Comparison

Retro vs Flex

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

Head to head
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

About

Flex

This app allows you to manage and play your personal music library hosted on a Plex Media Server. Enjoy offline playback, customize your queue, and personalize your listening experience with various themes and visualizers.

Highlights
  • Plex Media Server integration
  • Offline music downloads
  • Customizable playback queue
  • Theming and visualizers
  • Smart playlist management
  • Lyrics and artwork display
  • CarPlay and Siri integration
Features
Read full description

Your music library should feel like yours. Flex Music is an independent music player and playlist manager for personal Plex Media Server libraries. Sign in with Plex, choose your server and enjoy your music at home, remotely or offline. BROWSE AND PLAY Explore artists, albums, tracks, playlists, genres and moods. Search inside large playlists, rate tracks back to Plex, and keep browsing while the mini-player plays. Expand Now Playing for artwork, synced lyrics when available, visualizers and the waveform progress bar. YOUR QUEUE, YOUR WAY Use Play Next to put a track first, or Play After Next to add it after your manually queued tracks. Assign these actions to your playlist swipes. Manage Up Next and Previously Played, reorder playlists, add whole albums and clone playlists. OFFLINE AND DATA SAVER Download your music with no paid track limit. Choose storage limits and keep favourites offline. Data saver asks your Plex server to convert audio to your chosen bitrate, with separate Wi-Fi and cellular preferences and measured transferred-data totals. Conversion depends on your server; data saved is compared with the original media size. MADE FOR YOUR SCREEN Choose themes, artwork effects and visualizers. Larger displays have room for the player and queue side by side. iPhone Duo adapts from a compact cover-screen player to a stacked portrait layout and a side-by-side player and queue when opened in landscape. Controls stay clear of the system strip, and your player and queue are retained as the layout changes. Music casting is free on supported receivers. Lyric casting brings available lyrics to Google Cast displays with Flex Music Pro. FLEX MUSIC PRO Free: browsing, playback, Smart Search, ratings, on-device lyrics, music casting, themes and visualizers, offline downloads, the Pinned Playlist widget, and editing playlists up to 100 tracks. Pro unlocks editing larger playlists, saving smart playlists and listening sessions, premium home-screen widgets, alternate app icons, navigation icon themes and styles, and lyric casting. The Apple Watch companion is also included with Pro. CarPlay and Siri playlist playback are free. Monthly, yearly and lifetime plans unlock the same Pro features. Purchases are processed by the App Store and can be restored from Settings. Lifetime is a one-time purchase; subscriptions renew until cancelled in your store account settings. REQUIREMENTS A Plex account and access to a Plex Media Server containing a music library. Network access to that server is required for streaming and library management. Flex Music is independently developed by Elixir Consultancy Services Ltd and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Plex, Inc. Plex is a trademark of Plex, Inc. Google Cast is a trademark of Google LLC. Terms of Service: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Retro4 screens
Flex4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Retro at every 3 weeks against Flex's every 2 months. Flex's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, rating, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Retro sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Flex sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Retro against 5.0 for Flex. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Retro ships an update every 3 weeks, Flex every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Retro versus Flex: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRetroFlex
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB132 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKIYOUMI AGEMURAElixir CS

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Retro

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

Flex

Subscriptions2
  • Flex Music Pro Monthly$0.991 Month
  • Flex Music Pro Yearly$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Flex Music Pro Lifetime$19.99

Questions

Is Retro free?
Retro is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Flex free?
Flex is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Retro or Flex?
Retro and Flex are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Retro or Flex have ads?
Neither Retro nor Flex shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Retro or Flex?
Retro ships an update every 3 weeks, and Flex every 2 months. Most recently, Retro was updated on October 31, 2026 and Flex on October 31, 2026.

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