Deezer: Music & Podcast Player

Review by eFreeware

Deezer is for listeners who want a streaming service to make most of the decisions for them. It is a free download from Deezer Music with more than 100 million installs and a 4.3 average from over 3.6 million ratings, and it puts a personalized mix called Flow at the center of the experience. If you like the idea of pressing play and hearing a blend of songs you already love and tracks you have not met yet, this is the pitch.

The app covers music, podcasts, radios and audiobooks, so it can serve as a single place for most of what you listen to. Playlists, lyrics and a set of interactive extras sit alongside the streaming catalog. Some features and plans are not available in every country, so availability depends on where you live.

Flow and the controls behind it

Flow builds an endless mix from your favorites while slipping in new tracks. Rather than building every queue by hand, you let the app assemble a stream that shifts as your listening does. It is the feature the developer leads with, and it shapes how the rest of the app is organized.

What makes it more interesting than a plain shuffle is the control offered around it. Deezer provides simple algorithm controls, so you can influence what the recommendations lean toward instead of accepting them as they come. There are also algorithm controls that let you steer the mix toward a particular feel.

Curated playlists cover moods, genres and seasons for listeners who would rather pick a direction than adjust settings. Smart recommendations are meant to match the mood you are in. The combination gives you two routes: hand over the choice to Flow, or take a playlist when you already know what you want.

Playlists, lyrics and the social extras

Playlist building is flexible. You can create lists for a mood, genre or moment and customize the covers, and the homepage and library can be reorganized so your top picks stay in front of you. Sharing works for any song or playlist, including with people who do not use Deezer, which removes the usual friction when sending music to a friend.

Lyrics appear on screen with translations, which is useful for following a song in a language you do not speak. Podcasts, radio and audiobooks sit alongside music, with suggestions shaped by your listening. That breadth is the argument for keeping one app rather than several.

The interactive side is unusual for a streaming service. With Shaker you and your friends can blend playlists and see how your tastes line up, while Music Quiz challenges your knowledge alone or against others. SongCatcher identifies a song playing around you, and Deezer Club offers a chance to win tickets to live events. These are extras rather than reasons to subscribe, but they give the app a lighter, more social character than a straightforward player.

Moving your library and shaping recommendations

If you are coming from another music service, Transfer My Music is designed to bring your library across quickly. That matters because rebuilding years of playlists by hand is the main reason people stay put. Once your music is in, the algorithm controls let you keep shaping what gets suggested rather than starting from scratch.

The recent update pushes audio quality further. Deezer now streams HiFi audio up to 24-bit / 192 kHz, which the developer describes as the best quality possible and as hearing music the way the artist intended. For most listeners on phone speakers or everyday earbuds this will not be the deciding factor, but for anyone with suitable headphones or a home setup, it is a meaningful addition.

What a subscription changes

The free download includes ads and limited features. Paid plans remove ads, add offline downloads for albums, playlists and podcasts, and bring unlimited skips and on-demand listening, along with HiFi sound.

There are several tiers rather than a single subscription. Deezer Premium covers one account with the full feature set; Duo covers two accounts on one subscription; Family covers up to six; and Student offers the Premium benefits at half price. Car and TV experiences are part of the paid plans: Premium, Duo, Family and Student.

The practical decision is how many people are listening and how much you mind ads. A single listener who mostly streams at home has one obvious option; a household splitting the cost across several people has another. Offline downloads and unlimited skips are the features that change how the app behaves when you are away from a connection or want to skip freely.

Getting more out of it day to day

The fastest way to make the app useful is to let Flow run and rate what you hear. Recommendations improve as the app learns your taste, and the algorithm controls are there for when it drifts. Give it a week of ordinary listening before deciding the mix is not for you.

If you already have playlists elsewhere, start with Transfer My Music rather than rebuilding them. Then set up the library and homepage in the order you actually use them, so the artists and lists you return to are the first thing you see. Custom covers are a small touch, but they make a long list of playlists easier to scan.

For listening away from home, downloads are the feature to set up in advance. If you share an account with family or a partner, the multi-account tiers are worth comparing against paying separately, since the per-person cost is the main difference between them.

A streaming app for listeners who want to be led

Deezer makes most sense for people who want a service to curate for them. Flow, the mood controls and the algorithm settings are the heart of it, and the surrounding catalog of music, podcasts, radios and audiobooks means one app can cover a lot of listening. The interactive extras and the lyrics with translations add character without getting in the way.

The trade-offs are the ones you would expect from a streaming service. The free tier carries ads and limited features, offline listening and unlimited skips come with a paid plan, and there are several tiers to choose from depending on how many people are listening.

If you want a large catalog with a personalized mix at the center and you are willing to pay for downloads and ad-free listening, this is a reasonable place to start. If you prefer to build every queue yourself and never hand over the choice, the app's strengths will matter less to you. For most listeners, the free download is enough to judge whether Flow suits how you listen.

What's new

Deezer now has the best audio quality possible, with HiFi streaming up to 24-bit / 192 kHz. Enjoy your favorites with richer, more detailed sound, and experience your music as the artist intended.