# play vs BlackCandy

The clearest difference is price: BlackCandy at Free against play's $4.99. BlackCandy also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.5) and in-app purchases (none vs 5). play's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 24 months) and ratings volume (434 vs 1). On ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

BlackCandy is free to download; play costs $4.99 up front. play sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. BlackCandy asks for nothing beyond the download.

BlackCandy holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: play has 434 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

play ships an update every 3 weeks, BlackCandy every 24 months. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | play | BlackCandy |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $4.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.5 (434 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/playsub-music-streamer/id955329386/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/blackcandy/id6444304071/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **434** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 72.5% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Every 24 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#104** | — |
| Size | 28 MB | 15 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.0** | 16.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Michael Hansen](https://appshunter.io/developer/955329385) | [文冬 赵](https://appshunter.io/developer/1576325628) |

## What reviewers say

### play

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/playsub-music-streamer/id955329386)

**Currently charting:** #104 Top Paid · Music (US App Store)

Stream your self-hosted music library to various devices with customizable audio settings. Enjoy lossless playback, gapless transitions, and a powerful equalizer. Browse your collection by folders, artists, or albums, and cache music for offline listening.

**Highlights:** Stream Subsonic-hosted music, Lossless and gapless playback, 10-band customizable equalizer, Crossfade and replay gain, Browse by folder, artist, album, Offline caching of music, Supports multiple servers

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Generous Tip | $1.99 | one-time |
| Amazing Tip | $3.99 | one-time |
| Unbelievable Tip | $8.99 | one-time |
| Mind-blowing Tip | $49.99 | one-time |
| Unparalleled Tip | $99.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Smooth playback
- 👍 Customizable UI
- 🔒 No tracking
- 🎨 Detailed song/album info
- 💡 Useful features (EQ, crossfade, etc.)

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
- 🔋 Battery drain
- 🤔 Confusing navigation/UI
- ⚠️ Buggy CarPlay integration

**Reported bugs**

- Songs not playing properly
- Library desyncing issues
- Freezing during database sync
- Inconsistent behavior when switching networks

**Requested features**

- Repeat single track option
- Automatic theme switching
- Batch download/caching
- Apple Watch support
- Improved CarPlay experience


### BlackCandy

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/blackcandy/id6444304071)

This application serves as a personal music center, requiring a pre-configured Black Candy server to function. It provides access to your music library through a dedicated iOS interface. More information on server setup is available via the developer's GitHub page.

**Highlights:** Personal music center, Requires Black Candy server, iOS interface, Music library access, GitHub for setup info

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is play free?

play costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is BlackCandy free?

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

### Which has better reviews, play or BlackCandy?

BlackCandy is rated higher. play averages 4.5 out of 5 from 434 ratings, while BlackCandy averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do play or BlackCandy have ads?

Neither play nor BlackCandy shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, play or BlackCandy?

play ships an update every 3 weeks, and BlackCandy every 24 months. Most recently, play was updated on November 11, 2026 and BlackCandy on November 3, 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.*