Which media players are the best iTunes al­tern­at­ives?

iTunes is an un­dis­puted classic among media players. Apple’s free software features a clear user interface, whilst still offering a con­sid­er­able range of functions. Ad­di­tion­ally, iTunes is perfectly com­pat­ible with iPods and iPhones, which are among the most popular portable music devices. iOS is also com­pat­ible with some other players other than iTunes. However, iTunes can sometimes irritate users with unwanted updates, which often encourage you to visit the iTunes store or try to collect more user data. The media player seems to be moving further and further away from its main function of providing users with a com­pre­hens­ive, easy-to-use music program. A single player is rarely going to satisfy all users anyway – after all, each user has different re­quire­ments for what they consider to be a good media player. The good news is that there are plenty of great al­tern­at­ives to iTunes. Whether you are a music spe­cial­ist, an oc­ca­sion­al user, or a social media fan, there is a decent iTunes al­tern­at­ive for everyone. Here we list the best media players available, give an overview of features, and explain the key dif­fer­ences to iTunes.

There are now countless good al­tern­at­ives to iTunes. Thanks to the growing supply of media players, the range of functions they provide has also increased. However, there are still two core functions that are key for a good iTunes al­tern­at­ive: On the one hand, the player should be able to play media files easily – including high sound quality, and the media player should be able to run on different operating systems and support many file formats. On the other hand, your al­tern­at­ive needs to be able to organise your media database as easily as iTunes does: this means that the player needs to present data in a clear user interface, process metadata about music files (ID3 tags), or integrate online streaming services like Spotify or Sound­Cloud.

So, what are the best al­tern­at­ives to iTunes? To answer that, here is a list of the best iTunes al­tern­at­ives, including their ad­vant­ages and dis­ad­vant­ages.

Me­dia­Mon­key has an im­press­ive range of functions: you can download podcasts, create ID3 tags (metadata to audio files) and even convert file formats with the program. Ad­di­tion­ally, the program includes a CD ripper and a burning program which can be used to create CD’s or DVD’s directly from the database. This iTunes al­tern­at­ive is also one of the few that auto­mat­ic­ally pulls missing file in­form­a­tion from the web and adds it to the system – unlike iTunes. Another important feature is that Me­dia­Mon­key is also com­pat­ible with iPods and iPhones. The media player also contains a ‘party mode’: if this mode is activated, no files can be moved or deleted, meaning you can entrust your media library to your party gusts.

One of Me­dia­Mon­key’s weaker aspects is its user interface. The player instead relies on complex functions (like iTunes), rather than an intuitive and stylish design. As a result, there is a certain amount of ad­just­ment and training time required when it comes to using Me­dia­Mon­key, making it more suitable for users who use their music databases regularly. Another lim­it­a­tion of the program is that you can only download Me­dia­Mon­key for Windows – as of yet, there is no Mac version.

The program is more extensive than iTunes, but also requires a training period. The basic version is free and supports most features. However, for the one-time fee of $24.95, users can opt for the gold version which has ad­di­tion­al features. For the one-time fee of $49.95, users can get the gold version, with a lifetime license available on all upgrades. This makes Me­dia­Mon­key one of the best al­tern­at­ives to iTunes.

Ad­vant­ages:

• Quickly processes a large media library
• Broad range of functions
• Auto­mat­ic­ally adds missing in­form­a­tion to media files
• Remembers users’ musical pref­er­ences and creates co­ordin­ated playlists

Dis­ad­vant­ages:

• Longer training period is required for the program
• Only supports Windows

The Winamp player supports numerous file formats, plays DVDs, and has a built-in burner. It also scores well with a database that is simple and easy to navigate and manage. Using the ap­pro­pri­ate plugin, you can also listen to iTunes al­tern­at­ive radio, or run TV streams. There are plenty of plugins available, including a plugin which shows the lyrics of a song as it plays, or provides in­form­a­tion about concert tickets for your favorite bands. Thanks to these ad­di­tion­al features, Winamp is more than just a nostalgic product, and belongs in every selection of the best al­tern­at­ives to iTunes. However, there is a counter-argument against the media player’s design – one person’s nostalgic is another’s outdated. It should be noted, however, that Winamp does feature an option to change the “skin” of the design. As an al­tern­at­ive to iTunes, Winamp leaves something to be desired in terms of com­pat­ib­il­ity, too: since iPods are not usually displayed as removable media, you cannot sync the media player directly to the device. Several technical tricks are required to transfer media – a solution easily solved by simply using iTunes. However, if you use an Android device, or another mp3 player, and have no real interest in getting your music from the iTunes Store, then Winamp may be the media player for you. It can be down­loaded for free and is available for both Windows and Mac. Ad­vant­ages:

• Classic, easy-to-use media player
• User-friendly database or­gan­isa­tion
• Many plugin options for internet radio, TV streams and more 

Dis­ad­vant­ages:

• Cannot sync directly to an iPod
• High battery con­sump­tion
• Has not been updated in years, further de­vel­op­ment is highly unlikely

A player spe­cific­ally designed to be an al­tern­at­ive to iTunes is AnyTrans. The best thing about this media player: it can do everything iTunes can. Unlike Me­dia­Mon­key, the player is also available for Mac, and unlike Winamp, it can also sync easily with iOS devices. Even in terms of design, AnyTrans is modelled on the Apple version. This means that AnyTrans can take over the role iTunes plays with any device. In addition, this al­tern­at­ive media player offers much more features than iTunes: com­pre­hens­ive syn­chron­iz­a­tion software with various data transfer options and backup functions. This allows the player to access all iOS file systems (iPod, iPhone, iTunes, or iCloud), easily transfer media from one iOS device to another (music, pictures, video, voice messenger) that sync iCloud to the computer, or backup in­di­vidu­al apps.

