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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
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Is it worth paying for

Shazam

55
Value score / 100 Worth paying? No Skip it

Shazam is a free app that many users find essential for identifying songs, but recent reviews indicate a significant decline in accuracy and functionality, making it less reliable than it once was.

Free to download seen up to $35.99 4.9★ lifetime (8,739,851) since 2019

Shazam is a free app highly praised by long-term users for its ability to identify songs quickly and conveniently, even with background noise R6R9R21. However, many recent reviews report a sharp decrease in accuracy, with the app frequently failing to recognize songs or providing incorrect results, leading to frustration for users R2R15R31. The app is free, but some users complain about persistent prompts to subscribe to Apple Music R14R67R68.

Free vs paid

Shazam is a completely free app with no in-app purchases mentioned by users, despite the product page listing a price point R132. The primary monetization complaint is the frequent prompting to subscribe to Apple Music, which some users find annoying R14R67R68.

Value complaints

  • The app is free but constantly pushes users to subscribe to Apple Music.R14R67R68
  • Some users report being forced to provide credit card information for a free app, which is a significant privacy and trust concern.R132

Where it delivers

  • Many users find Shazam to be a necessary and convenient tool for identifying songs quickly.R3R4R9R20
  • It can identify songs even with background noise or static, which is impressive to some users.R6R21
  • The app helps users discover new music and rediscover old songs, sometimes bringing back memories.R24R41R47
  • It is considered the best of its kind by some long-time users.R8R29R59
Worth paying if

There is no paid tier for Shazam, as it is a free app. Therefore, there is no scenario where paying for Shazam is applicable.

Skip / stay free if

Users who expect consistent and high accuracy in song identification, especially for obscure, live, or non-mainstream music, should skip Shazam due to widespread reports of declining performance R2R15R31R38. Those who are easily annoyed by persistent prompts to subscribe to other services, like Apple Music, might also find the app frustrating R14R67R68.

Evidence note: The product page lists a price point of $35.99, but all user reviews indicate the app is free, with complaints only about Apple Music prompts, not about direct app purchase costs. This suggests the listed price point might be for something external or an error in the provided data, as no user mentions paying for Shazam itself.

Frequently asked

Is Shazam accurate at identifying songs?
While many users historically praised Shazam for its accuracy, recent reviews indicate a significant decline, with some reporting it only works 4/10 times, 50-60% of the time, or failing to recognize common songs entirely R2R5R15R31.
Does Shazam work on Apple Watch?
According to one recent review, Shazam no longer works on Apple Watch without warning, requiring Apple OS11 R11.
Are there ads or forced subscriptions in Shazam?
Shazam is free, but many users complain about persistent and annoying prompts to subscribe to Apple Music R14R67R68. Some users also reported interference from advertising or being forced to respond to ads before the app functions R55.
Can Shazam identify obscure or live music?
Reviews are mixed; some users report it struggles with obscure songs, live performances, or music played at lower volumes, while others praise its ability to identify songs even with background noise R2R6R15R38.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R14] 4/5 · US Pretty good: It’s not the best, but there aren’t many other apps that can compare to it. It does fail to recognize songs sometimes but still a great app and can recognize almost any song. There’s just a problem if you don’t own Apple Music, then it’s gonna ask if you wanna download it almost every time you try and listen to a song but you can also just search the song up on TikTok or YouTube.👍
  2. [R67] 2/5 · US Good but annoying: Works great but very annoying if you don't have Apple music. The constant nagging and begging to sign up for Apple Music makes me want to use something else. If I've already declined the offer for the 49th time.. F off🤷🏿
  3. [R68] 1/5 · US Sidebar: Always trying to make me buy Apple Music I don’t want it, don’t even try to tempt me.
  4. [R132] 3/5 · US Don’t like to be MADE to trial an app: I shouldn’t have to give a credit card when I’m trying to use a FREE app!!
  5. [R3] 5/5 · US Necessary: 100%
  6. [R4] 5/5 · US Perfect: Goated app does its job very well
  7. [R9] 5/5 · US Love my Shazam!: There is nothing quicker, mire conveinent than having this when im watching a movie etc and hear a song i love and cant remember artist etc! Bam! Got it… with Shazam for all time!! Tk you!
  8. [R20] 5/5 · US Awesome lifesaver: Shazam is an app needed!!
  9. [R6] 5/5 · US Spot on! 100%: Will find the song even with other loud ambient noises in the background! 10/10
  10. [R21] 5/5 · US This app is perfect: I usually don’t write reviews but this app is honestly the most impressive app I’ve ever had. I was listening to my radio and I found a song I liked, so I used Shazam to figure out what the name of the song was. But the radio kept on making a static songs in the middle of the song and it still worked!
  11. [R24] 5/5 · US Keeps us current: Old songs, new songs, songs we forget who sang them, Shazam keeps us current. Thank you Shazam.
  12. [R41] 5/5 · US Amazing app: I love Shazam so much it helped me find the song that my dad sang to me when I was little and it just brought me closer to him after he died I would love to thank Shazam for bringing another memory of him back into my life
  13. [R47] 5/5 · US Full circle: About the time my daughter was graduating from CU Boulder in 2007, she made several mixtapes on CD for me. I lost track of them about 10 years ago and recently found them at the bottom of my car’s console (yes, I’ve had the car that long). Thanks to Shazam, I’ve been able not only to identify the song and artist, but to immediately find it on Apple Music. Now I can create a playlist a
  14. [R8] 5/5 · US The VERY BEST: Two of Americas greatest artists missed so much 😇
  15. [R29] 5/5 · US Nice: Best app of its kind
  16. [R59] 5/5 · US Shazam: I have been using “ Shazam” forever. I’m talking 20 years and have they haven’t messed up once!
  17. [R2] 3/5 · US It can’t find really find obscure songs easily.: Not sure why but I have a big problem with it finding obscure songs so like 4/10 times it works. Sometimes it’s even just the regular song NOT sped up or slowed down. I don’t put the song in a loud environment either as I just go to the quietest place so it won’t have trouble finding it but it still DOES.
  18. [R5] 4/5 · US Accuracy: Some on the songs it does not get right but it’s right most of the time.
  19. [R15] 2/5 · US Not very good: Shazam only ids one in ten songs at a concert
  20. [R31] 2/5 · US What happened to Shazam: Shazam used to be great at identifying songs 90-95% of the time. If it didn’t know the answer it would tell me it couldn’t identify the song but something changed. I’m guessing it can identify songs correctly maybe 50-60% of the time. What’s really frustrating is when Shazam says it identified the songs by and it’s completely wrong. I knew the artist but wanted to find the
  21. [R11] 1/5 · US Removed from Apple Watch without warning: App no longer works on Apple Watch. Now says needs Apple OS11. No warning given.
  22. [R55] 1/5 · US Doesn’t work and has no support: For awhile, this app worked as advertised. Lately I’ve gotten interference from the advertising. I hear a song that I want information on, open Shazam and automatically an ad pops up that insists I respond to it before the app does anything else. Once I respond to the app, it drops me into the last identified song on hold. Now I have to close that window to get the
  23. [R38] 1/5 · US CANT PICK UP ANY TUNES: I try to pick up tunes in a cafe and it seems SoundHound outperforms when music is a played at a lower decibel…I’m also impressed with another app that is able to pick up tunes at a low decibel. Apple, maybe implement Ai into Shazam to help with improving/enhancing the experience.

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store