Comparison

Sovault vs Phonoria

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

Head to head
About

Sovault

This music player supports over 40 audio formats, including niche ones, and offers robust library management. It can fix garbled tags, organize files, and provides multiple playback views. The app works entirely offline with no account required.

Highlights
  • Supports 40+ audio formats
  • Fixes garbled audio tags
  • Full offline playback
  • Real file browser
  • Edit tags and artwork
  • Multiple Now Playing views
  • Import from various sources
Features
Read full description

Sovault is a music player for people who own their music. Streaming services come and go. Your collection doesn't have to. Point Sovault at your files and it plays them — including the formats most players quietly refuse. PLAYS 40+ FORMATS MP3, AAC, ALAC, FLAC, WAV, AIFF, Opus — plus APE (Monkey's Audio), DSD (DSF/DFF), WavPack, TAK, TTA, Musepack, Shorten, WMA, Ogg Vorbis, AC-3, DTS, MLP/TrueHD, ATRAC, Speex, and more. That old APE rip, the DSD you bought years ago, the WavPack archive you forgot about — they all just play. FIX GARBLED TAGS Chinese and Japanese tracks ripped years ago often store their tags in GBK, Big5 or Shift-JIS, and show up as "ÍõÐÄÁè" everywhere else. Sovault detects the original encoding and repairs it — permanently, written back into the file. YOUR LIBRARY, YOUR RULES • Import from Files, folders, URLs, iCloud Drive — no limits, ever • Full offline playback, with background audio, AirPlay and lock screen / Control Center controls • A real file browser inside the app: move, rename, organize • Edit tags and artwork for one track or hundreds at once • Find what's broken: missing artwork, missing artist, garbled text • Playlists, favorites, ratings, play counts • Four Now Playing views — artwork, spinning vinyl, real-time spectrum (six styles), and synced lyrics that highlight line by line • Now Playing and Lyrics widgets for the Home Screen, Lock Screen and Mac — play, pause and skip right from the widget on iOS 17 / macOS 14 or later • Last.fm scrobbling NO ACCOUNT. NO CLOUD REQUIRED. Sovault has no backend. There is no sign-up, no profile, nothing to log in to. Your music never passes through our servers, because we don't have any. Everything works offline. PREMIUM Free forever: importing (no limits), playback of MP3/AAC/ALAC/FLAC/WAV/AIFF/Opus, tag editing, encoding repair, playlists, the file browser, library issue detection, Last.fm, embedded or .lrc lyrics, and the player widgets. Premium adds: • Playback of 30+ advanced formats — APE, DSD, WavPack, TAK, WMA, DTS and more • Browse and import straight from SMB, FTP and WebDAV servers • Sync your library across devices via iCloud, or to your own NAS • Auto-fill missing artwork, album, genre, year and time-synced lyrics • A 10-band equalizer with presets • CarPlay One purchase covers iPhone, iPad and Mac. Try everything free for 14 days — no payment required to start. Sovault is for audiophiles, NAS users, and anyone who believes their music collection deserves better than a forgotten folder. Requires iOS 15.6 or later, macOS 13 or later. Questions? sovault.app@gmail.com Open source licenses (including LGPL components and links to their source code): in the app, Settings › About › Open Source Licenses. Privacy Policy: https://sovault.vercel.app/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Phonoria

This music player unifies local files, iCloud Drive, and Apple Music into a single library. It features an A-B loop function ideal for practice, transcription, or enjoying specific song sections. Enjoy offline playback and customizable appearance options.

Highlights
  • Unified music library (local, iCloud, Apple Music)
  • A-B loop for precise section repetition
  • Folder selection for local and cloud files
  • Offline playback
  • Customizable app icons and appearance
  • Playback controls (Lock Screen, Control Center)
Features
Read full description

Phonoria brings local folders, iCloud Drive files, your Apple Music library, and purchased or imported songs on your iPhone into one music player. Set A-B markers to repeat only the part you need — great for practice, transcribing, language learning, or savoring a favorite section. [Good for] · Musicians, singers, and language learners who need to repeat a phrase or chorus · Anyone who wants to endlessly loop a favorite line of a favorite song · People who manage their own audio folders and want to play them directly · Listeners who prefer keeping music files local instead of streaming · iCloud Drive users who want their cloud audio as a real library · Anyone who wants Apple Music library songs and purchased music next to local files [Features] · Folder selection — pick a folder in iCloud Drive or local storage and Phonoria scans it into a library · Apple Music library — show and play songs you have added to your library alongside local files (Apple Music subscription required) · Purchased or imported songs — play DRM-free music stored on your iPhone without a subscription · A-B Loop — set start point A and end point B, repeat any section with a smooth crossfade · Playback modes: Repeat Track / Repeat All / Shuffle / Single Track · Browse by Songs, Albums, Artists, and Playlists · Search across songs, albums, and artists · Embedded album artwork · One-tap download for cloud-only files in iCloud Drive · Lock Screen, Control Center, and Live Activity playback controls · A new default icon plus 10 classic alternate icons; choose the icon/accent and Light/Dark appearance independently · Output volume limit for loud files on CarPlay or external speakers · Supports m4a, mp3, wav, flac, and aac [Privacy] Music files are read from the folder you choose. No account, login, or upload required. Phonoria works fully offline. DRM-protected songs, unsupported formats, files not downloaded to the device, or Apple Music catalog songs not added to your library may not be playable.

Screenshots

Sovault3 screens
Phonoria4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Sovault at weekly against Phonoria's every 3 weeks. Sovault also leads on device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 26.1). 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. Sovault sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Phonoria sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. 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 Sovault against 5.0 for Phonoria. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sovault ships an update weekly, Phonoria every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Sovault versus Phonoria: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSovaultPhonoria
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better26.1
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer勇华 陈akira kawakami

Customer experience

Sovault

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Phonoria

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Sovault

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly$5.991 Month
  • Premium Annual$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Premium Lifetime$74.99
3 purchases

Phonoria

One-time3
  • Coffee Tip$0.99
  • Lunch Tip$3.99
  • Sushi Tip$6.99

Questions

Is Sovault free?
Sovault is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Phonoria free?
Phonoria is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Sovault or Phonoria?
Sovault and Phonoria are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Sovault or Phonoria have ads?
Neither Sovault nor Phonoria shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sovault or Phonoria?
Sovault ships an update weekly, and Phonoria every 3 weeks. Most recently, Sovault was updated on October 24, 2026 and Phonoria on October 25, 2026.

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