Comparison

Nautiline vs SUB/WAVE

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

Head to head
About

Nautiline

Stream your music library from an OpenSubsonic server with a modern, intuitive interface. Enjoy features like offline downloads, gapless playback, synced lyrics, and seamless integration with your iOS device.

Highlights
  • Offline caching and downloading
  • Gapless playback
  • Synced lyrics
  • CarPlay and Siri integration
  • Sleep timer
  • ReplayGain support
Features
Read full description

Nautiline is a modern OpenSubsonic client with a beautiful interface and solid media handling, so you can focus on your music. Listening & Playback: • Cache & Download Files ‣ Songs are automatically cached as you listen with no extra data used ‣ Manually download files for offline listening ‣ Automatically save your whole library • Gapless Playback • Seeking in Transcoded Files ‣ Save bandwidth without sacrificing the listening experience • Internet Radio • Offline Browsing & Searching • Synced Lyrics ‣ Direct from your server • ReplayGain ‣ Automatically apply the right track/album gain • Sleep Timer Remote Access: • Set Custom Headers • Multiple URLs for home and away access iOS Integration: • CarPlay • Siri • Music Haptics

About

SUB/WAVE

Experience radio reborn with a single, shared audio stream. An AI DJ curates the music, provides commentary, and announces station IDs, creating a communal listening experience without playlists or algorithms. Enjoy seamless playback across devices and even request songs.

Highlights
  • AI DJ curates music and commentary
  • Single shared audio stream for all users
  • No playlist building or algorithmic personalization
  • Seamless playback with lock screen and CarPlay controls
  • Create and tune into custom SUB/WAVE broadcasts
  • Live visualizer and song information
  • Song and mood requests
Features
Read full description

Remember radio? One signal, everyone hearing the same song at the same moment. SUB/WAVE is that. No playlist to build, no algorithm studying you. You press play and join whatever's already on the air. A DJ runs the station. It's an AI, but it does what a good DJ does: picks the next track, reads the station ID, checks the weather, says something on the way into the song. It never just cuts between tracks in silence. Start it and you're live. Lock the phone, switch apps, get in the car, and it keeps playing, with controls on the lock screen, your headphones, and CarPlay. POINT IT AT ANY STATION It opens on the public station, but it'll play any SUB/WAVE broadcast. Run your own off your music library and paste the address to tune in. Saved a few? Switch between them whenever you like. WHAT'S IN IT • Now playing, with cover art and a live visualiser • The booth — every pick, station ID, and segment as it goes out • Timeline — scroll back through what's played • Requests — send the DJ a track or a mood, hear it answered on air • Schedule — what's coming up • Themes that recolour the whole app to match the station One stream. No skip. It's radio, not a playlist.

Screenshots

Nautiline4 screens
SUB/WAVE4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: SUB/WAVE at none against Nautiline's 1. SUB/WAVE also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and review sentiment (100% vs 88%). Nautiline's advantage is ratings volume (81 vs 6). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. Nautiline sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. SUB/WAVE asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SUB/WAVE holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Nautiline has 81 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of Nautiline's written reviews are positive against 100% of SUB/WAVE's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Nautiline versus SUB/WAVE: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNautilineSUB/WAVE
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (81 ratings)5.0 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews88.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings81 — better6
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.016.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size102 MB70 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGledtonePerminder Singh Klair

Customer experience

Nautiline

All ratings81 ratings
Positive92.6%
Neutral2.5%
Negative4.9%
Written reviews85 reviews
Positive88.2%
Neutral5.9%
Negative5.9%

SUB/WAVE

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Nautiline

One-time1
  • Nautiline$10.00
None

SUB/WAVE

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Nautiline free?
Nautiline is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SUB/WAVE free?
SUB/WAVE is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Nautiline or SUB/WAVE?
SUB/WAVE is rated higher. Nautiline averages 4.7 out of 5 from 81 ratings, while SUB/WAVE averages 5.0 from 6 ratings.
Do Nautiline or SUB/WAVE have ads?
Neither Nautiline nor SUB/WAVE shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Nautiline or SUB/WAVE?
Nautiline ships an update every 2 weeks, and SUB/WAVE every 2 weeks. Most recently, Nautiline was updated on October 11, 2026 and SUB/WAVE on October 17, 2026.

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