Audify vs AIMP: two free music players for Android, compared honestly

Short answer: choose AIMP if you want a free player with no ads at all, a 20-band equalizer, and a format list that includes APE, DSD files and tracker modules; it also runs on Windows and Linux. Choose Audify if you want the free all-rounder: music and video in one library, internet radio, lyrics, a ringtone cutter, Calm sounds with a sleep timer, Google Drive backup, and the same app on Android, iPhone, Windows and Mac; its free version shows ads, and Premium removes them. Both play the files you already own with no account. Facts below were checked against both Google Play listings in September 2026.

At a glance, September 2026

Price and ads. AIMP is free and its listing says plainly that the app is ads free. Audify is free with ads in the free version; Premium removes them, monthly or yearly on both platforms, with a lifetime option on Android only.

Sound. AIMP: a 20-band graphic equalizer, balance, pitch and speed control, and volume normalization by ReplayGain or peak level. Audify: a 10-band equalizer with bass boost, virtualizer and reverb, plus loudness normalization at -14 LUFS.

Formats. Both play the common files. AIMP goes further into the rare ones: APE, DSF and DFF, TTA, WavPack, Musepack and tracker modules. Audify adds local video playback, which AIMP does not offer.

Beyond playback. Audify: internet radio with more than 50,000 stations, lyrics while you play, a ringtone cutter, an AI tag editor, Calm sounds with a sleep timer, Google Drive backup, Mixes for shared playlists, hidden items. AIMP: internet radio including HLS streams, playback from Windows shared folders and WebDAV, CUE sheets, a tag editor for the main formats, a sleep timer, and a way to set the playing track as a ringtone.

Car. Both support Android Auto. Audify adds Chromecast, and CarPlay on the iPhone app.

Platforms. AIMP: Android, Windows and Linux. Audify: Android, iPhone, Windows and Mac.

Scale. Audify: 100M+ downloads and 4.5★ on Google Play. AIMP: more than fifty million downloads and 4.5 stars on Google Play.

AIMP column from its Google Play listing and aimp.ru, read September 2026. "Not in the listing" means the listing does not mention it.

Where AIMP wins: no ads, deep formats, a desktop heritage

AIMP has been a Windows player for a long time, and the Android app keeps that character: it is built around playlists, it reads CUE sheets and every playlist format you are likely to have, and its format list runs from the ordinary to the rare, including APE, DSF and DFF, TTA, WavPack, Musepack and the tracker modules of the demo scene. If your collection came from a desktop ripping habit, AIMP will probably open all of it without a converter.

It is also free without ads, its listing says so in one sentence, and its Data safety section says no data is shared. For a listener who wants a quiet, capable player and nothing else, that is a strong offer. The 20-band equalizer, ReplayGain support and the ability to play from a Windows share or a WebDAV drive round out a toolset aimed at people who keep their music on a computer at home.

Where Audify wins: the whole day, on every device

Audify treats the music library as one part of the day. It plays the videos on your phone as well as the songs, shows lyrics while you play (the lyrics guide explains where they come from), streams internet radio from a directory of more than 50,000 stations, cuts a ringtone from any part of a song rather than assigning the whole track, fixes wrong titles with an AI tag editor, plays Calm sounds for sleep with its own timer, backs playlists up to Google Drive, and lets a group build a playlist together with Mixes.

Then there is the second device. Audify runs on Android, iPhone, Windows and Mac, so the library you copy to a laptop plays the same way it does on the phone, and the desktop apps add ALAC, APE and WavPack decoding. AIMP covers Android, Windows and Linux; it has no iPhone or Mac app. If you live between an Android phone and a Mac, or want CarPlay in the car, that decides it; the Windows and Mac guide covers the desktop side.

Ads and price, honestly

AIMP costs nothing and shows nothing; there is no paid tier to mention. That is rare, and this page would be dishonest not to say it is the simpler deal.

Audify's free version is paid for by ads. They appear between actions, never over the music, and Premium removes them; it is sold monthly or yearly on both platforms, with a lifetime option on Android. Every feature in this comparison is in the free version. If you paid and still see ads, this guide explains why and what to do.

Formats and files

Audify decodes MP3, WAV, FLAC, AAC, AC3, WMA, M4A, OGG, Opus and AIFF on Android, and its Windows and Mac apps add ALAC, APE and WavPack; it does not play DSD. AIMP's Android listing names aac, ape, dff, dsf, flac, m4a, m4b, mp3, mp4, mpc, ogg, opus, tta, wav, webm, wv and the tracker formats it, mod, s3m, xm, umx and mtm, plus the m3u, m3u8, xspf, pls and cue playlist formats. If you own DSD files or Monkey's Audio rips and want them on the phone itself, AIMP is the one to install. Android decodes FLAC natively since version 3.1 and Opus since 5.0, so neither app needs a codec add-on for the common formats. The full Audify list is in what audio formats Audify supports.

Which one to choose

Choose AIMP if you want no ads and no paid tier, a 20-band equalizer, rare formats and CUE sheets, playback from a home computer's shared folders, and a matching Windows or Linux player.

Choose Audify if you want music and video in one app, radio, lyrics, a ringtone cutter, Calm sounds, cloud backup, shared playlists, and one app across Android, iPhone, Windows and Mac, and you are fine with ads in the free version or a Premium plan to remove them.

Both, if you like: they read the same folders and neither moves or copies your files. Neither downloads or streams music; both play what you already own. For the wider field, see the best free offline players for Android and Audify vs Poweramp.

Common questions

Sources

“Additionally, our app is ads free.”AIMP, Google Play listing

• AIMP on Google Play — Google Play
• AIMP download centre (Windows, Android, Linux) — aimp.ru
• Supported media formats — Android Developers
• Manage subscriptions on Google Play — Google Play Help

Read next

• Best free offline music player for Android (2026)
• Audify vs Poweramp: which Android music player is right for you?
• What audio formats does Audify support?