The Battle of Karaoke Apps: Smule's Sing vs Starmaker. Which one will win?

SMULE SING APP

STARMAKER KARAOKE

Karaoke is a passion of many people. Gone are the days of having to go get your karaoke fix at the bar and wait for your turn to sing a song that the dj may or may not have. There are options online such as websites like Singsnap. While they have their own app, I believe it is only available for IOS devices at the moment. I may review Singsnap the website in a future update. Youtube is another wonderful option for karaoke but with that lacks the ability to record yourself to the karaoke track. Let's get this sing off started and see which app will go home the winner. 

ROUND 1 - Song Selection, Quality,  and Vocal Effects

Both of these apps have an amazing selection of songs to choose from. When it comes to terms of quality of the songs Smule has the advantage. While both apps do sometimes suffer from uploads where the vocals have been removed in audacity, or not at all. Smule blows Starmaker out of the water when it comes to the overall quality and presentation of the songs. For example on Smule you can preview what the karaoke track sounds like before you sing it. This helps you determine if it is worth recording and what kind of quality the track is. It doesn't appear that you can yet do that on Starmaker. Both apps do have a rating system for quality of the tracks but not everyone rates the quality accurately leaving a mixed result. When it comes to vocal effects both apps are similar. Both have an auto tune type of effect, reverb, and different styles. Even though Starmaker's effects are all free and you can apply them during or after.  Smule does have some VIP effects but they still have overall more variety and control. 

This Round goes to SMULE 

ROUND 2 - Who has the better free version?

Both of these apps are free to use. While I don't know off hand if either has a recording limit I have not hit it on either one of them and I have a few hundred songs recorded. The Vip versions of the apps are the same price $4.99. The vip versions both do the same things. They remove ads, give you a few exclusive songs that may have a higher quality or in some way be better than one you can find for free. They both give you the option to join a duet for free. Where they differ is with Smule you have to be VIP to start a duet, or sing solo. On smule you are rather limited to hoping someone has sung a version of a song you like so you can join them. On Starmaker you currently have the option to do a solo, start a duet, or join a duet all for FREE!  

This Round goes to STARMAKER

Round 3 - Popularity

Both of these apps have a ton of users. You will rarely not find someone to duet with. Starmaker does have a few more features that tend to appeal those looking for more followers. The option to send gifts and contests hosted by the app. It does start to fall into the category of a lot of people just following others in hopes that they get more followers. On Smule I feel like I've made some better connections and found a few regular singing partners because not everyone is just liking and commenting whatever gets posted. Although in that regard with the daily rankings and higher chance for exposure to gain more followers... Starmaker edges out Smule if you are looking to get a little more views.

This Round Goes to STARMAKER

Round 4 - User Interface

One important thing is how the app looks and interacts overall. Honestly both apps are very similar in that regard. Their UI is very similar. I did find Smule to be a bit more user friendly the first time logging on. Everything was very easy to navigate through. Starmaker isn't difficult to navigate through but it didn't feel as natural or fluid if that makes sense. In terms of other visuals the songs display similar singing cues for duet. Person A is given one color and Person B is given another and there's a third color that indicates when to sing together. On Smule the words are bigger and bolder and move more naturally and the transition in color changes is much smoother. On Starmaker it is a bit more rough. One bonus starmaker has here is the ability to skip straight to the song. For songs with longer intros that is a nice bonus if you are pressed for time but that doesn't totally make up for where it is otherwise sloppy. 

THIS Round goes to SMULE

Round 5 - Extra Features

This could be the decision maker for a lot of people. Some of the extra features in Starmaker are interesting. Such as the previously mentioned contests, singing rooms, gifts giving, and  daily rankings. While Smule doesn't have those it does have the ability to do large group songs and probably its most fun feature SING WITH THE ARTIST. Being able to do duets with some of today's top recording artists is an experience many fans dream of. Not many will get to ever do that in real life so this is the closest that they will get. That does increase the fun factor.

THIS ROUND goes to SMULE

TOTAL
SMULE 3 STARMAKER 2

Winner: SMULE

It was a close contest. Neither app is bad and each has their own unique charm that make them both incredibly fun to use.