Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Mixcloud vs Apple Music

Mixcloud 4.8★ · Free to download 60
Winner Apple Music
Apple Music 4.9★ · Free to download 85

Apple Music is the better choice for a general music streaming service due to its vast library and ad-free experience, while Mixcloud excels for niche content like DJ mixes and radio shows despite significant app stability issues.

Full reviews: Mixcloud · Apple Music

Apple Music offers a massive song library and a generally ad-free experience, though users report occasional bugs and frustrating UI changes . Mixcloud is praised for its unique selection of DJ mixes and live shows, but it suffers from severe app stability, connectivity, and feature issues R1R4.

Head to head

Content & Music Selection edge: Apple MusicR5R8R17R20
Mixcloud Mixcloud is highly praised for its unique and extensive collection of DJ mixes, old-school mixes, live shows, and global music, with users appreciating the ability to find specific DJs and their archives R5R8R17R20.
Apple Music Apple Music offers a very good collection of songs, with users finding almost every song they want and appreciating the vast library of over 1 million worldwide songs . Some users note that it sometimes lacks certain songs found on other platforms .
App Reliability & Performance edge: Apple MusicR1R4R6R10
Mixcloud Mixcloud users report frequent and severe issues with app reliability, including connection problems, constant glitching, unexpected server responses, inability to log in, and the app being unresponsive or not loading R1R4R10. The app also experiences random skipping of tracks and force-playing issues R4R6.
Apple Music Apple Music users experience occasional bugs and glitches, such as the app starting automatically in cars even when not open, songs combining at the end, and issues with loading on computers R61R63. Some report syncing issues with iTunes on Windows and the app hanging up R85.
User Interface & Features edge: Apple MusicR9R15R31R33
Mixcloud Mixcloud's UI is criticized for being faulty, with issues like random switching between landscape and portrait mode, disappearing playlists, and problems with queue management R9. Key features like 30-second skip/rewind and track information have been removed or made premium, frustrating users R15R31. The search function is also described as useless R33.
Apple Music Apple Music's UI receives mixed feedback. Users find it easy to use and appreciate features like Shazam integration and lyrics . However, recent UI changes, like buried volume controls and difficulty disabling shuffle, are disliked . Users also request features like sorting playlists by date added, sorting by 'most played,' and better playlist management .
Price & Value edge: Apple MusicR11R14R15R16
Mixcloud Mixcloud is free to download, and some users appreciate the lack of pop-ups and ads in the free version R11R14. However, many users express frustration with features being moved behind a paywall, such as fast-forwarding, offline play, and track information R15R31. Premium users also report issues with downloaded music not playing and subscriptions not providing expected exclusivity R16. Some find the subscription price high compared to competitors .
Apple Music Apple Music is free to download but requires a subscription for full access, with no free option to even browse songs for purchase R82R97R100. Users appreciate the ad-free experience with a subscription . Some find it a bit expensive but good, while others dislike having to pay for certain content R82. The loss of playlists after canceling a free trial is also a point of contention .
Support & Customer Service tieR55R61R85R119
Mixcloud Mixcloud users report issues with support, particularly concerning paid features like 'Boost,' where users felt they were paying for a 'chance' at promotion rather than guaranteed service R55.
Apple Music Reviews do not provide specific feedback on Apple Music's customer support, though some users express frustration with persistent bugs and lack of fixes R61R85R119.
Pick Mixcloud if

You are primarily interested in discovering and listening to DJ mixes, live radio shows, and niche electronic music genres, and are willing to tolerate significant app stability and UI issues for this unique content R5R8R17R20.

Pick Apple Music if

You want a comprehensive music streaming service with a vast library of mainstream and popular music, an ad-free experience (with subscription), and generally reliable performance, despite some UI quirks and occasional bugs .

Evidence note: Mixcloud's reviews show a strong recent negative skew regarding app functionality and premium features, despite a high lifetime rating. Apple Music has a much larger volume of reviews, offering a more robust dataset for comparison.

Frequently asked

Is Mixcloud free to use?
Mixcloud is free to download and offers some ad-free listening, but many features like fast-forwarding, offline play, and full track information are restricted to premium subscribers R11R14R15R31.
Does Apple Music have a free tier?
Apple Music is free to download, but it does not offer a free listening option; a subscription is required to access music, and users cannot even browse songs to buy without one R82R97R100.
Which app has better sound quality?
Mixcloud's sound quality is often reported as poor by users, leading some to switch to other services like Spotify R30. Apple Music reviews do not specifically highlight sound quality as a major issue, with some users appreciating diverse library selection over audio quality R87.
Can I use these apps with CarPlay?
Mixcloud has reported bugs with CarPlay, including issues with restarting tracks from the beginning instead of where left off R45R47. Apple Music also has issues with automatic playback when connecting to a car, even when other apps are playing R61R63.

