanced playback controls
  • Offline functionality
Features
Read full description

Your music. On your devices. Beautifully. aud-io is a local-first music player for the music you actually own, with the option of adding your Apple Music library alongside it. Two libraries, one beautiful app, never merged and never overwritten. EVERYONE ELSE MAKES YOU CHOOSE Local players cannot touch Apple Music. Apple Music players cannot touch your files. aud-io does both, and keeps a hard line between them, so your collection stays exactly as you built it. MEET THE SHELF Cover Flow, rebuilt. Scroll through your own artwork, from your own files, and tap to play. Browse by artist, album, song, playlist or genre when you know what you want, and use The Shelf when you do not. BRING YOUR LIBRARY IN, YOUR WAY Import from Files, share or AirDrop from anywhere, watch a folder, open a ZIP, or send your library straight from your Mac over local Wi-Fi. Peer to peer, device to device, no cloud in between. aud-io reads your existing metadata and artwork. FLAC, ALAC, M4A, MP3, AAC, WAV, AIFF, Opus, Ogg Vorbis and CAF. BUILT FOR PEOPLE WHO LISTEN CAREFULLY The free player handles your whole library, in every format, at up to 256 kbps. Pro removes the ceiling: every file at its native resolution, bit-perfect to your DAC, with automatic source rate matching, true gapless, crossfade, a 10-band EQ and EBU R128 loudness normalisation. EVERYWHERE YOU ACTUALLY LISTEN iPhone and iPad, with a native Mac app available separately. Apple Watch as a remote. CarPlay for your library and playlists on the road. AirPlay to your speakers. Home screen widgets for Now Playing, Recently Added and The Shelf. Use aud-io on iPhone as a remote for the Mac from anywhere in the house. BRING IN A WHOLE COLLECTION Import CDs. Connect a NAS. Point aud-io at the library you already have, wherever it lives, without running server software. DISCOVER MORE IN THE MUSIC YOU ALREADY HAVE Find deep cuts. Surface recently added music. Group by genre. Build mixes from the files on your device, generated on your device. OPTIONAL, AND ONLY IF YOU WANT IT Add your own Google Gemini key and aud-io can curate mixes, suggest radio-style listening and enrich music details. The key lives in your device Keychain. Your audio is never uploaded. Without a key, it is simply off. Apple Music, if you connect it, uses your own subscription through Apple's system permission. NO ACCOUNT. NO SUBSCRIPTION. The free player is a capable local music player. One Pro purchase unlocks advanced listening. There is no recurring fee, and there never will be. Pro on iPhone and iPad is a separate purchase from Pro on Mac. Works fully offline. No aud-io server. No third-party analytics or advertising SDKs. Made in Sydney by DIGITAL x DESIGN, for people who still care about their music library.

Screenshots

UpNext DJ4 screens
aud4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: aud at every 9 days against UpNext DJ's every 3 weeks. aud also leads on device support (3 vs 1). UpNext DJ's advantage is iOS requirement (16.6 vs 26.5). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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. UpNext DJ sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and aud sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for UpNext DJ against 5.0 for aud. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

UpNext DJ ships an update every 3 weeks, aud every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
UpNext DJ versus aud: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUpNext DJaud
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings3 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS16.6 — better26.5
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB129 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperUpNext DJ LLCSanjiv Sathiah

Customer experience

UpNext DJ

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

aud

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

UpNext DJ

One-time1
  • 5 Extra Votes$0.99
1 purchases

aud

One-time1
  • aud-io Pro$4.99

Questions

Is UpNext DJ free?
UpNext DJ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is aud free?
aud is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, UpNext DJ or aud?
UpNext DJ and aud are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 3 and 2 ratings respectively.
Do UpNext DJ or aud have ads?
Neither UpNext DJ nor aud shows ads.
Which is updated more often, UpNext DJ or aud?
UpNext DJ ships an update every 3 weeks, and aud every 9 days. Most recently, UpNext DJ was updated on October 19, 2026 and aud on October 25, 2026.

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