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An AudD alternative
for stream monitoring

AudD is a well-regarded music recognition API, and its stream monitoring sends every detected song to your callback. Sonovault covers the same core loop on any stream URL, then keeps going: a stored play log, deduplicated spins, airplay reports with an ISRC on every play, and a dashboard your whole team can use.

TL;DR

AudD is recognition infrastructure for developers: clip recognition, stream callbacks, and bring-your-own reference catalogs. What you do with the detections is up to you, and that flexibility is the point.

Sonovault treats the log as the product. Register a stream URL and you get a stored, deduplicated play history with an ISRC on every play, date-range airplay reports, webhooks and SSE, and a no-code dashboard, backed by a 90M+ track metadata catalog.

Pick by what you're building. Matching against your own uploaded audio, or want raw events only? AudD. Want the play log, the reports, and the identifiers without building that layer yourself? Sonovault.

Published August 10, 2026 · Sonovault is independent and not affiliated with AudD

Verdict

Which one fits your project?

Both register arbitrary stream URLs and recognise what airs. The split is in how much of the layer after detection you want to own.

Choose AudD when…
  • You need to match against your own uploaded catalog (your releases, jingles, ads)
  • You only want raw detection events and will build storage and reporting yourself
  • Recognition of user-submitted clips at high volume is the main job
  • You're comfortable being entirely API-driven, with no dashboard in the loop
Choose Sonovault when…
  • You want the play log stored, deduplicated, and queryable without building it
  • You need airplay reports with an ISRC per play, for clients or royalty workflows
  • Non-developers on your team need to add streams and pull reports
  • You want detection and a full metadata API (ISRC, ISWC, links) from one vendor
Side by side

AudD vs. Sonovault for stream monitoring

Based on each product's public documentation. Features change; verify anything load-bearing with the provider before you commit.

AspectAudDSonovault
Register any stream URLYes, submit your own stream URLsYes, any Icecast/Shoutcast-style URL, via dashboard or one API call
Real-time recognition of what airsYes, results as songs are detectedYes, now-playing typically updates under a minute after a track starts
Where results land~ Sent to your callback; storing them is your jobStored play log with a history API, plus webhooks, SSE, and polling
Play counting~ Per-detection events; you decide what counts as one playDeduplicated per airing: one spin counts once
Airplay reports~ You aggregate detections yourselfDate-range spin reports per stream, with CSV/XLSX export
ISRC per play~ Track metadata with streaming-service linksISRC on every play; ISWC lookup one call away
Dashboard / no-code path~ API-first, built for developersFull dashboard: add a stream, watch the log, export reports
Match against your own uploaded catalogYes, bring-your-own reference databaseNot offered; we match against our 90M+ track catalog
Clip recognition APIYes, a core productYes, audio identification on paid plans
Royalty-reporting fit~ Not its focusAirplay reports plus SoundExchange CSV tooling (verify before you file)

Legend: strength · ~ trade-off or caveat · not offered

Beyond detection

The layer a raw recognition API leaves to you

Detection is where a monitoring project starts, not where it ends. Two jobs Sonovault takes off your plate.

Job 1 · Keep the log
A stored, deduplicated play history

Every recognised play lands in a history you can query by stream and time range, with repeated detections collapsed so one airing counts once. Now-playing, history with incremental polling, signed webhooks, and a live SSE feed are all included, and polling costs no API credits. Outage emails tell you when a stream goes silent.

See stream monitoring →

Job 2 · Hand over the report
Airplay reports with an ISRC on every play

Pull a date-range spin report per stream: play counts, first and last played, and a per-airing detail log, each row carrying its ISRC. Export CSV or XLSX from the dashboard, or fetch JSON from the API. Because every match resolves into a 90M+ track catalog, cross-platform links and ISWC lookups are one call away.

Royalty reporting tooling →

The cost story

Flat per-stream pricing, with the after-layer included

Both products price stream monitoring as a flat per-stream rate. The difference is what that rate has to cover.

With a raw recognition API, the per-stream fee buys detections; the play-log store, deduplication logic, report generation, and any dashboard are engineering work on your side of the line. That's the right trade when the after-layer is genuinely custom.

Sonovault's stream monitoring is €29 per active stream per month, on top of any API plan including the free tier, billed only while the stream is monitored. The stored history, dedup, reports, webhooks, SSE, and dashboard are part of that price, and polling the log burns no credits. We deliberately don't quote AudD's prices here; check their site and ours, and price the layer you'd otherwise build yourself.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

For the core loop, yes: you register a stream URL and get every recognised track back with timestamps, over webhooks, SSE, or polling. The difference is what happens after detection. AudD delivers recognition results to your callback and leaves storage, deduplication, and reporting to you. Sonovault stores the play log itself, collapses repeated detections into single airings, and generates airplay reports, so there is usually less of your own code on the other side. Switching means registering your stream URLs with Sonovault and pointing your webhook consumer at our events; past detections from another provider can't be imported, so your Sonovault history starts the day you register.
Honestly: if you need to match audio against your own uploaded reference catalog, for example your own releases, jingles, or ads, AudD supports bring-your-own databases and Sonovault does not. It's also a solid choice if you're a developer who only wants raw recognition events and plans to build storage, deduplication, and reporting yourself. If either of those describes you, AudD is a perfectly good tool.
Yes. Alongside stream monitoring, paid plans include audio identification: POST a clip or a Chromaprint fingerprint to /v1/tracks/identify and get the matching track back in the same shape as search, with ISRC and cross-platform links a lookup away. See the audio recognition page for details.
€29 per active stream per month, on top of your API plan (the free plan works). You're billed only while a stream is being monitored, and polling the now-playing and history endpoints doesn't use any API credits. There is no per-detection fee and reports are included. For many streams at once, contact us for volume pricing.
No. The dashboard lets you add a stream URL, watch the live log, and export airplay reports as CSV or XLSX without touching the API. Developers get the same functionality over REST, webhooks, and SSE.
No. Sonovault is an independent music metadata service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to AudD. This page describes the structural differences between the two approaches so you can pick the right tool; we don't quote AudD's prices or speak for them. Always confirm current features and pricing with each provider directly.

Point it at a stream this afternoon

Create a free account, add a stream URL from the dashboard, and watch the log fill in real time. €29 per active stream per month, stop anytime.

Disclosure & methodology. This page is published by Sonovault and compares the two products' approaches to stream monitoring based on public documentation, current as of 2026-08-10. It does not quote AudD's prices or speak for AudD. “AudD” is the mark of its respective owner; Sonovault is independent and not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by AudD. Features change, so confirm current capabilities and pricing with each provider directly. Spot an inaccuracy? Email support@sonovault.now and we'll correct it. See also data sources & attribution · about Sonovault.