Ling Ran vs synthwaves.fm
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Ling Ran
A local music player and editor offering a pure, ad-free experience. Organize music by directories, customize song details, and stream from home servers. Ideal for users who manage their music collections manually.
- Ad-free native experience
- Directory-based playlist management
- Edit song covers, lyrics, and metadata
- Variable speed playback
- LAN remote management
- CarPlay support
- Stream from home servers
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- Native components, a clean interface, Liquid Glass support (macOS26+ / iOS26+), absolutely no ads — designed purely for a focused experience. - Folders are playlists: minimal management, customizable shortcuts, rich personalization features, intuitive operation. - Lossless music support (local files only: APE / TTA / DSD / WV), animated lyrics, visual listening, one-tap light/dark theme switching, and a sleep timer. - Variable-speed playback, remembers your position, skips the intro and outro — also great for audiobook lovers. - Edit cover art, lyrics, and other info for mp3, m4a, and flac songs; crop images and change resolution to build your perfect music library. - LAN remote management — easily upload, delete, and organize files. CarPlay support for even more convenient operation. - Play music directly from home servers: Samba / WebDAV / Jellyfin (not recommended) / Emby (recommended) / Navidrome (not recommended), saving local storage space. - Play music files from Baidu Netdisk, Guangya Cloud Drive, OneDrive, and Dropbox. - Local playback, worry-free privacy: no data is collected, and your music library is controlled by you alone. - This app suits music lovers who prefer managing music with folders and have the patience to organize and categorize their own collection. File names are recommended in the "Artist - Title.mp3" format. Recommended Usage MacOS: Tap the "+" in this app to add a folder that contains local music files. iOS: Method 1: First tap the "+" in this app to create a folder. Download music files with your phone's browser, tap to open them, use the "Share" function, choose "Save to Files", and save them to this APP --> "Music" --> the folder you created. Method 2: Mount your phone to a Mac via cable or wirelessly, open the phone device in Finder, find "Files", expand this APP, drag files into this APP's folder, then use Apple's official "Files" app to move the music files into the folder you created. For random artwork, place the images in the Cover folder. Method 3: Enable LAN in Settings, then manage files through a web page. If you experience issues after an update, completely delete the old version before installing the new one. On iOS, move your audio files to another folder before deleting. Note: Word-by-word lyrics provided by Jellyfin and Navidrome may have issues, so please avoid having them provide word-by-word lyrics. Basic Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
synthwaves.fm
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synthwaves.fm is a music streaming app that connects to your self-hosted synthwaves.fm server. Browse your entire library, play music with gapless playback, and download albums and playlists for offline listening — all wrapped in a retro-futuristic synthwave interface. Your Library, Your Way Browse by artists, albums, playlists, genres, or starred favorites. Search across your entire collection instantly. Create and manage playlists right from your phone. Built for Listening Gapless playback keeps the music flowing. Queue up tracks, shuffle, repeat, and control playback from the lock screen, Dynamic Island, or your headphones. Offline Downloads Download full albums or playlists to listen without a connection. Your music goes wherever you do. Apple Watch Control playback and browse your library from your wrist. Widgets See what's playing and recently played albums right on your home screen with Now Playing and Recently Played widgets. Video Browse and stream video content from your server with picture-in-picture support and resume-where-you-left-off playback. Requires a self-hosted instance of synthwaves.fm to connect to your music library.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: synthwaves.fm at none against Ling Ran's 6. Ling Ran's advantage is device support. On price 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
Both are free to download. Ling Ran sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. synthwaves.fm asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | Ling Ran | synthwaves.fm |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.7 (3 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 6 days | — |
| Ads | No | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | — |
| Requires iOS | 17.2 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 61 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 满亚 孔 | Leo Policastro |
In-app purchases
Ling Ran
- Monthly Membership7 Days trial$0.991 Month
- Annual Membership7 Days trial$4.991 Year
- A small cup of coffee$0.99
- A medium cup of coffee$2.99
- Permanent Member$5.99
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- A large cup of coffee$5.99
synthwaves.fm
No in-app purchases









