SBS Audio
How much does SBS Audio cost?
Prices are current as of 10 Sept 2026.
SBS Audio has no in-app products on record in the United States.
10+ alternatives to SBS Audio
| SBS Audio |   The Guardian - US & World News |   BBC: World News & Stories |   Podbean Podcast App & Player |   Pocket Casts: Podcast Player |   Radio France Internationale |   RTHK On The Go |   RTHK News |   VicEmergency |   Australia Local & World News |   RNZ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rating / 5 | 3.6 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 3.0 | 4.2 | 3.6 |
| Reviews | 368 | 633K | 227K | 72K | 32K | 1.2K | 1K | 952 | 774 | 742 | 458 |
| Released | 2011 | 2011 | 2010 | 2015 | 2011 | 2012 | 2010 | 2015 | 2010 | 2012 | 2010 |
| Monthly price | — | $14.99 | $8.99 | $2.99 | $9.99 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Annual price | — | $129.99 | $89.99 | $17.99 | $39.99 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
The going rate for each plan in United States, in its own currency, shaded from the cheapest price on the row to the dearest. Plans fewer than four in ten of the priced apps sell are left out.
SBS Audio reviews
3.6 out of 5, based on 368 reviews.
What people like
- Huge variety of languages available for learning
- Great music selection for relaxing while working
- Completely free with no ads at all
- Clear audio and easy to use interface
What they complain about
- Keeps crashing when you open it
- Pausing restarts the audio from the start
- Drains your phone battery very fast
- Does not work with CarPlay or Bluetooth
Love the new Dark Mode
Love the new dark mode, so much easier on the eyes at night. The app feels smoother and looks great. I like how easy it is to find my favourite music and podcasts, and the audio is always clear. Such a solid update!
Glitchy as
Oh you want to pause? You want to pause and then resume listening to the same podcast? At your own convenience? Get stuffed! You’ll never hear the rest!!!
Hi developers 👋
Because it’s free to use.. contrary to the constant complaints in App Store.. it works fine for me.. I’m happy as long as it remains FREE and REGULARLY UPDATED
Not ‘CarPlay’ compatible!
Come on SBS! Why on earth isn’t this app compatible with Apple CarPlay? Update: I gave this app two stars years ago, for lack of CarPlay support. Just checked (October 2025), and still a big fat ‘nope’. Is this some sort of unfunny joke, SBS?
Way too slow.
Big fan of SBS chill but man it is so slow to load. I give up and go to another app.
Love SBS chill
The best music. Please please keep it ad free.
Ho
Recently I found it stop frequently while it broadcasting! Please pay a attention for this issue, thanks Ps:few months ago it was excellent!
Draining my battery
Hi, I absolutely love listening to SBS chill & have done this for years while I’m working- I find the music selection to be fantastic & really enjoy it! My only negative is lately it’s been noticeably draining my phone battery. I’ve tried it on 2 different phones to make sure it’s not just the handset & both are draining faster while listening. Not sure if it’s due to the updated graphics, but thought I’d mention it, as it’s sadly causing me to use it less. If this could be looked into, that’d be awesome!
Looses connection frequently
Lucky to get 20 minutes without needing to fiddle , doesn’t seem any different with wi-fi or mobile data, car or external speaker. Doesn’t do it with *potify so I think its the app
Great but an issue
Love listening to the podcasts but pausing and resuming is an issue. Every time I pause it will restart from the beginning it’s a little annoying.
Perfect app for language learning!
I started using this app to improve my Spanish and French and I’ve got to say it’s a brilliant resource. I love the variety of the Spanish accents from Spain to Latin America. It also helps me stay up to date with the current news. I can’t believe the amount of other languages they have available too! Love it!
CarPlay
Why isn't the app compatible with CarPlay?
No CarPlay support
Please add CarPlay support.
Constant cutting out
Love listening to SBS chill via the app, but it takes 2-3 goes for it to start streaming (with and without wifi connection). It also only plays for approx 10 minutes before it stops, so I have to go back into the app and start again. PLEASE look into fixing app performance!!!
Battery draining
I love to listen to SBS Chill as I work. However after starting to use the app on my phone rather than the TV (when not working from home) I noticed that it drains the phone battery very quickly.
Works perfectly
I have had no problems whatsoever with this app. I listen to news in a number of languages (there are 68 available) and appreciate the ease with which I can navigate from one language to another. The audio is perfectly clear, and the news streams continue to play even in the background, allowing you to use other apps on your device simultaneously. The app is stable, simple to use, and has a clean interface. To top it off, it’s free and without ads. All in all, it’s a great app.
My version too old
So be it then. Not buying new iPad jut to update...
