HomeAlternatives10 Best iTunes Alternatives For Windows, Mac, And Linux (2019)
10 Best iTunes Alternatives For Windows, Mac, And Linux (2019) January 23, 2019 Linux, Tech News Leave a comment 80 Views iTunes is possibly the first software service that allowed users to manage their media files.
iTunes is possibly the first software service that allowed users to manage their media files. In addition to media management, iTunes is also a media player, media library, Internet radio broadcaster, and mobile device management application.
Well, if you have been scouting for some of the best iTunes alternatives, then this article might help you. So in no particular order, these are the best iTunes alternatives that are worth checking out.
ALSO READ: How to Download and Install iTunes for Windows 10, 8, 7
Top 10 iTunes Alternatives For Windows, Mac, And Linux
1. MusicBee
The first best iTunes alternative on the list is MusicBee. This iTunes alternative offers a very well developed interface that looks somewhat similar to iTunes. In addition to being a feature-rich music player, you can also use MusicBee as a music management tool.
Logarithmic volume scaling, support for WinAmp plugins, and a 15-band equalizer are some of the nifty features that MusicBee offers.
Many popular music streaming services like Groove Music and last.fm are natively supported by MusicBee. It is worth noting that, MusicBee is not available for MacOS.
Overall, MusicBee is a feature-rich, free to use and highly customizable iTunes alternative that you should definitely check out.
2. MediaMonkey
MediaMonkey is another great alternative to iTunes for music management. Using MediaMonkey you can easily sync your music to iOS devices. MediaMonkey is designed for audio enthusiasts with extensive music libraries. Furthermore, Media Monkey supports a plethora of music formats including FLAC music format.
The Auto-DJ & Party Mode smartly shuffles your music eliminating the need of doing it manually. Similar to MusicBee, MediaMonkey is also available only for Windows and you can upgrade to the Gold version for some more features.
3. PodTrans
If you still use your iPod for enjoying music then PodTrans is the iTunes alternative that you should check out. As the name of this iTunes alternative suggests, it helps you to seamlessly transfer music from your desktop computer to your iPod.
The simple and easy to navigate UI makes transferring music files a breeze. Moreover, if you own an iPod with a retina display you can even use PodTrans to transfer videos, images, and all sort of media files.
4. WinX MediaTrans
One of the major downsides of using iTunes on a low-end Windows computer is poor performance. Well, if iTunes seems to be a bit laggy on your Windows computer you can use WinX MediaTrans. This iTunes alternative requires comparatively fewer resources for its proper functioning.
WinX MediaTrans offers many nifty features like video converter and ringtone maker. Lastly, the user-friendly interface makes transferring media content to iOS devices fairly simple.
5. Foobar2000
The next feature-rich iTunes alternative on the list is Foobar2000. If customization is your primary concern then Foobar200 won’t disappoint you. Initially, this iTunes alternative may seem to be a minimal music player, but ones you start customizing it with skins and different panel organization your setup won’t match with anyone else’s.
In addition to customization, Foobar2000 also offers a plethora of plugins and advanced playback options. Lastly, Foobar2000 supports every major music format.
6. Vox Media Player
Vox Media Player is a feature-rich media player for MacOS and iOS. This iTunes alternative has a very well-developed and easy to navigate UI. Furthermore, Vox Media Player supports every popular music format including FLAC.
Full SoundCloud integration, 30’000+ Radio stations, and Youtube support on Vox Media Player ensure that you never run out of music. Overall Vox Media Player is a great alternative to iTunes that simply gets the job done.
7. Musique
The next best iTunes alternative on the list is Musique.Musique nicely organizes music files based on artists and albums. Unlike other iTunes alternatives on the list, Musique consumes comparatively fewer resources.
Musique also displays lyrics for songs in the info view. Overall, Musique is a simple, elegant and opinionated music player.
8. Tomahawk
If you want to stream music from major streaming service using a separate music player then Tomahawk might help you. Tomahawk supports every major music streaming service like YouTube, Spotify, Rhapsody, Tidal, Amazon Music, Google Play Music, OwnCloud, Subsonic, Jamendo, and Bandcamp.
As for downsides, Tomahawk is not available for iOS devices. Lastly, Tomahawk can also plug into social tools like like Jabber and Hatchet.
9. Fidelia
Fidelia is a comparatively newer music player that is exclusively available for MacOS. This iTunes alternative offers high-definition audio playback and supports every major music format including FLAC.
