Pro Features
homecrate Pro is a one-time purchase of $9.99. There is no subscription, no recurring charge, and no account to create — the entitlement lives with your Apple ID, so it applies to your other devices signed in to the same Apple ID and can be restored at any time.
The music player is fully usable without Pro. Pro unlocks the studio at full size, the spatial listening modes, Plex, the games, and third-party plugin hosting.
What Free Includes
Everything below works with no purchase, no account, and no network connection.
| Area | Included free |
|---|---|
| Importing | Unlimited import from Files, iCloud Drive, device storage, and .zip archives. See Importing Music |
| Library | All four views — Artists, Albums, Playlists, All Tracks — plus your recordings. See Library Views |
| Organising | Creating and editing playlists, editing album metadata, merging artists |
| Playback | Full transport, seeking, repeat-one, background and Lock Screen playback, CarPlay, Bluetooth remotes, the widget. See Playback Controls & Seeking |
| Queue | The Up Next queue, reordering, “Set Up Next” |
| Now Playing extras | Album art flip view, Equalizer, karaoke / synced lyrics, the Track Info panel |
| Track AI | Identify a Track (Shazam), Analyze Key & Mood, Ask AI About a Track |
| Library AI | Library AI playlists & questions and Analyze Your Library |
| Analytics | The full analytics dashboard, achievements, and the Algorithm Tuner |
| Tools | The tuner with standard tunings, the metronome, and Bluetooth MIDI pairing |
| homecrate amp | The standalone amp opens for everyone, with the bundled amp profiles |
| Studio | The recorder opens for everyone at 4 audio tracks + 1 MIDI track, with all of homecrate’s own plugins |
The AI features listed above are not Pro-gated, but they do require an Apple Intelligence-capable device. On a device without it, they don’t appear at all — buying Pro will not change that.
What Pro Unlocks
[SCREENSHOT: homecrate Pro purchase sheet — feature list and Unlock button]
In the music player
| Feature | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Spectral 3D Sound | Locked (🔒 badge on the button) | Unlocked |
| Spatial Audio playback | Locked (🔒 badge on the button) | Unlocked |
| Plex — sign-in, manual credentials, streaming, downloads | Locked | Unlocked |
| Music Trivia and Quick Fire | Locked | Unlocked |
| Custom tunings in the tuner (including AI-suggested tunings) | Locked — standard tunings still work | Unlocked |
| Loading your own NAM captures and IR files into homecrate amp | Bundled profiles only | Your own captures and IRs |
In the studio recorder
| Feature | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Audio tracks | 4 | 16 |
| MIDI tracks | 1 | 8 |
| Third-party AUv3 plugins | Hidden from the plugin browser | Full hosting |
| MIDI routing from paired hardware controllers | Locked | Unlocked |
| Voice control of the studio | Locked | Unlocked |
| Music Chat (ask for a riff, get a playable MIDI clip) | Locked | Unlocked |
| Video recording alongside audio | Locked | Unlocked |
| Looper | Locked | Unlocked |
| Spatial recording and spatial export | Locked | Unlocked |
| AI stem separation | Locked | Unlocked |
| Audio → MIDI conversion | Locked | Unlocked |
Project share and project import (.zip) | Locked | Unlocked |
Track limits apply per project: on Free, the tracks beyond the limit are visible but locked, and tapping arm or monitor on a locked lane opens the purchase sheet instead.
First-Party Plugins Are Not Gated
The third-party plugin gate does not apply to homecrate’s own plugins. Without Pro, the plugin browser hides third-party AUv3s but still lists and loads:
- homecrate amp
- homecrate drum
- homecrate synth
- homecrate vocal
- homecrate dynEQ and homecrate send
So a Free user can build a real arrangement — four audio tracks, a MIDI track, amp, drums, synth, and the dynEQ/send pair — without buying anything. Pro is what removes the ceiling.
Buying Pro
Any locked control opens the purchase sheet. The most reliable route, which always opens it, is:
Settings → Plex Streaming Settings → 🔒 Buy Pro to Unlock
The sheet shows the localised price for your store region, a single Unlock button, and Restore previous purchase.
[SCREENSHOT: Pro purchase sheet showing the Unlock button and Restore link]
Once the purchase completes, everything unlocks immediately — no restart, and no sign-in step.
Restoring a Purchase
Tap Restore previous purchase on the purchase sheet. Homecrate checks the App Store for an entitlement on the currently signed-in Apple ID.
| Result | What it means |
|---|---|
| ”Your purchase has been restored.” | Pro is active again |
| ”No previous purchase found for this Apple ID.” | Either this Apple ID never bought Pro, or you’re signed in to a different one |
| ”Unable to restore right now.” | A temporary App Store problem — try again later |
Homecrate also re-checks your entitlement with the App Store on every launch, so a purchase made on another device generally appears on its own without you doing anything.
Because there is no account, the Apple ID is the receipt. If you switch Apple IDs, sign back in to the one that made the purchase.
”Never Ask Again”
The purchase sheet has a Never ask again link in its top-left corner. Tapping it stops Homecrate from ever opening the sheet automatically.
This has a side effect worth knowing. Several locked controls — the Spectral 3D and Spatial Audio buttons, and the Games button — are wired to “open the purchase sheet unless the user asked us not to.” Once you’ve tapped Never ask again, those controls simply do nothing when tapped, with no explanation.
If a locked control seems dead, that’s why. Go to Settings → Plex Streaming Settings → Buy Pro to Unlock, which always opens the sheet regardless of the dismissal.
What Pro Is Not
- Not a subscription. One payment, no renewal, no expiry.
- Not an account. Nothing to register, no email required, no server-side profile.
- Not a cloud service. Your library, analytics, and recordings stay on your device either way. Pro does not move any of your data off it.
- Not required to keep your music. Everything you imported or recorded on Free stays yours and stays playable. If you never buy Pro, nothing is taken away.
- Not a way to add AI to an unsupported device. The on-device AI features depend on Apple Intelligence, not on Pro.