Soneam vs Samply, for mastering engineers
Samply is the best-loved listening app in this space, and it earns it. But listening is where its workflow ends, and a mastering job doesn't end at "sounds great". Here's an honest comparison of where each tool wins, with facts verified July 2026.
If you're comparing these two, you're probably a mastering or mixing engineer who sends work to clients and wants the back-and-forth to be less painful. Both tools solve that. The difference is scope: Samply is a listening and sharing app with real polish, and Soneam is the whole handoff: review, a recorded sign-off, and protected delivery of the actual files. Neither is "better"; they end in different places.
At a glance
| Soneam | Samply | |
|---|---|---|
| Lossless review playback | Yes (FLAC, no login) | Yes (gapless) |
| Timestamped comments | Yes, waveform-pinned, carried across versions | Yes |
| Version A/B | Yes, level-matched (Fair Loudness) | Yes, level matching |
| Streaming loudness preview in review | Yes (Spotify, Apple, YouTube, more) | No |
| Formal approval record (who/when/which version) | Yes, printable | No |
| Protected delivery (password, revoke, tracking) | Yes | Download toggles; delivery usually handled elsewhere |
| Checksum on delivery (SHA-256) | Yes | No |
| Native mobile app | No (web + mobile web) | Yes, iOS 5.0 rating at scale |
| Spatial audio preview | No | Yes (paid tier) |
| Free tier | 10 GB, 5 projects, every feature | ~4 GB |
| Headline paid plan | $9/mo, 50 GB, unlimited projects | ~$5/mo billed yearly, 1 TB |
Facts checked July 2026 against both products' public pages. Competitor details change; if something above is stale, tell us and we'll fix it.
Where Samply wins, honestly
- The iPhone experience. Samply's native iOS app is rated 5.0 by thousands of users and it deserves it. Soneam works well in a mobile browser, but it is not a native app.
- Gapless playback. Album sequencing previews with no gap between tracks are a real Samply strength. Soneam deliberately avoids the audio pipeline that gapless requires, because our playback path keeps the master untouched.
- Raw storage per dollar. Around 1 TB on the yearly Indie plan is more space than most engineers will ever use.
Where the job keeps going, and Samply stops
Mastering work doesn't end when the client says it sounds great. It ends when a specific version is approved on the record and the files are delivered safely. That last stretch is Soneam's reason to exist:
- A sign-off you can point to. Soneam records who approved which exact version, and when, with a printable record. "I never approved that" stops being a conversation.
- Loudness in the approval. The review link plays the master the way each streaming platform will: normalized, with true-peak ceilings. Clients approve what listeners will actually hear, not a hyped export. No other review tool does this.
- Delivery is part of the product. Password-protected, revocable, download-tracked delivery with a SHA-256 checksum recorded, so what shipped provably matches what was approved. Studios on Samply typically handle this step over email, which is exactly the step that leaks and gets lost.
Pricing, plainly
Samply's yearly Indie plan (~$5/mo) buys far more raw storage. Soneam's $9 Indie buys the workflow: unlimited projects, every feature on every plan, and clients who never need an account or a seat. If you're choosing on gigabytes alone, choose Samply. If you're choosing on what happens between "here's v2" and "invoice paid, files delivered", the storage number isn't the thing doing the work.
Which should you pick?
- Pick Samply if you mostly share works-in-progress for listening, your clients live on iPhones, and delivery is already handled some other way you're happy with.
- Pick Soneam if the job is client work with a deadline and a deliverable: you want feedback pinned to the waveform, an approval on the record, a loudness-true preview, and the masters handed over protected and verified.
- Try both free. Soneam's free plan is 10 GB and 5 projects with every feature and no card. Run one real project through each and see which one your client finishes faster.
Frequently asked questions
Is Soneam a good Samply alternative?
It depends on where your job ends. Samply is a beautifully built app for sharing and listening, and its native iPhone app is the best in the category. But the workflow stops at approval: delivery of the actual masters happens somewhere else. Soneam covers the whole handoff in one link: lossless review with a streaming loudness preview, a recorded approval of a specific version, then password-protected, checksum-verified delivery of the files.
What does Samply do better than Soneam?
Three things, honestly: a loved native iOS app (Soneam is web and mobile-web only), gapless playback across tracks, and raw storage per dollar (about 1 TB on its yearly Indie plan). If your clients live on iPhone and you mainly need a gorgeous listening link, Samply is a fine choice.
What does Soneam have that Samply doesn't?
The parts of the job after listening: a formal approval record (who approved which exact version, and when), a streaming loudness preview inside the review link so clients hear the master the way Spotify or Apple Music will play it, and protected delivery: password-gated, revocable, download-tracked, with a SHA-256 checksum on record. Samply users typically bolt delivery on with a separate email step.
Run one real project through Soneam
Free plan, 10 GB, every feature, no card. Send a review link, watch the feedback land on the waveform, get the sign-off on record, and deliver protected. Your client never creates an account.