# Instacall vs The Record Player

The clearest difference is price: The Record Player at Free against Instacall's $5.99. The Record Player also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.3) and device support (3 vs 1). Instacall's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 30 months) and ratings volume (216 vs 1). On ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

The Record Player is free to download; Instacall costs $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

The Record Player holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Instacall has 216 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Instacall ships an update every 2 months, The Record Player every 30 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Instacall | The Record Player |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $5.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.3 (216 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/instacall-smart-dialer/id800013306/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-record-player/id1323696756/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **216** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 65.8% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 months** | Every 30 months |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Size | 13 MB | 92 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **14.0** |
| Devices | iPhone | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [hbull](https://appshunter.io/developer/493849479) | [SIME Corp](https://appshunter.io/developer/721033154) |

## What reviewers say

### Instacall

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/instacall-smart-dialer/id800013306)

This app offers a smart T9 dialer for efficient contact searching and calling. It features a user-friendly interface with customizable colors and speed dial support.

**Highlights:** Smart T9 dialing, Fast contact search, Speed dial support, Customizable colors, Simple interface

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use and navigate
- 🚀 Fast contact search
- 💡 Customizable interface
- 👍 Better than default dialer
- ✨ Clean and simple design

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashing when accessing settings
- 🐛 App crashes frequently
- 🐛 Settings not working
- 🐛 Unable to search contacts
- 🐛 No missed call history

**Reported bugs**

- Settings crash on launch
- App crashes when accessing settings
- Paid version settings crash
- Lite version settings work, paid version does not
- Unable to search contacts

**Requested features**

- Support for WhatsApp and social network calls
- Contact backup feature
- Display call duration
- Support for e-sim
- Option to disable confirmation before dialing


### The Record Player

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-record-player/id1323696756)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Siri integration

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Instacall free?

Instacall costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is The Record Player free?

The Record Player is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Instacall or The Record Player?

The Record Player is rated higher. Instacall averages 4.3 out of 5 from 216 ratings, while The Record Player averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Instacall or The Record Player have ads?

Neither Instacall nor The Record Player shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Instacall or The Record Player?

Instacall ships an update every 2 months, and The Record Player every 30 months. Most recently, Instacall was updated on October 24, 2026 and The Record Player on October 24, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*