Comparison

Ling Ran vs kPod

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

- 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/

About

kPod

Features
Read full description

kPod 是一款为本地音乐打造的经典滚轮播放器。 导入你自己的歌曲,用滚轮点选菜单,用封面流翻专辑。 没有流媒体,没有订阅,没有账号。 经典操作 • 滚轮浏览播放列表、艺人、专辑与歌曲 • 一键随机播放全部歌曲 • 专辑封面流,左右拨动选碟 • 银色、黑色、红黑特别版机身 • 按键触感与滚轮音效,可随时关闭 你的文件,原样播放 • 支持 FLAC、ALAC、DSD、WAV、AIFF、MP3、AAC、OGG、Opus、APE 等格式 • 读取内嵌封面 • 读取内嵌歌词,也支持同目录 LRC • 文件夹自动成为播放列表 • 后台播放,锁定屏幕与控制中心可遥控 两种导入方式 • 用访达或 iTunes 的文件共享,把音乐直接拷进 App • 同一 Wi-Fi 下开启 WebDAV,从电脑拖进共享文件夹 kPod 不需要登录,也不会把你的音乐上传到任何服务器。打开它,只听音乐。

Screenshots

Ling Ran4 screens
kPod3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: kPod at none against Ling Ran's 6. Ling Ran's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads 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

Both are free to download. Ling Ran sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. kPod asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Ling Ran versus kPod: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLing RankPod
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.7 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.217.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size61 MB31 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer满亚 孔Chuantang Gu

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Ling Ran

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Membership7 Days trial$0.991 Month
  • Annual Membership7 Days trial$4.991 Year
One-time4
  • A small cup of coffee$0.99
  • A medium cup of coffee$2.99
  • Permanent Member$5.99
Show 1 more
  • A large cup of coffee$5.99
None

kPod

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Ling Ran free?
Ling Ran is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is kPod free?
kPod is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Ling Ran or kPod have ads?
Neither Ling Ran nor kPod shows ads.

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