iHeartRadio Logo
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4.7

Overall Score

Author: Kaitlyn Short

LAST UPDATED: January 14th, 2024

iHeartRadio is an Internet radio platform. Since its creation in 2008, the service has expanded its offerings to include music recommendations, customizable stations, podcasts, and a radio network with content from more than 800 iHeartMedia stations across the United States. In 2014, iHeartRadio introduced the iHeartRadio Music Awards, which continue to attract hosts of popular artists. In 2015, artists Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift, and Sam Smith won the “Innovator,” “Artist of the Year,” and “Best New Artist” awards, respectively. iHeartRadio regularly hosts concerts in Los Angeles and New York City, with ticket contests featured across the 800 stations. 

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The Good

iHeartRadio is a platform for curated music, with a wide range of features:

  • The service is completely free. There are no hidden charges or paid packages available. However, you can choose to upgrade, which is not free.
  • iHeartRadio offers 19 genre stations, more than 400,000 artists, 15 million songs, and 1,500 live radio stations.
  • Users may create their own stations according to genre or artist. These curated stations display lyrics and artist bios and include links to purchase songs from other vendors, like Amazon and iTunes.
  • All custom-made stations are commercial-free.
  • While listening to live radio, the website displays a station page with links to the station's official website. The page also displays the station's genre, location, and latest tweet, in addition to the current host's name and the schedule for other hosts that day.
  • Users can upvote or downvote songs as they play. Upvoting a song will make it play more often, while downvoting a song will ensure it never plays again.
  • Live radio station pages display the name, artist, and album art for each song that plays. This display updates constantly, even when users aren't currently listening.
  • iHeartRadio is available in an app.
  • The iHeartRadio platform also offers a wide range of podcasts, sorted by popularity and category. Categories range from Health and Food to the Paranormal.
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The Bad

  • As an online streaming service, iHeartRadio's music quality is subject to the strength of users' Internet connections. Songs are not available for download through the site, even for a price.
  • iHeartRadio does not allow users to make playlists of their favorite songs, which means that users are at the mercy of the station's song order.
  • Custom stations are limited to one seed, which means that users can't create stations that feature more than one artist or genre. Stations generated by artist-especially composers with a wide range of material-are rarely harmonious.
  • Users can't navigate music on the iHeartRadio site using their keyboards.
  • Compared to other curated radio services, iHeartRadio offers relatively few songs.
  • Users may only skip fifteen songs per day, and six per hour per station. Once a user has reached this limit, the only way to switch songs is to switch stations entirely. Returning to a station will only replay the current song. The skip limit also applies to songs longer than three or four minutes.
  • Upvoting, downvoting, or skipping a song cannot be undone. Once a song has been skipped, even in error, that skip counts toward the daily limit and users can't play it again until it returns organically. Once a song has been disliked, it will never play again unless a user locates it through the search tool and upvotes it independently.
  • There is no option to censor explicit lyrics.
  • Users can't rewind, fast-forward, or record music while it's playing.
  • When using Google Chromecast or the Xbox app, users can only stream iHeartMedia-owned radio stations. Radio stations owned by other media companies are only available on the website or the mobile app.
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The Bottom Line

iHeartRadio's extensive offerings set it apart from most other radio streaming services available online. It is available on more platforms, with more options for customizability, but interaction is fairly limited. iHeartRadio's curated service is best suited for people who enjoy live radio and don't mind switching stations or enduring mediocre sound quality to find music they enjoy. Audiophiles, look elsewhere.
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Star Rating

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3.7

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156 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

38%

4 grade

26%

3 grade

15%

2 grade

7%

1 grade

14%

Sentiment Criteria

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Quality

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Staci Powell Fruitland, MD

I've been really patient with their streaming glitches. I'm not one to complain or voice my opinion but please know, if you have All Access membership and have PAID $12.99 to build your own playlists like I've done, whatever you do, don't step down to the Plus membership without finding a way to save/log all of your songs on every playlist. iHeartRadio will delete all of your playlists and then not answer any of your questions. It's not right for iHeartRadio to DELETE what I PAID to create. Customer service keeps responding to my email (inquiring if I go back to All Access, will my playlists reappear) but they continuously provide me with LIES. They are telling me that all of my playlists are still visible and accessible. I wish that were true. Getting my lawyer involved.

6 years ago

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Stacie Gage Missouri City, TX

I listen to podcast during work on my computer, but when one episode ends and the next one starts the volume is different. One episode is loud, turn down the volume on the computer and the podcast goes way down. Or when you pause the podcast, then when you click play, the volume doesn't come back on at the same volume. When I open a podcast, I want to see all the episodes, I don't want to click see more - just load them all. This is so old and antiquated, PLEASE update! It takes a while to load when you first open the website, again update!