AnyTrans relies heavily on iTunes for design, but still had to come up with something a little different to represent the many different Apple devices and services it manages. You select your desired category (audio, video, notes, voicemail etc.) from one of the small icons in the lower half of the interface, and different libraries for the computer, iPod, or iPhone appear as Art Tabs.

Among other things, a great argument for using the media player as an al­tern­at­ive to iTunes is that AnyTrans can copy and transfer a complete iTunes library. Ad­di­tion­ally, the player bypasses one of the biggest iTunes lim­it­a­tions: it transfers music files from iPods back onto the computer. The automatic con­ver­sion of music and video into other file formats is another useful feature that goes beyond what iTunes is capable of.

The negative aspect of AnyTrans is that it is pricey: there is a seven-day free trial, but the program costs $40 to purchase. You should also keep in mind that the program has been spe­cific­ally designed for Apple ap­plic­a­tions: iPhone, iPad, and iCloud are the ap­plic­a­tions that AnyTrans spe­cial­ises in, and they are un­beat­able in this area. If you are not a die-hard Apple user, however, cheaper iTunes al­tern­at­ives can be found elsewhere.

Ad­vant­ages:

• Offers all the same features as iTunes
• Extensive syn­chron­isa­tion software for different iOS databases
• Easy data transfer between iOS systems, also transfers music files from the iPod back to the computer
• Converts music and video files

Dis­ad­vant­ages:

• No free version available (other than a seven-day trial)
• Designed primarily for Apple ap­plic­a­tions

Tomahawk is the strongest contender in its field so far, since no other media services integrate as many digital platforms as it does. The open source ap­plic­a­tion has been in de­vel­op­ment since 2011, and works like this: First, you need to install a basic version of the media player, which you can expand on with in­di­vidu­al plugins, creating the perfect digital music service. This has the advantage that the program only needs to include features the user will actually use. In addition, the program can be extended as desired: if a plugin for a par­tic­u­lar streaming service is not yet available, then a pro­gram­mer can sup­ple­ment this missing function without having to intervene in the system.

This al­tern­at­ive to iTunes has another special aspect: Tomahawk sees itself as a social music player. This means that it networks users to one another. By sharing music re­com­mend­a­tions with friends, listening to music becomes a shared ex­per­i­ence. Another in­ter­est­ing feature is the special radio function. If you search for a band name, Tomahawk searches for suitable related artists in its music database and plays them for you.

However, Tomahawk’s strength is also its weakness. Although the iTunes al­tern­at­ive supports almost twenty online services, it lacks con­nectiv­ity. There are also some hurdles when it comes to merging music databases. You should keep in mind that Spotify can only be in­teg­rated with a premium account. Also, if you want to insert music files from your hard drive into the media player, there is an issue: Although the player searches your computer for MP3s in­de­pend­ently – something iTunes does not do – only files with correct metadata will be uploaded to Tomahawk.

Hopefully, working on the software will continue to solve these issues. Tomahawk is a service with enormous potential, and already offers users many ad­vant­ages.

Ad­vant­ages:

• In­teg­ra­tion of private music col­lec­tion of music streaming services (Spotify, Google Play Music, and Sound­Cloud)
• Connects users to one another (social music player)
• Auto­mat­ic­ally scans the computer for music files
• Open source

Dis­ad­vant­ages:

• Some services are still missing (including Slacker or Pandora)

Songbird comes in two versions, one com­pat­ible with Windows, and one com­pat­ible with Mac. Both can be syn­chron­ized with iPods and iPhones easily using the ap­pro­pri­ate plugins. Music is managed in the same way as iTunes, with the added bonus that you can transfer files back to the computer with Songbird. If you are looking for the most similar program to iTunes, Songbird comes closest – in terms of design, the two players are very similar. Songbird is also open source, and the pro­gram­ming community has developed a wide range of al­tern­at­ive skins, practical tools, and advanced features for it.

A special feature of Songbird is the in­teg­rated web browser. You can use it to search for ad­di­tion­al in­form­a­tion such as dis­co­graph­ies, photos, or concert dates from inside the program. You can also even find missing metadata easily using the browser, and can feed it directly into the program. Since the player is based on VLC and XUL programs run by the Mozilla Found­a­tion, it is operated similarly to Mozilla and Thun­der­bird.

But beware! This iTunes al­tern­at­ive has one major drawback: since 2013, ongoing de­vel­op­ment of Songbird has been dis­con­tin­ued. This also means that the program is not com­pat­ible with new versions of iOS. To syn­chron­ize with newer iPods or iPhones, you will need to go through iTunes instead. However, despite this lack of de­vel­op­ment, Songbird is an extensive, soph­ist­ic­ated al­tern­at­ive to iTunes. By in­ten­tion­ally modelling itself off the original, and in­teg­rat­ing core features of other media players, this all-in-one solution is still a worth­while option.

Ad­vant­ages:

• All-in-one solution that is very similar to iTunes
• In­teg­rated web browser
• Open source

Dis­ad­vant­ages:

• Has not been updated since 2013
• Not com­pat­ible with current iOS portable devices

Finally, let’s review the key features of the five best al­tern­at­ives to iTunes: