Retro vs OpenBand
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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
OpenBand
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OpenBand is the collaborative music platform for musicians who want to play together, even when they're apart. HOW IT WORKS 1. Create a jam — Record or upload a base track (audio or video) and set the key, BPM, genre, and the instruments you're looking for. 2. Invite musicians — Share your jam publicly or invite specific musicians from the community to join your production. 3. Receive contributions — Other musicians record their parts in audio or video, synced with your base track. 4. Build the mix — Approve contributions and shape the final production right in the app, with per-track volume, pan, and effects. 5. Publish — Automatically generate polished videos for Instagram Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and other social networks, complete with musician credits and cinematic transitions. KEY FEATURES • A full studio on your phone: multitrack mixing with volume, pan, compressor, reverb, fades, and pitch shift. • Record audio and video directly in the app, listening to the jam as you play. • Punch-in recording: re-record just the part you missed. • Auto Mix: one tap for a balanced starting mix. • Automatic video generation in vertical (9:16), square (1:1), and horizontal (16:9) formats. • Smart scene selection: the algorithm picks each musician's best moments for the final video. • Choose your video cover before publishing. • Social feed with likes, comments, and reactions. • Chat with the musicians in your jam. • Musician profiles with instruments, genres, and social links. • Weekly rankings and levels that grow with your participation. • Real-time notifications when someone joins your jam. • Available in English, Portuguese, and Spanish. MADE FOR MUSICIANS Singers, guitarists, bassists, drummers, keyboard players, wind players — OpenBand was built so that distance is never the reason a song goes unfinished. Find people to play with, complete other musicians' jams, and build a portfolio of real collaborations. Join the community and start your first jam today.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: OpenBand at none against Retro's 2. OpenBand also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads 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
Both are free to download. Retro sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. OpenBand asks for nothing beyond the download.
Retro ships an update every 3 weeks, OpenBand daily. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Retro | OpenBand |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 21 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | KIYOUMI AGEMURA | Fabio Alberti |
In-app purchases
Retro
- Lite Skin Pack$0.99
- Pro Skin Pack$4.99
OpenBand
No in-app purchases