In addition to that, Fidelia also has reliable music organization tools. You can also install third-party Audio Unit plug-ins to enrich your music listening experience. Overall Fidelia is a reliable alternative to iTunes that simply gets the job done.
10. Swinsian
The last best iTunes alternative on the list is Swinsian. Similar to Fidelia, Swinsian is exclusively available for MacOS. Swinsian is a sophisticated music player that offers wide format support, folder watching, and advanced tag editing.
Swinsian also offers customization tools that enrich the overall experience and makes it easier to navigate through music files.
CONCLUSION
So these were some of the best iTunes alternatives that are worth checking out. Do share any other personal recommendations for the best iTunes alternatives in the comments section below.
iTunes. The mere mentioning of the word is enough to make even the most die-hard Mac user cringe. It’s bloated and it’s slow; it tries to be everything to everyone, but it fails. Miserably.
The situation is even worse if you’re a Windows user. For a long time, iTunes benefited from its position as being the “original” modern music player, but there are now so many fantastic alternatives it’s hard to understand why anyone would still use it.
Often, the reason boils down to one thing: iPhone and/or iPad management. But did you know plenty of Windows apps6 Ways To Sync Your iPod To Computer Without iTunes6 Ways To Sync Your iPod To Computer Without iTunesRead More (and Mac appsAlternatives to iTunes: 5 Best Free Music Players for Mac OS XAlternatives to iTunes: 5 Best Free Music Players for Mac OS XUnless you're chained to the iTunes ecosystem and have no choice but to use it, you may want to consider switching to one of these alternatives.Read More) let you play music and manage your iDevice? Here are five of the best.
1. doubleTwist
Visually, doubleTwist looks like iTunes. But under the hood, it’s a lot faster and a lot easier to use.
The doubleTwist software package is an amalgamation of five different apps. You can install as many or as few of them as you wish.
- Classic Player — Classic Player is a typical media player and management platform. It supports music, video, and podcasts, and can stream directly to AirPlay devices and DLNA devices.
- Sync — Sync integrates with Classic Player and adds functionality to allow you to sync content with your iDevice. It works over Wi-Fi or USB and is bidirectional.
- Cloud Player — The same as Classic Player, but can play files saved on Dropbox, OneDrive, and Google Drive.
- Alarm — Integrates with the media player to play your music at pre-set times.
- AirPlay Recorder — The recorder can record AirPlay streams in real-time. It’ll even save album artwork and associated metadata.
You only need the Classic Player and Sync to enjoy your media and manage your device.
For $8.99 you can buy the pro version. It adds AirSync and AirPlay support, automatic album artwork retrieval, ad-free podcasts, and an equalizer.
There is a drawback to using doubleTwist for managing your iDevice: it only lets you manage your media, not your apps. For most people this is enough, but if you want something more holistic, keep reading.
2. CopyTrans Suite
Let me make it clear: the CopyTrans suite is a management toolCopyTrans Manager Liberates You From iTunes on Windows 10CopyTrans Manager Liberates You From iTunes on Windows 10Want to stop using iTunes on your Windows PC, but need to transfer music from your iPhone? You need CopyTrans!Read More — it does not offer a way to play your media. Like doubleTwist, the suite is broken down into several subsections. You do not have to download all of them for the software to function.
CopyTrans Manager
CopyTrans Manager lets you transfer music and videos, and you can also send over pre-made playlists, podcasts, audiobooks, and ringtones.
It’s slightly more powerful than doubleTwist when it comes to managing media that’s already on your device. You can edit the metadata of files without transferring them off your device and you can create and edit playlists on your iDevice directly from the desktop app.
CopyTrans Apps
CopyTrans Apps gives you a way to backup data on your phone. Apps, documents, and settings are all covered. It will even back up games while retaining your progress and scores.
CopyTrans Contacts
The Contacts plugin can sync and save your iPhone contacts, calendar, SMS, notes, and reminders.
The app also works with Outlook, Gmail, iCloud, Excel, Windows, Android, BlackBerry, Thunderbird, Hotmail, and Yahoo. This means you can pull contacts from several locations, organize them all into one single address book, and export them directly onto your phone.
CopyTrans Photos
The Photos app provides bidirectional syncing of your photos, but it also lets you edit, manage, create, and tag pre-existing photo albums on your device.
The app also comes with a backup feature. You can back up directly to your desktop or an external hard drive.
The CopyTrans suite works with all iPhone, iPad, and iPod models.
