Comparison

Start Playing vs Sortwave

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

Head to head
About

Start Playing

Streamline your music listening by selecting multiple playlists to play seamlessly. Enjoy intelligent shuffling, original playlist order playback, or artist-avoidance for a smoother audio experience.

Highlights
  • Select multiple playlists
  • Intelligent shuffling
  • Original playlist order playback
  • Avoid back-to-back artists
  • Clean and intentional playback
Read full description

Apple Music is an incredible app - lyrics, discovery, radio, playlists, and more. But when all you want to do is pick a few playlists and press play, things can feel more complicated than they need to be. Start Playing focuses on that one simple idea. Select multiple playlists, then just play them: cleanly and intentionally. Shuffle intelligently, play songs in their original playlist order, or avoid back-to-back artists when possible for a smoother flow. Whether you’re heading to the gym, getting in the car, or letting music run in the background, Start Playing stays out of the way and lets your music take center stage.

About

Sortwave

Features
Read full description

Swipe music into place. Sortwave is a focused playlist-curation companion for Apple Music. Choose a playlist, listen to each full song, and decide what belongs without breaking your flow. Swipe right to keep a song. Route it up or down into playlists you already use. Mark favorites, shuffle your session, scrub through playback, undo a decision, or stop whenever you want. Sortwave queues your choices locally and applies them together when you choose Finish & Sync. Apple Music doesn’t allow third-party apps to directly delete arbitrary library songs. When you mark songs for removal, Sortwave places them in a clearly labeled Deleted Songs playlist and shows a short guide for completing deletion safely in Apple Music. Your original library stays under your control. Features: • Full-song Apple Music playback • Fast, gesture-first playlist decisions • Two configurable quick-route playlists • Favorite and unfavorite controls • Interactive playback scrubber • Shuffle, previous, next and undo controls • Batched sync with a clear summary • Session history and resilient local queueing • Secure connection restoration • No advertising or tracking An active Apple Music subscription may be required for full-song playback and library access. Sortwave is an independent app and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Apple.

Screenshots

Start Playing3 screens
Sortwave3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Sortwave at none against Start Playing's 1. On price, ads, device support 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. Start Playing sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Sortwave asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Start Playing versus Sortwave: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStart PlayingSortwave
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequency—Every 5 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBrian SimmonsSooraj Sambasivam

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Start Playing

One-time1
  • Unlimited Play$2.99
None

Sortwave

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Start Playing free?
Start Playing is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Sortwave free?
Sortwave is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Start Playing or Sortwave have ads?
Neither Start Playing nor Sortwave shows ads.

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