Sosis
It's cool and practical actually sbs chill with relaxing musics
Play button gets stuck
I find if I use the app and then come back to it later and press the play button the radio station won’t start playing. I need to kill the app and start it again in order to play. The SBS chill station is great but needs more variety. Hear the same songs all the time. Email feedback button does not work. Finally, play drops out even when I’ve got good connection.
Easy French not so easy
Great resource, but I found the Easy French above my level of easy. I do listen to audiobooks in French and I find I can keep up if (a) I know the story and (b) I can slow the speech down to 0.7 or 0.8, depending on the speaker. If you could add that option, I’d be willing to give it another go.
Works
Works for me.
Utterly Useless.
Don’t bother. It will drive you insane with the constant streaming issues (not internet related). The absolute worst app I have ever downloaded.
Good, but...
This app offers a lot but has two key shortcomings. 1. On demand feature has programs that are weeks old. This is puzzling because the podcast feature is updated daily. 2. It would be nice if the program schedule and reminders would translate the broadcast time to the local time on the iPhone. Still, the SBS language service is excellent.
Song list in Frozen
Great music terrible app. Unable to even look up a song after it has finished
Getting there!
CarPlay compatibility, please
Great app
Using this in the USA, great quality and content !!
No dark mode and barely works for audio, so unreliable
Seriously I use this at night the light keeps me awake Often I have to reboot the app to make it play. Even then it can take up to ten minutes worst case to make it start playing. Then if you pause it, it will often reset to the beginning of the track.
N
Nên cho chử to và đậm lên play bar nên ở phía trên Khi đã chọn một ngôn ngữ thì nên giấu đi những ngôn ngữ khác Đơn giản một chút cho người già dẻ sử dụng
Not bad, few improvements required
Great tunes, but for the love of God; add dark mode! My eyes burn at night. Bonus would be carplay
Homesick remedy
I’m an Aussie expat living in the US. SBS is one of the things I miss about home the most. Love being able to listen on my phone. Thank you!
Full of bugs
Doesn’t even allow me to pause a recording and continue from where I paused it. Full of bugs. Can’t believe taxpayers are funding this app. Please fix it as soon as possible.
Radio stops playing after a min
Ever since update, the radio will stop playing 1 min after plugging into headset. The only way to replay is to close app and reopen. This occurs only if it was playing on loudspeaker first for a while then plug in headset.
I found your application
To lack most of everything you mentioned in the description.
You get what you pay for..
This app is problematic if you want to listen over a Bluetooth speaker. I can listen to SBS Chill on my phone, but as soon as I want to play it over a bluetooth speaker connected to my phone, the app stops, and 9 out of 10 times, it can't be restarted. Absolute junk..
Please check the functionality of the play button
If I interrupt the player to answer the phone or something, the play button stops working and I have to dismiss the app and restart it to get the music. Also Chill is life saving but last night the programme was very amateurish and some peeps NEED those soothing tunes with very little invasive sounds. Yeah last night was rough.
Great!
Awesome app, the layout is a teeny bit confusing though. Maybe you could add a tutorial of sorts at the beginning?
update V 4.6.4
after updating V4.6.4 on an iPhone (ios 12.1.4) , icon still exists but unable to open app - only a white blank screen flashing on/off - restart iphone makes no difference ???
Great except bugs
Bugs such as can’t download the last journal (en francais) and notifications don’t work any more. Otherwise love this app!
Pretty cool~~ I like it.
I just got this app & so far its pretty satifying ^^ !! I'm trying to learn languages & this is the closest I have to immersion I guess C: I just wish you can listen to the "On Demand Listen Again", the Podcasts while doing other things on the app, like doing the poll interaction while listening & the name of the songs they play would make this app 10x better ^-^ overall, I like it <3
Ridiculous!
Worst app ever. Deliberately switches itself off so they can re-advertise on startup again. Ten, fifteen times a day at least… If there was any other option I’d recommend taking it.
Search? Basic function
If there’s a search feature, it’s well hidden.
SBS Audio FAQ
- Is SBS Audio free?
- Yes. The app is free, in all 148 countries it sells in, and it sells nothing inside it.
- Does SBS Audio have a free trial?
- No. None of its offers (US) come with a free trial.
- What are the best alternatives to SBS Audio?
- The Guardian - US & World News (4.8 from 633,102 reviews, premium from $6.99), BBC: World News & Stories (4.5 from 227,062 reviews, premium from $8.99) and Podbean Podcast App & Player (4.8 from 72,083 reviews, premium from $0.99).
SBS Audio download
Last updated 1 month ago.
SBS Audio sells in 148 countries. It was released 14 years and 11 months ago, on 2 Nov 2011. It holds a 3.6 rating from 368 reviews.
Supports 1 language: English.
How much does SBS Audio make?
Third-party estimates for the last 30 days, worldwide — not the store's own figures, which Apple publishes for nobody.