Comparison

SonikTrax 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

SonikTrax

Access your personal music library from any device. This app connects to your self-hosted music server, allowing you to stream your entire collection anywhere, anytime. Enjoy background playback, queue management, and browse by various categories.

Highlights
  • Stream music library over Wi-Fi/cellular
  • Background audio playback
  • Queue management with shuffle/repeat
  • Browse by artists, albums, genres, playlists
  • Radio mixes and smart stations
  • CarPlay integration
  • Apple TV support
Features
Read full description

SonikTrax Stream your personal music library from anywhere. SonikTrax connects to your self-hosted music server, giving you access to your entire collection on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. Perfect for music enthusiasts who have built their own digital library from CDs, vinyl rips, and purchased downloads. Features: - Stream your music library over Wi-Fi or cellular - Background audio playback - Queue management with shuffle and repeat - Browse by artists, albums, genres, and playlists - Radio mixes and smart stations - Dark mode support - CarPlay integration - Apple TV support Your music. Your server. Your way.

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

SonikTrax4 screens
Crate for Plex4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: SonikTrax at Free against Crate for Plex's $3.99. SonikTrax also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Crate for Plex's advantage is chart position (#195 vs unranked) and ratings volume (7 vs 1). On ads, in-app purchases 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

SonikTrax 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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SonikTrax holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Crate for Plex has 7 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SonikTrax ships an update every 2 weeks, Crate for Plex every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
SonikTrax versus Crate for Plex: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSonikTraxCrate for Plex
PriceFree — better$3.99
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.7 (7 ratings)
Positive reviews—75.0% of reviews
Number of ratings17 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#195 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple TViPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS17.6 — better26.4
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB28 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMike GomonDarren Ebbing

Customer experience

SonikTrax

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Crate for Plex

All ratings6 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral16.7%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

SonikTrax

No in-app purchases

None

Crate for Plex

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SonikTrax free?
SonikTrax 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.
Which has better reviews, SonikTrax or Crate for Plex?
SonikTrax is rated higher. SonikTrax averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Crate for Plex averages 4.7 from 7 ratings.
Do SonikTrax or Crate for Plex have ads?
Neither SonikTrax nor Crate for Plex shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SonikTrax or Crate for Plex?
SonikTrax ships an update every 2 weeks, and Crate for Plex every 2 months. Most recently, SonikTrax was updated on October 30, 2026 and Crate for Plex on October 31, 2026.

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