Comparison

Cordata vs PMDA

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

Head to head
About

Cordata

Features
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Cordata is a control point and discovery layer for a local hi-fi library. It drives HQPlayer or a UPnP/OpenHome renderer on your network and turns your own collection into something you actually explore โ€” not just a file list. Requires a renderer on your network: HQPlayer (Embedded or Desktop with Network Control), or any UPnP/OpenHome renderer โ€” a network streamer, a NAS running MinimServer/Asset, etc. Cordata is the remote and the brain; it doesn't replace your server. If you don't run one of these, this isn't the app for you (yet). Rediscover your own library โ€ข Home that fills in as you listen โ€” recently played, most played, forgotten favorites, rediscover, by decade โ€ข Radio: build an endless station from any track, artist, or album โ€” it starts instantly and never repeats an artist back-to-back โ€ข Surprise Me โ€” one tap to reshuffle and rediscover a large collection โ€ข Smart Mixes themed by mood, energy, and era See the truth about every file (with the optional, free companion sidecar) โ€ข Roon-style waveform seekbar โ€ข Dynamic Range, BPM, and musical key for the playing track โ€ข A provenance verdict that flags upsampled "hi-res" โ€” plus per-track spectrograms โ€ข Synced lyrics and high-resolution embedded artwork A listening history that's yours โ€ข A real dashboard: heat map, top artists/albums/tracks, sound-quality breakdown, streaks, trends โ€ข Time Machine โ€” what you played on this day in years past โ€ข Export your history, sync to ListenBrainz, import from Last.fm โ€” your taste graph stays portable Rich context, on device โ€ข Apple Music editorial notes, artist bios, similar artists, and the playlists that feature them (a permission โ€” no Apple Music subscription required) โ€ข Apple Intelligence album insights Ratings, play counts, and all your metadata sync privately across your devices via iCloud. Optional companion: a free, open-source sidecar you run alongside your library unlocks the file-analysis features above. Cordata works without it โ€” the companion just elevates it. SUBSCRIPTION Cordata โ€” Local: an auto-renewable subscription, $49.99/year, with a 2-month free trial. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period; your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://sixthstreet.github.io/cordata-site/privacy.html Just exploring? Tap "Try the Demo" to browse a sample library instantly โ€” no hardware or account required. Cordata is not affiliated with Signalyst (HQPlayer) or Apple.

About

PMDA

Features
Read full description

PMDA (pronounced "pimda") is one music lover's take on building the music library of his dreams โ€” and now yours. Point the app at your own self-hosted PMDA server and enjoy your entire collection, beautifully organized, anywhere you go. WHY PMDA Most music apps lock you into a subscription and their catalog, or leave your carefully-built library a mess of mismatched tags and missing covers. PMDA is different: 100% self-hosted, private, and it actually understands your music. WHAT YOU GET โ€ข Your whole library, everywhere โ€” browse artists, albums, genres and labels, with rich, clickable artist pages. โ€ข Real listening โ€” gapless playback, history, cross-user recommendations, synced lyrics and waveforms. โ€ข Lossless, your way โ€” stream bit-perfect FLAC or save data with smart transcoding; download albums for offline, even on a plane. โ€ข Clean and yours โ€” your files, your server, your rules. No cloud lock-in, no ads, no tracking, no AI. HOW IT WORKS PMDA mobile is a companion to the PMDA server (a free, self-hosted music library app you run on your own machine or NAS). Enter your server's address, sign in, and your library is in your pocket. Nothing is stored on our servers โ€” the app talks only to the server you point it at. Built for people who are in love with music. Welcome.

Screenshots

Cordata4 screens
PMDA4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PMDA at none against Cordata's 1. PMDA also leads on iOS requirement (16.4 vs 26.0). Cordata's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Cordata sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $49.99 per year. PMDA asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cordata ships an update every 3 days, PMDA every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 3 level
Cordata versus PMDA: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCordataPMDA
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 days โ€” betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo โ€” better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac โ€” betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.016.4 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size15 MB82 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperParag PatelRaphael Vael

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Cordata

Subscriptions1
  • Cordata โ€” Local2 Months trial$49.991 Year
None

PMDA

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Cordata free?
Cordata is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PMDA free?
PMDA is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Cordata or PMDA have ads?
Neither Cordata nor PMDA shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cordata or PMDA?
Cordata ships an update every 3 days, and PMDA every 3 weeks. Most recently, Cordata was updated on September 28, 2026 and PMDA on October 5, 2026.

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