Comparison

Mellow FM vs Playlist Forge

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

Head to head
About

Mellow FM

Features
Read full description

Mellow FM is a radio app that automatically plays music suited to your current moment. Time of day, activity, weather, season — the app reads multiple contexts to deliver the perfect soundtrack. Crisp jazz for your morning commute, ambient for late-night work, chill for a rainy afternoon. No need to pick a song or search. Just press play, and music that fits the moment starts flowing. [Context-Aware Selection] Combines time of day, motion detection (walking, running, driving), weather, and season to select the perfect tracks from the Apple Music catalog in real time. [Gets Smarter Over Time] Every skip or full listen teaches the app your preferences. Over time, music gets closer to what you love in the same time and situation. [Simple Gesture Controls] • Tap the logo — Play / Stop • Tap the artwork — Pause / Resume • Swipe left — Skip • Swipe up — Request a song • Swipe down — Settings panel [Song Request] Craving a specific track? Swipe up to open the request panel, search by artist or title, and add it to the queue. [Sleep Timer] Set a timer from 5 to 120 minutes using the slider. Music fades out automatically when you're ready to sleep. [Weather-Based Music (Optional)] Enable "Weather-Based Music" in settings to match your local weather conditions. [Now Playing Support] Control playback from the Lock Screen and Control Center. CarPlay supported. • Requires an active Apple Music subscription for music streaming. • Location access is only requested when Weather-Based Music is enabled. • All personal data stays on your device. Mellow FM is ad-free and tracking-free. A quiet radio that focuses entirely on your music experience.

About

Playlist Forge

Effortlessly create personalized music playlists based on artists, genres, or release years. Discover and share playlists with a community, collaborate on shared lists, and participate in music challenges. Requires an Apple Music subscription.

Highlights
  • Auto-generate playlists from artists
  • Discover and follow curators
  • Collaborative community playlists
  • Song voting for community playlists
  • Themed music challenges
  • Boost playlists for visibility
Features
Read full description

Playlist Forge is where you build playlists on Apple Music and share them with a community that actually listens. Pick any artist and Playlist Forge builds a playlist around them — just their songs, or a mix that trees out through similar artists. Lean toward the hits or dig for deep cuts, set the length and a release-year range, preview every track, then save it straight to your Apple Music library. BUILD Start from any artist. Choose "just this artist" or "artist + similar," pick Hits or Deep cuts, set the length and years, preview the songs, and save to your library in a tap. DISCOVER Browse playlists made by real people, add any of them to your library instantly, and follow the curators whose taste you trust. Likes, adds, and comments help the good stuff rise, and you can search across every playlist and person. MAKE IT TOGETHER Start a community playlist and let others add songs. Turn on song voting so the crowd thumbs each track up or down for fit. CHALLENGES Host your own themed challenge or enter someone else's, then let the community vote for a winner. Several can run at once, so there's always something to jump into. BOOST Give a playlist you're proud of a spotlight — pin it to the top of Discover for a day so everyone finds it. STAY IN THE LOOP Get notified when someone follows you, when your playlist hits a milestone, or when a new challenge drops. Playlist Forge is your library, your taste, together with everyone else's. Requires an Apple Music subscription to build and save playlists. Sign in with Apple to post, comment, follow, and vote. Boost and Host a Challenge are optional one-time in-app purchases. Your data is yours — delete your account and everything in it any time from your profile. Questions? 14nicholas.martin@gmail.com

Screenshots

Mellow FM3 screens
Playlist Forge4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Mellow FM at none against Playlist Forge's 2. Mellow FM also leads on iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Playlist Forge sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Mellow FM asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Mellow FM versus Playlist Forge: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMellow FMPlaylist Forge
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB2 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperYoshiyuki KoyamaNICHOLAS JOHN MARTIN

In-app purchases

None

Mellow FM

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Playlist Forge

One-time2
  • Boost Playlist$1.99
  • Host a Challenge$4.99

Questions

Is Mellow FM free?
Mellow FM is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Playlist Forge free?
Playlist Forge is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Mellow FM or Playlist Forge have ads?
Neither Mellow FM nor Playlist Forge shows ads.

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