# NextPlayer Lite vs StarTone

The clearest difference is price: NextPlayer Lite at Free against StarTone's $0.99. NextPlayer Lite also leads on iOS requirement (11.0 vs 18.0). StarTone's advantage is update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 4 months). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

NextPlayer Lite is free to download; StarTone costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

NextPlayer Lite ships an update every 4 months, StarTone every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 14, 2026 and September 13, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | NextPlayer Lite | StarTone |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $0.99 |
| Rating | — | **[4.1 (16 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/startone/id1216107501/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | — | **16** |
| Positive reviews | — | 66.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | **Every 5 weeks** |
| Monetization | — | Paid |
| Size | 16 MB | 24 MB |
| Requires iOS | **11.0** | 18.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Felipe Díaz](https://appshunter.io/developer/530392571) | [乃波 黄](https://appshunter.io/developer/680348637) |

## What reviewers say

### NextPlayer Lite

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nextplayer-lite/id851401051)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### StarTone

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/startone/id1216107501)

This music player allows you to rate songs with stars and love statuses directly from your device's library or audio files. It offers convenient rating options via widgets and Apple Watch, with iCloud sync for your ratings.

**Highlights:** Rate music with stars and love statuses, iCloud sync for ratings across devices, Rating support on Today Extension and Apple Watch, Play and rate common audio formats including Flac and MIDI, Embed lyrics and support for .lrc files, Smart playlist creation

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is NextPlayer Lite free?

NextPlayer Lite is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is StarTone free?

StarTone costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Do NextPlayer Lite or StarTone have ads?

Neither NextPlayer Lite nor StarTone shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, NextPlayer Lite or StarTone?

NextPlayer Lite ships an update every 4 months, and StarTone every 5 weeks. Most recently, NextPlayer Lite was updated on September 14, 2026 and StarTone on September 13, 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.*