Comparison

Tromme vs Crate for Plex

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

Head to head
About

Tromme

Stream your music library from Plex without needing a Plex Pass. Enjoy features like CarPlay support, infinite playlists, and synced lyrics. It offers lossless transcoding and cellular streaming options.

Highlights
  • Plex music streaming
  • CarPlay support
  • Magic Mix infinite playlists
  • Lossless ALAC transcoding
  • Synced lyrics
Features
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Stream your music library from Plex, no Plex Pass required. - Full CarPlay support - Magic Mix - generates an playlist based on the style and genre of what you're listening to - Infinite Mode - keeps the music going by automatically adding tracks to your queue - Lossless ALAC transcoding for FLAC files - Cellular transcoding - Sound Check (like ReplayGain) - Synced lyrics from LRCLIB.net - Offline Downloads and Playback - Changeable app icon and app theme

About

Crate for Plex

A native, unofficial music player for your Plex Media Server, designed for iPhone and Apple Watch. Enjoy your owned music library with features like offline listening, crossfade, and queue management without subscriptions or ads.

Highlights
  • Plex music library browsing
  • Offline listening
  • Apple Watch app
  • Crossfade playback
  • Queue management
  • Smart caching
Features
Currently charting
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Your Plex music library, finally given the iOS music player it deserves. Crate is a native, unofficial music player for your Plex Media Server, built for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and CarPlay. Pay once. No subscription. No ads. No tracking. Just your music, played beautifully. ON IPHONE - Browse your entire library — albums, artists, playlists - Now Playing reimagined with crossfade, queue, and hearts - Discover view to rediscover albums you'd forgotten you loved - Download albums for offline listening - Smart caching keeps recently-played tracks ready offline - Light and dark modes that actually look like iOS ON APPLE WATCH - A real watchOS app — browse, download, and play from your wrist - Doubles as a remote when your iPhone is the one playing - Download albums directly to your watch - Phone-optional playback with AirPods THE FUNDAMENTALS, DONE RIGHT - Crossfade between tracks - Shuffle with no repeats - Hearts to track what you love - Queue management you can actually use - Lossless playback on iPhone (Apple Watch auto-transcodes for compatibility) WHAT'S NOT INSIDE - No subscription - No ads - No tracking - No login wall to a service that isn't yours Crate connects directly to your own Plex Media Server. Your music. Your server. Your player. REQUIREMENTS Crate requires a Plex Media Server with a music library and a free Plex account. Plex Pass is not required. Crate is an unofficial third-party application and is not made by, endorsed by, or affiliated with Plex Inc.

Screenshots

Tromme4 screens
Crate for Plex4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Tromme at every 4 days against Crate for Plex's every 2 months. Tromme also leads on price ($0.99 vs $3.99) and ratings volume (6 vs 2). Crate for Plex's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and chart position (#69 vs unranked). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

Tromme costs $0.99 and Crate for Plex $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Crate for Plex holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tromme ships an update every 4 days, Crate for Plex every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and September 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Tromme versus Crate for Plex: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTrommeCrate for Plex
Price$0.99 — better$3.99
Rating4.7 (6 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings6 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank—#69 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS26.426.4
Further details — not scored
Size61 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKyle McClainDarren Ebbing

Customer experience

Tromme

All ratings6 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral16.7%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%

Crate for Plex

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Tromme

No in-app purchases

None

Crate for Plex

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Tromme free?
Tromme costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Crate for Plex free?
Crate for Plex costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Tromme or Crate for Plex?
Crate for Plex is rated higher. Tromme averages 4.7 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while Crate for Plex averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Tromme or Crate for Plex have ads?
Neither Tromme nor Crate for Plex shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Tromme or Crate for Plex?
Tromme ships an update every 4 days, and Crate for Plex every 2 months. Most recently, Tromme was updated on September 18, 2026 and Crate for Plex on September 9, 2026.

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