Comparison

NostEcho vs aud

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

Head to head
About

NostEcho

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iPod Classic… but it streams. No mods. No hacks. No nostalgia compromise. I missed this: that simple, focused way of listening to music (no distractions, no endless scrolling) But: iPod = no streaming Modern apps = no soul So I built this An iOS app that brings back the iPod experience: • Apple Music as your streaming engine • Podcasts built-in • Import your own music (FLAC / ALAC) • Lossless + 7.1 + Spatial Audio • DSD64 / DSD128+ (USB DAC or PCM fallback Your iPhone. But it feels like an iPod again. English only (for now) More features + languages coming If you grew up with an iPod— this will hit different. Feedback welcome

About

aud

This app combines your local music files with your Apple Music library into a single, beautifully organized interface. It offers advanced playback features and seamless import options from various sources, all while respecting your existing library structure.

Highlights
  • Combines local files and Apple Music
  • Organized library browsing
  • Multiple import methods
  • Supports various audio formats
  • Advanced playback controls
  • Offline functionality
Features
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Your music. On your devices. Beautifully. aud-io is a local-first music player for the music you actually own, with the option of adding your Apple Music library alongside it. Two libraries, one beautiful app, never merged and never overwritten. EVERYONE ELSE MAKES YOU CHOOSE Local players cannot touch Apple Music. Apple Music players cannot touch your files. aud-io does both, and keeps a hard line between them, so your collection stays exactly as you built it. MEET THE SHELF Cover Flow, rebuilt. Scroll through your own artwork, from your own files, and tap to play. Browse by artist, album, song, playlist or genre when you know what you want, and use The Shelf when you do not. BRING YOUR LIBRARY IN, YOUR WAY Import from Files, share or AirDrop from anywhere, watch a folder, open a ZIP, or send your library straight from your Mac over local Wi-Fi. Peer to peer, device to device, no cloud in between. aud-io reads your existing metadata and artwork. FLAC, ALAC, M4A, MP3, AAC, WAV, AIFF, Opus, Ogg Vorbis and CAF. BUILT FOR PEOPLE WHO LISTEN CAREFULLY The free player handles your whole library, in every format, at up to 256 kbps. Pro removes the ceiling: every file at its native resolution, bit-perfect to your DAC, with automatic source rate matching, true gapless, crossfade, a 10-band EQ and EBU R128 loudness normalisation. EVERYWHERE YOU ACTUALLY LISTEN iPhone and iPad, with a native Mac app available separately. Apple Watch as a remote. CarPlay for your library and playlists on the road. AirPlay to your speakers. Home screen widgets for Now Playing, Recently Added and The Shelf. Use aud-io on iPhone as a remote for the Mac from anywhere in the house. BRING IN A WHOLE COLLECTION Import CDs. Connect a NAS. Point aud-io at the library you already have, wherever it lives, without running server software. DISCOVER MORE IN THE MUSIC YOU ALREADY HAVE Find deep cuts. Surface recently added music. Group by genre. Build mixes from the files on your device, generated on your device. OPTIONAL, AND ONLY IF YOU WANT IT Add your own Google Gemini key and aud-io can curate mixes, suggest radio-style listening and enrich music details. The key lives in your device Keychain. Your audio is never uploaded. Without a key, it is simply off. Apple Music, if you connect it, uses your own subscription through Apple's system permission. NO ACCOUNT. NO SUBSCRIPTION. The free player is a capable local music player. One Pro purchase unlocks advanced listening. There is no recurring fee, and there never will be. Pro on iPhone and iPad is a separate purchase from Pro on Mac. Works fully offline. No aud-io server. No third-party analytics or advertising SDKs. Made in Sydney by DIGITAL x DESIGN, for people who still care about their music library.

Screenshots

NostEcho4 screens
aud4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: aud at Free against NostEcho's $5.99. aud also leads on device support (3 vs 1). NostEcho's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (18.6 vs 26.5). On update cadence and ads 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

aud is free to download; NostEcho costs $5.99 up front. aud sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. NostEcho asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NostEcho ships an update every 6 days, aud weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
NostEcho versus aud: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNostEchoaud
Price$5.99Free — better
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS18.6 — better26.5
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB128 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTing-Yu ChangSanjiv Sathiah

In-app purchases

None

NostEcho

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

aud

One-time1
  • aud-io Pro$14.99

Questions

Is NostEcho free?
NostEcho costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is aud free?
aud is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do NostEcho or aud have ads?
Neither NostEcho nor aud shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NostEcho or aud?
NostEcho ships an update every 6 days, and aud weekly. Most recently, NostEcho was updated on October 2, 2026 and aud on October 8, 2026.

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