3 years ago

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Sam Littleton, CO

It is disturbing the slow degeneration of your classic rock station 103.5 fox in Denver. The Rick Lewis show in particular has become the "go to" radio show for soft porn. If it isn't moaning on air while they give each other "massages" to the "Porn star birthdays" segment or their most recent decision to talk about "oral sex" while we all commute to our jobs. Thanks 103.5 for becoming the Sodom and Gomorrah of radio.

7 years ago

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Doug

Worst app ever. It has maybe 30 minutes of content per hour tops. Filled with constant ads and even worse, stupid idiotic top 10 TV shows or TOP 10 songs from 1972 with long 10 sec sound bites of songs we've heard a million times. I don't need to know that a third cousin from Led Zepplins drummer had a top 10 hit in Manchester for 1 week in 1973.

7 years ago

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Ellis Ellis Bethel, OH

The WORST!!! We are currently consulting legal advice. Paid for all access and iheart has not honored the promise. They [iheart] have blocked a song by Clint Black, "When I said I do". Not amazing just a bully employed by iheart. Got a law suit for ya.

1 year ago

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T.H. Chandler, AZ

Too Many negative Political Adds. The negative adds are almost continuous and ridiculous. It's tough to have a positive attitude with this volume of negative adds. I will uninstall the app now before the election and look for another app.

4 years ago

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Bob McCorry Wakefield, MA

My complaint is about iHeartRadio station WBZ in Boston MA. The overnight host 12am to 5am, Bradley J. is ridiculous. Constantly bashing the President of the United States. WBZ is a fairly conservative station with very smart talk hosts. Bradley J. is not one of them.

6 years ago

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Sally Johnson Bountiful, UT

I loved i Heart radio when they were available on the Reciva.com platform. I could listen on my internet radio. Some reason they changed formats from AAC to AAC Plus locked it down so you must be on their app to listen. as a result I found other stations to listen to such as the stations from Cumulus media and others

6 years ago

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Mike Shree

I went to GTA HOME AND RENO SHOW. I was asked to fill a former and lucky draw will take place at 5 pm. I was there are 4.59 pm after waiting for 1.5 hrs. She said she will do the draw in 5 mins. I went again. She kept on lying. Looks like a scam to collect your personal information. Just be aware.

7 years ago

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Office Manager Provo, UT

I had forgotten why I stopped using iheart radio and tried it again this morning. I got one song and then it stopped. Refreshing the page doesn't work, I have to completely close it and log in again and then it happens all over. Extremely frustrating!

7 years ago

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Bruce McCuaig

This is a terrible app. By the time the ads are over you've missed half the news. If you lose the signal even for a couple of seconds you are back to "square one" and have to listen to the same darn ad again. The Walmart ad is played too often. I'm using a different app for my radio needs.

7 years ago

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Ron Saglimbene Fairfield, CT

Constant, repetitive commercials. Breaking into the content of news and talk radio live broadcasts. Absolutely the worst service presented by moneygrubbing executives Who care more about making a few extra bucks then providing a service

7 years ago

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Ron Saglimbene Haledon, NJ

In their attempt to generate more revenue, they are compromising the content of live radio shows by adding more commercials. Also, when you tune to a new station, you get a plethora of the same damn commercials over and over. It's past being annoying. I've turned off the radio because of the same number of similar commercials over and over.

8 years ago

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GLEN millar Hartlepool, HPL

On your Emmerdale Dingle's family tree It says Chas is Mother to Moira Barton and Robert Sugden. Chas is not the Mother of either of these characters please do your research before printing things like this.

1 year ago

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Celeste Rogers Kapolei, HI

This app does not work well with 5G connections. The connectivity and volume go all over the place. I'm constantly having to restart the app. It's not really a mobile app. It's okay if you have wi-fi and stay in one spot.

2 years ago

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RONALD LOURIGAN Union Grove, WI

iheart used to be great, however now that they offer it as a paid subscription the free version appears to have purposely planted stops, pauses and repeats to make in un listenable. ..

7 years ago

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joe smith Tucson, AZ

too many ads.......whenever switching a station i get bombarded by at least 7 ads in a row....this happenes every single time

2 years ago

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PHIL

unreliable non responsive wish i could access newstalk 1010 show podcasts by something more reliable

7 years ago

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Sean

Terrible site, I’ll stick with the others. They make it too difficult to sign in

6 years ago

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Jerry

The app is too difficult to use! The app needs to be simplified!

7 years ago

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David Fowler

to manty updates, screws up my selections

6 years ago

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Tommy

Advertisement company they don't care about listerner!

7 years ago