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Music · head to head

Shazam vs Studio One

Shazam logo

Shazam

Music

Apple-owned song identification app, free with no ads or in-app purchases

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Studio One logo

Studio One

Music

Single-window workstation with album mastering built into the same project, now owned by Fender

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Shazam has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Shazam the app has no revenue of its own and exists structurally to drive Apple Music engagement, so its continued investment and feature direction depend entirely on how useful Apple finds it as a funnel rather than on its own standalone business case.; Studio One the bundled Melodyne is the Essential tier, which corrects monophonic pitch only; polyphonic editing and the tools most people actually want are a paid upgrade from Celemony on top of the workstation licence.
  • They diverge on capability: Shazam covers Audio fingerprint matching, Studio One covers Project page.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Shazam and Studio One actually diverge.

Attributes where Shazam and Studio One differ
AttributeShazamStudio One
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelFree, no ads and no in-app purchases; funded as an Apple Music discovery funnelquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsiOS, Android, WebWindows, macOS

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Music).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Shazam

  • Audio fingerprint matching
  • Offline tagging queue
  • Apple Music integration
  • Shazam charts
  • Lyrics display
  • Shazam widget and Control Centre integration

Only in Studio One

  • Project page
  • Single window drag and drop
  • ARA2 with Melodyne
  • Scratch Pad
  • Chord Track
  • Show page
  • Impact XT and Sample One
  • Faderport integration

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Shazam

  • Someone hearing an unfamiliar song in a shop, cafe or on the radio and wanting to identify it instantlynot Studio One
  • A user wanting identified songs automatically saved into an Apple Music library or playlistnot Studio One
  • Someone using the offline tagging queue while without signal, resolving matches laternot Studio One
  • A listener browsing Shazam trending charts to discover what is being identified most in their citynot Studio One

Studio One

  • Delivering an album or EP where mastering must stay linked to the mixes, so a late vocal fix does not mean rebuilding the masternot Shazam
  • Project studios already on PreSonus interfaces and Faderport surfaces, where the control mapping is done for younot Shazam
  • Songwriters who want pitch editing in the timeline without buying Melodyne separatelynot Shazam
  • Running the same session live from the Show page rather than rebuilding the set in a separate performance toolnot Shazam

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Shazam

  • The app has no revenue of its own and exists structurally to drive Apple Music engagement, so its continued investment and feature direction depend entirely on how useful Apple finds it as a funnel rather than on its own standalone business case.
  • Identification requires either a live audio sample or a stored recording, and it performs poorly on very quiet, heavily remixed, or non-commercially released audio where no fingerprint match exists in the database.
  • Saved tags and playlists are tied to an Apple ID even on Android, meaning non-Apple users still create Apple ecosystem account data by using the app.
  • It offers no music playback of its own beyond short previews or an Apple Music handoff, so a non-Apple Music subscriber cannot play a full identified track inside the app itself.
  • As an owned subsidiary of Apple rather than an independent company, there is no separate roadmap transparency or company reporting, so its longevity and feature set are subject to Apple's wider strategic priorities rather than its own user base.

Studio One

  • The bundled Melodyne is the Essential tier, which corrects monophonic pitch only; polyphonic editing and the tools most people actually want are a paid upgrade from Celemony on top of the workstation licence.
  • PreSonus now sells a subscription alongside the perpetual licence and the two are easy to confuse at checkout; the subscription stops working when payment stops, which is a very different asset for a studio planning in decades.
  • Fender acquired PreSonus in 2022, so the roadmap sits inside a guitar hardware company, and long-term investment in the workstation is now a bet on that parent rather than on the original software team.
  • There is no Linux build, and the MIDI editing tool set is shallower than Cubase, so composers doing rule based MIDI transformation or serious notation work will hit limits quickly.
  • The plugin scanner has a long history of struggling with large third-party plugin collections, producing slow startup and occasional missing plugins when sessions move between machines.

Pricing, plan by plan

Shazam

Free
  • ShazamFree
    • Unlimited song identification
    • No ads shown within the identification experience
    • No premium tier exists

Studio One

On request
  • Studio One Pro (perpetual licence)$undefined/one-time
    • Bought outright and keeps working indefinitely
    • Next major version is a separate paid upgrade
    • Melodyne Essential included
  • Studio One Pro+ (subscription)$undefined/month
    • Workstation plus sound content and cloud storage
    • Stops working when the subscription lapses
    • Billed monthly or annually

Which should you pick?

Choose Shazam if

  • You need audio fingerprint matching.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want offline tagging queue.
Shazam review

Choose Studio One if

  • You need project page.
  • You work on Windows, macOS.
  • You also want single window drag and drop.
Studio One review

Questions people ask

Is Shazam or Studio One better?
Neither clearly leads. Shazam starts at Free and Studio One at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Shazam or Studio One?
Shazam has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Shazam and On request for Studio One.
Does Shazam or Studio One run on more platforms?
Shazam runs on iOS, Android, Web. Studio One runs on Windows, macOS.
Can I use Shazam for free?
Yes. Shazam has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Studio One starts at On request.
What is Shazam best used for?
Shazam is most often used for someone hearing an unfamiliar song in a shop, cafe or on the radio and wanting to identify it instantly, a user wanting identified songs automatically saved into an apple music library or playlist, someone using the offline tagging queue while without signal, resolving matches later, a listener browsing shazam trending charts to discover what is being identified most in their city. Of those, someone hearing an unfamiliar song in a shop, cafe or on the radio and wanting to identify it instantly and a user wanting identified songs automatically saved into an apple music library or playlist are not what Studio One is typically brought in for.
What can Shazam do that Studio One cannot?
Shazam covers Audio fingerprint matching, Offline tagging queue, Apple Music integration, Shazam charts. Studio One covers Project page, Single window drag and drop, ARA2 with Melodyne, Scratch Pad.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Shazam: Is Shazam free?

Yes, fully free with no ads, subscription or in-app purchases.

Studio One: Who owns PreSonus?

Fender acquired PreSonus in 2022. Development continues, but the roadmap now sits inside a guitar hardware company rather than an independent software vendor.

Shazam: Do I need Apple Music to use Shazam?

No, identification works without an Apple Music subscription, though full track playback of an identified song requires either Apple Music or another music service.

Studio One: Is Studio One a subscription?

Both are sold. Studio One Pro is a perpetual licence you keep; Studio One Pro+ is a subscription bundling sound content and cloud storage that stops working when you stop paying.

Shazam: Who owns Shazam?

Apple, which acquired it in 2018.

Studio One: Why is no price listed here?

PreSonus publishes current pricing, but the tier structure has been restructured across recent versions, so this entry points at the vendor page rather than quoting a figure that may already be wrong.

Studio One: What does the Project page actually do?

It sequences and masters a whole album inside the same file as the songs and stays linked to them, so changing a mix updates the master without a manual export and reimport.

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