Smule

Smule is a singing platform for karaoke, recording, duets, and musical collaboration, available on Android, iOS, and web. Its catalog has more than 15 million songs across genres including pop, rock, R&B, country, K-pop, and musicals. Recordings can use reverb, filters, vocal effects, pitch guidance, and key adjustment. Users can make music videos with visual effects and lyric overlays, with optional AI-powered voice tools, or host and join live karaoke sessions for real-time audiences. Smule describes its singing community as spanning more than 190 countries. The free plan lets users join existing duets. VIP unlocks solo recording, starting personal duets and group performances, and full-catalog access. VIP All Access Pass costs $19.99 a month and renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the current period ends. The iOS app requires iOS 15 or later. Smule says accounts cannot currently be made private, though users can adjust privacy settings for posted recordings. Older videos from free inactive accounts may become audio-only; VIP members' videos are protected.

Smule offers karaoke and collaboration, with a free option for joining existing duets and VIP capabilities for solo and group performances. VIP costs $19.99 a month and renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the period ends.

Smule suits people who want to sing along, record, or collaborate with other singers. The free plan is limited to joining existing duets; solo recording and other listed VIP capabilities require a subscription.

Overview

Smule is a social singing platform for karaoke, recordings, duets and live sessions. It suits singers who want a broad repertoire and collaborative performances, particularly on phones and tablets. The free tier is useful for joining other singers, while serious soloists and group performers will need VIP.

Key features

More than 15 million songs cover pop, rock, R&B, country, K-pop and musicals, giving varied singers a substantial catalog to explore. Free members can join existing duets at no cost. VIP adds solo recording, starting personal duets, group songs, a cappella performances and unlimited access to the full karaoke catalog. In practice, the free plan is an entry point for participation; it is a poor fit for anyone who wants to lead sessions or choose freely from the catalog.

Smule provides reverb, filters, vocal effects, pitch guidance and key adjustment. Those controls let singers correct or stylize a performance rather than accept a raw recording. Music-video tools add visual effects and lyric overlays, and optional AI-powered voice tools provide another form of vocal processing. Lyrics use a single-screen display mode.

Live karaoke sessions support hosting or joining performances for real-time audiences. Smule describes a singer community spanning more than 190 countries, so the service is oriented toward public collaboration rather than private practice. Accounts cannot currently be made private, although privacy settings can be adjusted for individual posted recordings. Older videos from inactive free accounts may be converted to audio-only; VIP members' videos are protected. VIP also includes three free invite reactivations per rolling seven-day period and three extensions per invite.

Pricing

Smule also offers weekly and yearly subscriptions, alongside a free trial. The stated VIP monthly price renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the current period ends; subscriptions likewise renew unless disabled before renewal. At $19.99 a month, VIP is aimed at frequent performers who will use solo, group and full-catalog access, not occasional duet participants.

Platforms

Smule runs on Android, iOS and the web. The iOS app requires iOS 15 or later and supports iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple Vision and Apple TV. Google Play shows 100M+ downloads and identifies ads and in-app purchases. Google Play also states that data is encrypted in transit and that users can request data deletion. Smule directs account, safety and product questions to its support site and support email.

Who it's for

Choose Smule if you want to record, collaborate, perform live and share songs across a large international community. It is especially suitable for singers who value vocal controls, video presentation and the ability to move from joining duets to leading solo or group performances with VIP. It is less suitable for users seeking a private account or a simple, non-social karaoke player.

Pros and cons

Pros

• More than 15 million songs across major genres support varied musical tastes.
• Reverb, filters, vocal effects, pitch guidance and key adjustment provide meaningful recording control.
• Live sessions, duets, groups and music videos make collaboration central rather than optional.
• VIP protects members' videos from the free-account inactive-storage conversion.

Cons

• The free plan only covers joining existing duets, excluding solo recording and starting performances.
• VIP costs $19.99 a month and renews automatically unless canceled on time.
• Accounts cannot be made private, which limits suitability for users wanting a closed profile.
• Free inactive accounts may lose video presentation when older videos become audio-only.

Alternatives

For a desktop-focused karaoke player, choose Karaoke 5; its free version covers player and manager functions but omits synchronization, YouTube downloads, mobile management and music quiz features.

KaraFun suits users wanting Android, iOS, macOS, web and Windows access with a £7.99 monthly Premium plan, while its free tier offers songs, previews, feature trials and one quiz.

Choose OpenKJ for free, open-source karaoke hosting, or its $9.99 monthly Songbook plan.

TKaraoke is another freemium option on Android, iOS and Windows. Encore Karaoke is a free open-source player for desktop platforms, but its song library is not included.

Choose Singa for a $9.99 monthly Premium subscription on Android, iOS and web. StarMaker offers freemium singing on Android, iOS and web, while WeSing provides another freemium option across the same platforms.

Verdict

Smule is a strong choice for singers who want a huge catalog, polished vocal controls and social duet, group and live performance tools. Choose it when performing with others matters; look elsewhere if private accounts, a lower-cost full-access plan or a straightforward offline-style karaoke player matters more.