Comparison

Longplayer vs Marimba

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

Head to head
About

Longplayer

Experience a unique, ever-evolving musical composition designed to last 1000 years. This app provides real-time, high-quality playback without needing a data connection, allowing you to listen in the background while using other applications. It offers a real-time score display and detailed information about the composition's history and conceptual background.

Highlights
  • Real-time high-quality playback
  • Offline playback
  • Plays in the background
  • Real-time score display
  • Detailed information section
  • Up-to-date news
Features
Read full description

Longplayer: a thousand years of music in your pocket! Longplayer is a musical composition that has been playing since the beginning of the year 2000, and will play on, never repeating, until it reaches the point at which it first started, exactly 1000 years later. Longplayer is in effect an everlasting piece of music; its score mirrors a planetary system, six musical events whose orbits come into phase once a millennium. Until now, Longplayer has only been accessible by visiting a handful of "listening posts" or via an online stream. This app is the first standalone version of Longplayer, creating the music in real time based on the composition's thousand-year-long score. It requires no data connection and automatically synchronises itself with every other copy of the app across the globe. With this app, you become part of a community of listeners distributed through space and time, across many lifetimes. - real time high-quality playback of Longplayer, with no need for a data connection - plays in the background: listen to Longplayer while you continue to use other apps, and while your phone is locked. - real time score display - graphic and textual information explaining how it works - detailed information section about Longplayer's history, development, composition, conceptual background and much more - up-to-date news from the Longplayer website (data connection required) Recommended for headphones or external speakers. Watch a short video explaining Longplayer: http://vimeo.com/94166447 Longplayer was composed by Jem Finer and commissioned by Artangel in 1995. It is now in the care of the Longplayer Trust.

About

Marimba

This app offers a high-quality sampled marimba instrument for iOS devices. It functions as a standalone application or an AUv3 plugin, featuring adjustable keyboard settings and built-in effects like reverb and delay. It supports external MIDI input for enhanced musical expression.

Highlights
  • Standalone app and AUv3 plugin
  • High-quality sample-based marimba
  • Configurable keyboard
  • Reverb and delay effects
  • MIDI input support
  • Mac support
Features
Read full description

Marimba is a polyphonic sampled AUv3 instrument and standalone app for iPhone and iPad. It features a configurable keyboard, reverb and delay effects. It can be played using an external midi keyboard over Wifi or Bluetooth, or loaded in your favourite AUv3 compatible DAW, such as Garageband. Features • Standalone app and AUv3 • High quality sample based marimba instrument • Configurable keyboard key count • Reverb • Delay • Midi input support • Mac support System Requirements: iOS 15.0 or later

Screenshots

Longplayer4 screens
Marimba3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Marimba at every 10 months against Longplayer's every 136 months. Marimba also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and price ($2.99 vs $3.99). Longplayer's advantage is ratings volume (11 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Longplayer costs $3.99 and Marimba $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Marimba holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Longplayer has 11 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Longplayer ships an update every 136 months, Marimba every 10 months. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Longplayer versus Marimba: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLongplayerMarimba
Price$3.99$2.99 — better
Rating4.6 (11 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews83.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings11 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 136 monthsEvery 10 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size102 MB92 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThe Longplayer TrustMellowmuse Ltd

Customer experience

Longplayer

All ratings11 ratings
Positive90.9%
Neutral9.1%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral16.7%
Negative0.0%

Marimba

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Longplayer

No in-app purchases

None

Marimba

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Longplayer free?
Longplayer costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Marimba free?
Marimba costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Longplayer or Marimba?
Marimba is rated higher. Longplayer averages 4.6 out of 5 from 11 ratings, while Marimba averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Longplayer or Marimba have ads?
Neither Longplayer nor Marimba shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Longplayer or Marimba?
Longplayer ships an update every 136 months, and Marimba every 10 months. Most recently, Longplayer was updated on October 12, 2026 and Marimba on September 28, 2026.

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