Comparison

Listen Party vs b.sides

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

Head to head
About

Listen Party

This app allows you to share and listen to music with friends, regardless of their streaming service. Connect Apple Music or Spotify, invite friends, and enjoy collaborative playlists and real-time reactions. It's free to use and ad-free.

Highlights
  • Cross-service music sharing
  • Collaborative playlists
  • In-app music playback
  • Friend invitations
  • Real-time reactions and comments
  • Home screen widget
Read full description

Listen Party is a social music app for you and your friends. Share and play songs, albums, and playlists in-app using Apple Music and Spotify, even if you and your friends use different services. It's free to use and there are no ads. How it works: • Create an account • Connect Apple Music or Spotify • Follow or invite friends • Tap to play any song, album, or playlist in the app • React, comment, save anything you love • Build collections of songs, artists, albums, and playlists • Make playlists together • Never miss when your friends share by adding a widget to your home screen Cross-platform sharing and playing in-app: A friend on Apple Music can share a song that plays for you even if you use Spotify, and vice versa. You use the subscription you already pay for. Even if you don't have a subscription you can still play 30 second clips of the music. Free! Listen Party is free to use. There's an optional Fan tier ($4.99/month or $49.99/year) to support development. It's entirely optional, and nothing is gated behind it. Questions? Visit listenparty.app or email info@listenparty.app — SUBSCRIPTION TERMS • Fan tier: $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year • Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase • Subscription auto-renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period • Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period • Manage or cancel subscriptions in Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions on your iPhone Website: https://listenparty.app Terms of Use: https://listenparty.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://listenparty.app/privacy Support: https://listenparty.app/support

About

b.sides

Features
Read full description

Track the albums you love. Remember what you listened to. Build your personal music archive. b.sides is a music discovery and listening journal for people who care about albums. Search for records, write reviews, rate your listens, and organize albums into personal lists. Whether you’re discovering something new, revisiting a classic, or trying to keep track of your favorite releases, b.sides helps you build a deeper record of your music taste over time. Use b.sides to: • Search albums and artists • Write personal album reviews • Rate albums you’ve listened to • Create and manage album lists • Keep track of your listening history • Organize the music that matters to you b.sides is built for music fans who want more than a playlist. It’s a place to remember what you heard, what you loved, and why it mattered. Start your listening journal with b.sides.

Screenshots

Listen Party4 screens
b.sides4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: b.sides at none against Listen Party's 2. b.sides also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). Listen Party's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence 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. Listen Party sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. b.sides asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Listen Party versus b.sides: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterListen Partyb.sides
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (12 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings12 — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyMonthly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB53 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperNH Studios, LLCDaniel Leo

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Listen Party

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Fan$4.991 Month
  • Yearly Fan$49.991 Year
None

b.sides

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Listen Party free?
Listen Party is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is b.sides free?
b.sides is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Listen Party or b.sides have ads?
b.sides shows ads; Listen Party does not.
Which is updated more often, Listen Party or b.sides?
Listen Party ships an update monthly, and b.sides monthly. Most recently, Listen Party was updated on October 31, 2026 and b.sides on October 24, 2026.

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