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. [R5] Mixcloud 5/5 · US Righteous Mixes!: The BEST in old school mixes! Read RELENTLESS!
  2. [R8] Mixcloud 5/5 · US Jimmy Givens blues Cruise: So much fun excellent entertainment
  3. [R17] Mixcloud 5/5 · US Kenny K,Ty Boogie,Nelly Nell: I love that you can find just about any DJ you like in rotation!
  4. [R20] Mixcloud 5/5 · US Mil gracias: Agradezco infinitame a esta app por permitirme escuchar a los mejores djs con mucha música de todos los tiempos claro mi mejor época fue de los 80s y 90s y tiene bastantes mixes gracias totales
  5. [R1] Mixcloud 1/5 · US No connection: Every time I select music, it says there’s a problem with the connection
  6. [R4] Mixcloud 2/5 · US Good to Bad to Ugly: MixCloud was one of my favorite apps for many years. Unfortunately it has gone from, Good to Bad to Ugly. The basic functionality was excellent for many years. Then inconsistencies crept in and increased throughout 2025. Frustrating, it is and has been for several months of 2026. Often I would share links for streams, several times a day. Now it rarely works well for mo
  7. [R6] Mixcloud 3/5 · US Love it but keeps force playing: I love the app but it does the same thing Apple Music does and just starts playing even when the app isn’t even opened or in the background. It’s getting to where I delete it and redownload it whenever I want to listen to it.
  8. [R10] Mixcloud 1/5 · US Can’t login at all!: Unexpected response from the server!!!!!!!!!
  9. [R9] Mixcloud 3/5 · US Wide music choice ruined by faulty UI: Db radio and world wide DJ’s of every stripe a great plus. The fact that some times it works in landscape on my iPad, and then randomly will switch to portrait and not switch back. Frustrating to the point of not using the app any longer. It may seem minor, maybe it is, but it makes want to delete the app and sit in silence instead.
  10. [R15] Mixcloud 3/5 · US Good service, rotting app: A decent service that hosts some great DJ sets. Unfortunately, the app is slowly being stripped of features. The ability to see what track is currently playing beyond a truncated title that might not even display the artist was made a premium feature a few months ago, and in a recent update the buttons for skipping forward and backward by 30 seconds were stripped out. I
  11. [R31] Mixcloud 2/5 · US High Quality of music, Low quality of life.: Downloaded the app a couple years ago now, you could download 2 or 3 tracks for free offline play, no fast forward restrictions, no subscription required. Now you’ve gotta pay if you want to use the skip ahead button more than 6 times a day. Sad how the app has fallen out of shape due to unfettered greed.
  12. [R33] Mixcloud 3/5 · GB Search and Destroy: There’s alot to love about Mixcloud, but unfortunately, the search function is still beyond useless. Jah Bless
  13. [R11] Mixcloud 5/5 · US Mixcloud is great!: So many apps ruined by pop ups and ads. Not this one! If the genre’s of music featured are your cup of tea…it’s a really good app! I use it a lot and totally recommend it for anyone into ambient, house, etc. It’s awesome.
  14. [R14] Mixcloud 5/5 · US Super great: This app it’s so awesome. The best music app specially if you hate adds. 👌 totally 10/10
  15. [R16] Mixcloud 1/5 · US Subscription means nothing!: What’s the use of making people pay subscription if you’re not going to do anything about making it exclusive? Just paid and literally still can’t listen to anything!
  16. [R55] Mixcloud 1/5 · US BOOST IS A SCAM!: I paid to have a mix boosted for 5 days. For several of those days, my mix was not promoted at all. When I contacted support to ask why it wasn’t being promoted when I paid to boost it for those days, I was told that I was only paying for a CHANCE at being promoted, based on how many people boosted at the same time. If 5 people pay to be promoted in the same category for 5 days,
  17. [R61] Apple Music 1/5 · US Tim Cook needs to fix this glitch immediately.: The app starts when I get in my car, even though I DON’T have the app OPEN. So then I activated “require Face ID” to start. Even with my phone wallet cover closed this stupid app still starts playing. Search online and this has been an issue for over a year. Steve Jobs would have fired whoever was this careless. and FYI, Podcast app needs this
  18. [R85] Apple Music 1/5 · US App still has syncing issues with iTunes on windows: It’s 2026, and this app still has annoying syncing issues with iTunes on windows. Album art gets switched around when syncing to the phone. Seriously, fix your apps.
  19. [R119] Apple Music 1/5 · US What are the engineers at Apple Music doing?: Update: it’s still terrible worse somehow I’m not one to write a review however after recently switching from their verrrry popular competitor, I knew my music taste would be not complete however I am shocked how terrible the suggestions and even recommendations are when searching EVEN AFTER REQUESTING CERTAIN SONGS AND ARTIST TO NOT BE PLAYED. It se
  20. [R82] Apple Music 2/5 · US The subscriptions: It’s ok and all but I don’t like how you have to pay for chill and stuff, could do better
  21. [R97] Apple Music 1/5 · US I’m broke: Costs money
  22. [R100] Apple Music 1/5 · US Disappointed: So, there is no free option. If you are not subbed you can’t even look for songs to buy to add to your phone. They will go in and delete what’s downloaded to your phone and iCloud without your permission. They did that to me.
  23. [R30] Mixcloud 3/5 · GB Sound Quality: The sound quality is often do poor that I often come off MixCloud after 5 minutes and go on to Spotify to listen to some music.
  24. [R87] Apple Music 3/5 · US Good, but room for improvement.: As a musician, I’ve tried multiple streaming services over the years: Tidal Hi-Fi, Spotify Premium, Amazon Music, now Apple Music & Classical. As a musician / software developer with a lot of apple devices, the switching cost from Tidal Hi-fi, > Apple Music was very low. I appreciate the diverse library in both Music/Classical and some selection over audio quality.
  25. [R45] Mixcloud 3/5 · GB Restart: I would have given it 5stars but the app creators have messed it up. Use to be able to listen where you left off last on apple CarPlay now it restarts the whole thing from the beginning. It’s going down hill cos they getting too greedy.
  26. [R47] Mixcloud 4/5 · US Great but..: Buggy with carplay
  27. [R63] Apple Music 3/5 · US Works okay but there’s an issue with controls: I removed the app from my iPhone 17 Pro Max because when I first connect USB to my car, even if Spotify is playing a song, the iPhone stops Spotify and plays a track from Apple Music. It plays the same Music track unless I delete it from my library. I’ve found a few issues with this app. First, when I deleted the Music track, it was one that I purchas

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