Vinyl Layer vs GrailVinyl
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Vinyl Layer
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Keep the music you love and add a little vinyl atmosphere. Vinyl Layer generates its own separate audio layer of gentle crackle, soft hiss, and small pops and clicks. Play music in Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, or another app, then turn on Vinyl Layer. Tap the record center or drag the needle onto the record. Background playback in another app depends on that app's features and settings. • Clean LP and Old LP presets • Adjustable volume, brightness, crackle, surface noise, pops/clicks, needle texture, and hiss • Preview each sound layer on its own as you adjust your texture • Saved textures, favorites, and listening sets with a timer • Sound profiles for headphones, the phone speaker, and external speakers • Atmospheric themes with a rotating record • A first-listen comparison with and without the LP layer • Shortcuts, plus start and stop system controls on iOS 18 and later The timer stops only the LP sound. Vinyl Layer does not modify, analyze, record, or control audio from other apps. Vinyl sounds are generated on your device. Settings and saved textures stay local. No account is required.
GrailVinyl
Instantly identify vinyl records by photo, voice, or sound. Discover album details, pressing variations, and estimated value. Integrates with Discogs and Last.fm for a comprehensive vinyl experience.
- On-device record identification
- Pressing variation analysis
- Value estimation
- Discogs integration
- Last.fm scrobbling
- Crate mode for record shopping
- Collection management
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Point your phone at any record and know it in seconds — which album, which pressing, and what it's worth. GrailVinyl runs on your device: your photos, voice, and audio are read right on your iPhone with Apple's Vision framework and never uploaded. That's why it's fast — and private. IDENTIFY IN SECONDS — ON DEVICE Apple Vision reads the label or sleeve directly on your iPhone, so results come back in milliseconds — no server round-trip, no waiting, no account. • Photograph it — point at the cover or label; the text is read on-device. • Say it — speak the artist, album, or catalog number, even in a noisy shop. • Type it — search anything you can read off the sleeve. • Play it — let the app listen to a track that's spinning. • Scan it — the back-cover barcode for a one-tap lookup. The catalog ships inside the app, so core search is instant and works offline. KNOW YOUR PRESSING — FAST Not all copies are equal — an original, an early repress, an import, and a budget reissue can be worlds apart in value. GrailVinyl shows which pressing you're holding and how it sits among every other pressing of the same album, by era, country, and pressing markers. Type the dead-wax/runout codes etched in the groove to narrow down your exact copy in seconds. (Collector reference for entertainment — not an appraisal or authentication.) ALL-IN-ONE — DISCOGS + LAST.FM IN YOUR POCKET One app for the whole vinyl life, connected to the services you already use: • Discogs — live release data, prices, and your collection; every pressing of every master at your fingertips. • Last.fm — drop the needle and GrailVinyl follows track by track, joining your vinyl spins to your streaming scrobbles, so you finally see what you actually listen to. • Crate mode — walk a shop and call out what you see, hands-free; GrailVinyl transcribes, matches, and tallies your finds. • Your collection — what your shelf is worth, which records are grails, what you own but never play, and what to chase next. • Share — turn your shelf into a clean, ready-to-post cover card. ON-DEVICE BY DESIGN No account required. Your photos, voice, and audio are processed on your iPhone with Apple Vision and never uploaded. The bundled catalog keeps core search instant and private. (Live data, prices, and cover art are fetched from Discogs, MusicBrainz, the Cover Art Archive, and Last.fm when you look beyond the bundled catalog.) FREE: identify by photo, voice, text, sound, or barcode · on-device catalog · basic pressing info · play & track with Last.fm · shareable collection cards — plus 14 days of full Grail Member access. GRAIL MEMBER: every pressing of every master · pressing deep-dives & sibling comparison · dead-wax / runout identification · audiophile reissues & curated pressing notes · unlimited Crate sessions · challenge breakdowns · seasonal badges. Prices, pressing details, and notes are collector reference offered for entertainment — not a guarantee, appraisal, or authentication. Always do your own research before buying or selling. Release data from Discogs · recording metadata from MusicBrainz · cover art from Cover Art Archive · listening data from Last.fm. Voice, photos, and audio are processed on-device and never uploaded; no advertising identifier; anonymous crash + usage diagnostics via Firebase. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://grailvinyl.app/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Vinyl Layer at none against GrailVinyl's 3. On price, update cadence, 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. GrailVinyl sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Vinyl Layer asks for nothing beyond the download.
Vinyl Layer ships an update every 11 days, GrailVinyl weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Vinyl Layer | GrailVinyl |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 3 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 11 days | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 20 MB | 310 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sungho Lee | GRAILVINYL LLC |
In-app purchases
Vinyl Layer
No in-app purchases
GrailVinyl
- Grail Member - Monthly14 Days trial$4.991 Month
- Grail Member - Annual$34.991 Year
- Grail Member - Lifetime$99.99









