Comparison

Vamp Player vs Retro

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

Head to head
About

Vamp Player

Features
Read full description

It just does what it says, classic retro style music player: Fast, distraction-free, simple and neat without any ads, promotions or bloated artwork. Aim is to have a fully featured, premium music player without any logins, subscriptions, ads or in-app purchases ever. For the LoFi, tape saturated and cozy feel. Play all your music collection already available with you. No need for any internet, login/account, just pure music!!

About

Retro

Relive the golden age of music players with this app that mimics early 2000s desktop interfaces. Enjoy your local music library with advanced playback features, customizable themes, and CarPlay support.

Highlights
  • Classic UI with pixel-art and scrolling titles
  • CarPlay support for in-car listening
  • Home Screen Widget for quick access
  • Lossless, gapless local playback engine
  • 10-band graphic equalizer
  • Hi-Res audio output support
  • Synced lyrics (LRCLIB) integration
  • Last.fm scrobbling
Features
Read full description

RetroAmp is a local music player for iOS that brings back the look and feel of early-2000s desktop music players. No streaming. No subscriptions. Just your music files, played on your device. === Features === ▸ Classic UI Pixel-art sprites, monospaced fonts, scrolling titles, a real-time spectrum analyzer, and a digital clock display. The desktop music player aesthetic, rebuilt for iPhone. ▸ CarPlay Support [NEW] Access your RetroAmp library in the car. Browse by Artists / Albums / Playlists / Radio with a full Now Playing screen. ▸ Home Screen Widget [NEW] View your current playlist on your home screen. The widget reflects your skin's colors and frame. Tap a track to play it. ▸ Full Local Playback Engine Lossless, gapless playback powered by AVAudioEngine. Supports FLAC / ALAC (M4A) / WAV / AAC / MP3 / OGG / AIFF. Imported files are stored at their original quality. ▸ 10-Band Graphic Equalizer 10 bands from 60Hz to 16kHz with ±12dB range and preamp. Built-in presets included. ▸ Hi-Res Output Supports up to 384kHz/32-bit. Connect a USB-C DAC to hear your files at their native quality. ▸ Media Library Quick access via sidebar to Audio / Most Played / Recently Added / Recently Modified / Recently Played / Never Played / Top Rated / Podcasts / Video. Switch between grid view and list view. ▸ Playlist Editor Add to queue, reorder with drag and drop, save as named playlists, jump to the playing track, shuffle, repeat. ▸ Synced Lyrics (LRCLIB) Fetches time-synced lyrics from the open lyrics database LRCLIB. No account required. ▸ Last.fm Scrobbling Automatically scrobble your listening history. Offline scrobbles are queued and sent when back online. ▸ Custom Themes Import .wsz skin files to change the look. One slot available for free. === In-App Purchases === Free to use. Expand your theme slots with a one-time purchase: Lite ($0.99) – 4 slots Pro ($4.99) – Unlimited One-time purchases, not subscriptions. Family Sharing supported. === Privacy === No personal data is collected. All data stays on your device. Last.fm and LRCLIB integrations are optional. Support: haruhi@icloud.com

Screenshots

Vamp Player3 screens
Retro4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Vamp Player at none against Retro's 2. Vamp Player also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, 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. Retro sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Vamp Player asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Vamp Player ships an update weekly, Retro every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
Vamp Player versus Retro: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVamp PlayerRetro
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size39 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMASTHISK SOFTWARE LABS PRIVATE LIMITEDKIYOUMI AGEMURA

In-app purchases

None

Vamp Player

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Retro

One-time2
  • Lite Skin Pack$0.99
  • Pro Skin Pack$4.99

Questions

Is Vamp Player free?
Vamp Player is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Retro free?
Retro is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Vamp Player or Retro have ads?
Neither Vamp Player nor Retro shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Vamp Player or Retro?
Vamp Player ships an update weekly, and Retro every 3 weeks. Most recently, Vamp Player was updated on October 31, 2026 and Retro on November 5, 2026.

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