No matter your musical tastes, a karaoke experience is both a great way to break the ice or celebrate with long-time friends. If you’ve ever tried to bust out some karaoke by pulling up lyrics on your phone, you probably know that keeping track of your place (or part!) can get stressful fast. Thankfully, these karaoke apps were built to make singing out loud a breeze — and way less daunting.
Best Karaoke Apps With Rockstar Features
Starmaker
Our top pick is Starmaker, an immensely popular free karaoke app that’s available on Android and iOS devices. No matter your taste in music, you’re sure to find your go-to karaoke song among the millions of options, which range from Ariana Grande’s bops to Billie Eilish’s lilting tunes.
But Starmaker also packs a few extras. For one, the app lets you create downloadable ringtones — and you can really make the tone your own by recording, editing and adding an array of pitch effects to your voice. If being social is more your thing, Starmaker also lets you duet with family, friends and popular users. With a growing community of over 50 million global users, Starmaker doubles as a social platform of sorts, allowing you to post recordings or stream live performances — for all your adoring fans.
Smule
Another popular app is Smule, which is also available on Android and iOS devices. With over 10 million songs to choose from, this app is all about options. And, if for some reason, Smule doesn’t offer your favorite tune, you can upload your favorite music to the Smule Songbook. But all that fun does come with a price tag. If you’re hoping to access Smule’s entire music library, you’ll have to pay $44.99 per year. This subscription option also means no ads, premium audio filters, unlimited solos and more, though.
Okay, but is the Smule experience worth the cost? Well, with Smule you can either perform solo or participate in acapella duets and group performances. If you’re hoping to duet with Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran or your favorite Disney character, that’s also an option. The only potential drawback to this is that Smule attracts a lot of professional vocalists. That could be intimidating for some, but it certainly doesn’t have to stop you from aiming for the top spot.
With detailed tutorials, an on-screen pitch guide, professional voice effects and more, Smule ensures that you’ll have loads of fun all while improving your performance skills. And since the app is known for quality and attracting standout singers, you may want to use it if you’re looking to collaborate with other skilled karaoke singers.
If you’re looking to test the waters, the free version of Smule might be the way to go. It offers a smaller selection of songs, however. Still, if you want to find the right karaoke app for you, giving Smule a go without any strings attached is a great idea.
Appcompanist
If you’re into musicals, you’ll have fun using Appcompanist, a popular app that features famous singers and voice instructors who’ve made their marks on classical music and theater. Available for both Android and iOS, Accompanist boasts a free version — it offers limited access to vocal warm-ups and just 11 full accompaniments — as well as a paid version, which will run you $9.99 per month. The pay-to-sing subscription comes without the same limits as the free version, ensuring you get the best experience possible.
One of the best features? Appcompanist offers excellent piano accompaniments — hence the name — that will make your karaoke experience downright magical. It also comes with excellent voice-editing features, allowing you to alter the tempo and melody. You can also play with other compositional elements — sustaining notes, chords, or the silence between chords. It also gives you the option to record and save your tempo and fermata changes with ease.
If you’re prepping for a karaoke event or even a more professional engagement, Appcompanist also offers vocal exercises to ensure you’re well-prepared for your recording session or next performance. If you’re interested in opera and musical theater, this is clearly the best karaoke app for staying in vocal shape.
Best Karaoke Apps for a Better Social Experience
MagicSing
MagicSing has been around for over two decades. The secret to its success? MagicSing does away with the headache of a physical setup by making your phone into a karaoke machine. Now, virtually anywhere can be your next karaoke hotspot.
However, if you really love doing karaoke the old-fashioned way, the app does allow you to connect songs to a karaoke machine. With over 200,000 songs to choose from, MagicSing’s library ensures there’s something for everyone. Plus, the sound quality is top-notch; it incorporates a volume controller and other support features thanks to MIDI technology.
One of the app’s best features, though, is its ability to adapt to your voice and vocal range. If you’re more of a bass, you can turn the keys a few steps lower in a song intended for sopranos to suit your voice. Not to mention, you can also alter the tempo, tone and melody to match your musical stylings and taste. And unlike old-school karaoke machines, MagicSing scores points as one of the best karaoke apps around by letting you record your performance and check how well you scored.
Best Karaoke Apps for Casual Singers
Yokee
Yokee is another one of the best karaoke apps around. This free-to-download app is available for both Android and iOS and comes with a pretty much unlimited selection of songs. And, with Yokee, you can record karaoke sessions and share your favorite recordings online.
The app also offers voice and video-editing effects, so that you’ll be able to share the best version of your recording with over 100 million users. If singing solo isn’t your thing, use Yokee to organize karaoke party sessions; simply select some songs, plug your phone into a karaoke machine, and start belting out the hits.
SingPlay
SingPlay is also a free-to-download karaoke app that boasts audio and video recording features. With an easy-to-use interface, the app makes singing karaoke a breeze. While you’re hitting the high notes (or not), you can adjust the tempo and pitch of the song you’ve selected, making your session both enjoyable and, well, doable.
When you’ve finished recording your performance, SingPlay lets you share it with your friends, family and fellow users worldwide. Needless to say, if you love being a bit of a songbird, this is one of the best karaoke apps out there.
