Shazam is the app that answers the question “what song is this?” You hold your phone up to a speaker, and within a few seconds it identifies the track, artist and album. It has been around since 2002, was acquired by Apple in 2018, and remains the best-known music identification service in the world. It is free, it works offline in limited form, and it integrates directly with Apple Music and Spotify.
What Shazam is
Shazam is a mobile app for iOS and Android that identifies recorded music by comparing a short audio sample against its database of millions of tracks. The technology works by creating an acoustic fingerprint of the audio, not by listening for lyrics or metadata. This means it works on radio, TV, speakers in a store, or a band playing at a bar, as long as the recording is in Shazam’s database.
When Shazam identifies a song, it shows the title, artist, album cover, lyrics (via Apple Music), a music video link, and a button to open the track in Apple Music, Spotify or another streaming app. You can save identified songs to a history list and export them to a playlist.
Where it works
Speed and accuracy. In a quiet room with a clear recording, Shazam identifies the track in under five seconds. Its database covers major releases from around the world, including older catalog. It is the most reliable music identification app available.
Apple ecosystem integration. On iOS, Shazam integrates with Control Center and Siri. You can ask “what song is this?” without opening the app, and identified songs automatically appear in your Apple Music library. On iOS 16 and later, Shazam can identify songs playing on the device itself, no external speaker needed.
Price. Shazam is completely free. There are no ads in the current version (Apple monetizes it through music streaming referrals). There is no premium tier.
History and sync. Every song you identify is saved in a history list. You can export the list to Apple Music or Spotify as a playlist, which is useful for building a library from songs you have heard out in the world.
Where it falls short
Shazam fails on live performances, obscure indie tracks, heavily remixed versions, and songs that are not in its database. The acoustic fingerprint only works for recordings it has already cataloged. If a friend is humming a melody, Shazam cannot help.
The app has become minimal over the years. There are no social features, no lyrics community and no music discovery beyond the identification itself. It does one thing and does it well, but it is not a music recommendation app.
Offline identification is limited. The app can store a few samples to match later, but for the most part you need an internet connection. Shazam also cannot identify songs playing through your own phone on Android; that feature is iOS-only.
What it costs
Shazam is free on both iOS App Store and Google Play. There are no in-app purchases. Apple profits when you open a song in Apple Music, so the app is effectively a customer acquisition tool for the streaming service.
How it compares
For identifying music, there is no real competitor with the same database coverage. Siri and Google Assistant can both identify songs now using Shazam (on iOS) or their own engines (on Android), so the standalone app is sometimes redundant. For creating music, Suno and Udio are the AI generation tools. For audio transcription, Whisper handles speech. Shazam wins at the single job of naming a song playing nearby.
Frequently asked questions
Is Shazam free? Yes, completely. No ads, no subscriptions.
Can Shazam identify songs playing on my phone? On iOS, yes via Siri or Control Center. On Android, you need the audio to be audible through the microphone.
Does Shazam work offline? It can queue a few identifications for when you reconnect, but real-time matching needs internet.
Verdict
Shazam is the best music identification app ever made, and it is free. You will not use it every day, but when you hear a song in a store or on a TV show and need to know what it is, nothing else is as fast or as reliable. Install it once, keep it in a folder, and pull it out when the moment hits.
Download: App Store / Google Play
Editorial note: Features and availability can change. Verify current details directly with the provider.
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