3. MusicBee
Like many of my colleagues, I’m a dedicated MusicBee userMusicBee: Your Powerful, Yet Simple, All-In-One Music Manager [Windows]MusicBee: Your Powerful, Yet Simple, All-In-One Music Manager [Windows]What do you use to manage your music library? iTunes certainly is the popular choice, even on Windows. There are other options like Winamp, Songbird, Mediamonkey and Foobar just to name a few. I stumbled...Read More. In my opinion, it’s comfortably the best music player available on Windows.
It natively supports any iDevice running iOS 3.11 or earlier. Yes, that’s ancient, but if you’ve got an old iPodBreathe New Life Into Your Classic Old iPod With These Top TipsBreathe New Life Into Your Classic Old iPod With These Top TipsWe've all done it. You buy a shiny new piece of kit at an exorbitant price, and two years later it's in the back of a drawer collecting dust — alongside your old iPod.Read More at the back of a drawer somewhere, it should work.
Luckily, the thriving MusicBee community is constantly creating new plugins, and there’s a plugin that’ll enable support for all versions of iOS. It will synchronize all your audio files, playlists, play counts, song ratings, and metadata information from the app to your iPhone.
There is one drawback: the plugin requires you to have iTunes installed on your machine. But don’t worry, you’ll never need to either open it or interact with it.
4. PodTrans
Unlike MusicBee, PodTrans has built-in iPhone support. You don’t need to have iTunes installed on your system, and you don’t need to set-up any complex additional plug-ins.
PodTrans also has a way to manage multiple iDevices at the same time. It’s useful if you want to move your music library onto your iPhone and iPad, or want to share the same group of tracks between friends or family members.
Operating the software is simple: just install the app, plug in your phone using a USB cable, and follow the on-screen instructions. You can either export music to your phone or import tracks from your phone.
If you want to transfer more than audio, try AnyTrans. It has an iTunes backup tool and can sync photos and text as well as your music.
5. MediaMonkey
MediaMonkey is like MusicBee. Its focus is on media playback rather than iPhone management.
That said, it is much easier to sync with iDevices than MusicBee, you don’t need any plugins, and you don’t need to have iTunes installed. So why don’t I think it’s as good as MusicBee?
Because of the cost. There is a free version available, but if you want to unlock the true power of the app, you need to part with $24.95 for a lifetime “Gold” subscription. The subscription adds support for on-the-fly conversion, advanced searching, unlimited MP3 encoding, and artwork/lyric lookup6 Non-Crappy Ways to Find Lyrics for Your Favorite Songs6 Non-Crappy Ways to Find Lyrics for Your Favorite SongsWhen it comes to music, I'm a lyrics maniac. When the Internet came along, I was looking for lyrics for any new song I encountered, wanting to make sure I really knew what this song...Read More. All those features are included for free in MusicBee.
Which Software Do You Use?
I hope my article has made it clear there is no perfect solution. Some apps excel at transferring and syncing but their media players lack features, some apps excel at music playback but need work to make them sync efficiently.
In contrast, iTunes can do everything to an average standard. If you’re one of the few people who needs all iTunes’ features, perhaps it’s best to bite the bullet and stick with Apple’s software. Or buy an Android.
Which apps do you use to listen to music and manage your iDevice? Let me know in the comments below.
Image Credits: Drpixel/Shutterstock
Explore more about: iPad, iPhone, iTunes, Media Player.
- Well, the current iTunes alternative I use mainly for transferring media files [like photos, videos, eBooks and podcast] between my iPhone 6s and Windows 10 computer is called 'WinX MediaTrans'. Actually, it's the third iPhone manager I've used. And compared to the former ones, it performs much faster and more stable [NO data loss at all until now]. Another stunning feature I like most is that it can make my iTunes purchases playable on my wife's Android devices!
- SoundHost is an online platform (mobile and web) that allows you to listen to your favorite music online, watch the creativity of artists and for musical events.Music Audio Hosting SoundHost
(Good alternative to music in the SoundCloud is SoundHost)
On SoundHost you can listen, download, download, rate music, create playlists, there is an Android application! In short, the music sotsset very great functionality... - Hi Dan,I'm Irina from CopyTrans Team, and I want to thank you for writing such a nice article and for mentioning us, of course ;)If you (or anyone else reading this comment) have any questions, comments, or suggestions about our software, please feel free to contact me at [email protected].P.S. CopyTrans Manager does have a built-in music player, so you can play your media without having to use another app. But you are right, CopyTrans Suite is more of an iPhone management tool.