Comparison of iPod file managers

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This is a list of iPod file managers, i.e. software that permits the transferring of media files. In the case of iPod file managers, this takes place between an iPod and a computer or vice versa.

Contents

iTunes is the official iPod managing software, but 3rd parties have created alternatives to work around restrictions in the program, or for those avoiding known issues with iTunes.

General

ManagerCreator(s)First public release dateLatest stable versionDownloadable without paying? Software license Windows Mac OS X Linux
Amarok Mark Kretschmann2003-06-233.3 (July 8, 2025;2 months ago (2025-07-08)) [±] Yes GPL No [1] Experimental (leopard)Yes
Banshee Aaron Bockover2005-082.6.2 (February 18, 2014;11 years ago (2014-02-18) [2] ) [±] Yes MIT ExperimentalExperimentalYes
Clementine David Sansome, John MaguireFebruary 20101.3.1 (April 19, 2016;9 years ago (2016-04-19)) [±] Yes GPL v3no iPod supportYesYes
ephPod ephpod?2.77 (January 16, 2009)Yes?Yes (XP, NT, 2k)NoNo
gtkpod Jorg Schuler?2.1.5 (Jun 2, 2015)Yes GPL NoNoYes
iRip The Little App Factory2003-092.1 (Mac) (May 6, 2011;14 years ago (2011-05-06) [3] ) [±]

1.0.1.25 (Windows) (8 April 2010;15 years ago (2010-04-08) [4] ) [±]

No Proprietary YesYesNo
iTunes Apple Inc. 2001-01-08Yes Proprietary YesYesNo
JRiver Media Center J. River2003-0728.0.63 (September 10, 2021;4 years ago (2021-09-10)) [±] Yes (trial) Proprietary YesYesNo
MediaMonkey Ventis Media Inc.2003-08-255.0.4.2690 (November 23, 2022;2 years ago (2022-11-23)) [±] Yes (Standard) Proprietary YesNoNo
Rhythmbox Colin Walters2004-043.4.8 (November 10, 2024;10 months ago (2024-11-10)) [±] Yes GPL NoNoYes
Senuti FadingRed2006-04-261.1.7 (Oct 6, 2009) [5] Yes (limited trial) Proprietary NoYesNo
Winamp native Nullsoft 1997-065.9.2 Build 10042 [6] (April 26, 2023;2 years ago (2023-04-26)) [±] Yes (Bundle & Full) Proprietary YesNoNo
XPlay Mediafour2002-06-243.5.0 (Dec 30, 2009) [7] No Proprietary YesNoNo
ManagerCreator(s)First public release dateLatest stable versionDownloadable without paying? Software license Windows Mac OS X Linux

Media organization and transfer features

ManagerCopy MusicCopy VideosCopy Smart PlaylistsCopy Album ArtworkExtract DRM-Free MusicExtract DRM-Free VideosExtract PlaycountsExtract PlaylistsCopy Content to iPod
Amarok YesYesYesYesYesYesYes?No
Banshee Yes?YesYesYesNoYes?Yes
Clementine YesYesYesYesNoNoYesYesYes
EphPod Yes?YesNoYesNo???
gtkpod YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
iRip YesYesNoYesYesYesYesYesNo
iTunes YesYesYesYesNoNoYesYesYes
JRiver Media Center Yes?YesYesNoYes???
MediaMonkey YesNoNoYesYesNoYesYesYes
Rhythmbox YesNoNoYesYesYesYesYesYes
Senuti YesYesNoNoYesYesYes??
Winamp nativeYesYesNoYesYesYes?YesYes
XPlay YesYesNoYesYesYesYesYesYes
ManagerCopy MusicCopy VideosCopy Smart PlaylistsCopy Album ArtworkExtract DRM-Free MusicExtract DRM-Free VideosExtract PlaycountsExtract PlaylistsCopy Content to iPod

iPod syncing and maintenance features

ManagerDownload Podcasts Rebuild iPod Database Portable 6th Gen. Firmware 5th Gen. nano Firmware shuffle3G Firmware iPod Touch/ iPhone supportPhoto supportSupports Gapless Metadata
Amarok YesYes?Yes?NoYes [a] ??
Banshee YesYes?NoYesYesYes??
Clementine YesNo?NoNo?Yes??
EphPod NoYes??NoNoNoNoNo
gtkpod No??Yes [b] Yes [a] Yes [a] Yes, jailbroken only?Yes
iRip Yes?YesYesYesYesYesYesYes
iTunes YesYesNoYesYesYesYesYesYes
JRiver Media Center Yes????????
MediaMonkey YesYesYesYesYesYesYesNoYes
Rhythmbox Yes???YesNoYes [a] NoNo
Senuti No?????Yes??
Winamp nativeYes???????Yes
XPlay NoYesNo????Yes?
ManagerDownload Podcasts Rebuild iPod Database Portable 6th Gen. Firmware 5th Gen. nano Firmware shuffle3G Firmware iPod Touch/iPhone supportPhoto supportSupports Gapless Metadata
  1. 1 2 3 4 Support arrived with libgpod >= 0.7.90 due to the use of libimobiledevice.
  2. ↑ gtkpod developers have found a workaround .

iPhone & iPod Touch compatibility

Manager iPhoneOS up to 1.1.4 iPhoneOS 2.x iPhoneOS 3.0 iPhoneOS 3.1 iOS 4.0.2 iOS 5.0.x
Amarok YesNoYesYesYes, Read-onlyYes, Read-only
Banshee YesYesYesYesYes, Read-onlyYes, Read-only
Clementine Yes, limitedYes, limitedYes, limitedYes, limitedNoNo
EphPod NoNoNoNoNoNo
gtkpod YesYesYesYes??
iRip YesYesYesYesYesYes, Read-only
iTunes YesYesYesYesYesYes
JRiver Media Center NoNoNoNoNoNo
MediaMonkey YesYesYesYesYesYes
Rhythmbox YesYesYesYesYesNo
Senuti YesYesNoNoNo?
Winamp nativeNoNoNoNoNoNo
XPlay YesYes, Read onlyYes, Read onlyYes, Read onlyYes, Read onlyYes, Read only
Manager iPhoneOS up to 1.1.4 iPhoneOS 2.x iPhoneOS 3.0 iPhoneOS 3.1 iOS 4.0.2 iOS 5.0.x

See also

References

  1. ↑ https://amarok.kde.org/get-it/
  2. ↑ "October 10, 2012". banshee.fm. October 3, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
  3. ↑ "iRip for Mac". www.macupdate.com. 2010-04-19. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
  4. ↑ Ben Trengrove; The Little App Factory Pty. Ltd. (2010-04-08). "iRip Windows v1.0.1.25". iRip. forums.thelittleappfactory.com. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
  5. ↑ "Senuti Compatibility for Updates to Mac OS X, iPhone, and iPod". FadingRed. Archived from the original on 2010-04-28. Retrieved 2010-03-27.
  6. ↑ "Winamp: Supported versions: Latest supported version". Winamp Forums. December 22, 2022. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  7. ↑ "XPlay 3.5.0 update is now available". MediaFour. Archived from the original on 2010-10-10. Retrieved 2010-03-27.
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