Sonora vs SUB/WAVE
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sonora
This app provides a smooth and native mobile interface for accessing and streaming your self-hosted music library. Browse artists, albums, and playlists with a fast search and enjoy your personal collection anywhere.
- Browse artists, albums, songs, and playlists
- Fast and clean interface
- Search personal music collection
- Stream music on the go
- Native iPhone experience
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Sonora is a polished Navidrome client for iPhone that brings your self-hosted music library anywhere. Browse artists, albums, songs, and playlists with a fast, clean interface built for everyday listening. Search your collection in seconds, stream your personal library on the go, and enjoy a music experience designed to feel simple, smooth, and native on iPhone. Sonora is built for self-hosted music lovers who want their own library without giving up a great mobile experience. Your music. Your server. Your way.
SUB/WAVE
Experience radio reborn with a single, shared audio stream. An AI DJ curates the music, provides commentary, and announces station IDs, creating a communal listening experience without playlists or algorithms. Enjoy seamless playback across devices and even request songs.
- AI DJ curates music and commentary
- Single shared audio stream for all users
- No playlist building or algorithmic personalization
- Seamless playback with lock screen and CarPlay controls
- Create and tune into custom SUB/WAVE broadcasts
- Live visualizer and song information
- Song and mood requests
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Remember radio? One signal, everyone hearing the same song at the same moment. SUB/WAVE is that. No playlist to build, no algorithm studying you. You press play and join whatever's already on the air. A DJ runs the station. It's an AI, but it does what a good DJ does: picks the next track, reads the station ID, checks the weather, says something on the way into the song. It never just cuts between tracks in silence. Start it and you're live. Lock the phone, switch apps, get in the car, and it keeps playing, with controls on the lock screen, your headphones, and CarPlay. POINT IT AT ANY STATION It opens on the public station, but it'll play any SUB/WAVE broadcast. Run your own off your music library and paste the address to tune in. Saved a few? Switch between them whenever you like. WHAT'S IN IT • Now playing, with cover art and a live visualiser • The booth — every pick, station ID, and segment as it goes out • Timeline — scroll back through what's played • Requests — send the DJ a track or a mood, hear it answered on air • Schedule — what's coming up • Themes that recolour the whole app to match the station One stream. No skip. It's radio, not a playlist.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: SUB/WAVE at 5.0 against Sonora's 4.0. SUB/WAVE also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 2 weeks). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
SUB/WAVE holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 4 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
Sonora ships an update every 2 weeks, SUB/WAVE weekly. The most recent releases landed on August 22, 2026 and September 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sonora | SUB/WAVE |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (4 ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4 | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 16.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 68 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | GRANT JAMES MADISON | Perminder Singh Klair |
Customer experience
Sonora
SUB/WAVE
In-app purchases
Sonora
No in-app purchases
SUB/WAVE
No in-app purchases





