NaviBeat is genuinely excellent — native SwiftUI, one price across five Apple platforms, rock-solid Navidrome support. EKO wins on Mac-first design and being the only client with true bit-perfect output. Here's how to choose.
Honest about the alternatives · facts as of June 2026
NaviBeat sets the bar for value and platform breadth. EKO sets the bar for Mac-native design and provable bit-perfect playback. The right call depends on what you care about.
| Client | Native on Mac | Platforms | Bit-perfect | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EKO THIS SITETauri · Rust engine | Native | Mac | ✓ Yes | Free + Pro · $15 one-time |
| NaviBeatSwiftUI | Native | iPhone · iPad · Mac · TV · Watch | ✗ No | US$5.99 one-time · all 5 platforms |
Bit-perfect means the player sets your DAC to each track's native sample rate and passes samples un-resampled — EKO is the only Navidrome client that does this; NaviBeat plays through the macOS mixer, which resamples everything to a single rate. That said: NaviBeat is a genuinely great native app and an exceptional value at US$5.99 for five Apple platforms. Facts as of June 2026.
One US$5.99 purchase gives you a native app on every Apple platform — iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch. If you want your library everywhere for the least money, NaviBeat wins.
A Mac app built to feel like a Mac app — and the only Navidrome client that proves your files reach your DAC at their native sample rate, untouched. If you want to love the app you open every day and trust what you hear, EKO is it.
Most players decode losslessly, then let macOS resample everything to a single rate before your DAC. EKO sends each file at its own rate, straight to the device — and shows you, with a seal that lights only when the path is genuinely untouched.
Free and open source. Native macOS. Navidrome, Subsonic and local files.