The Best Free CarPlay Lyrics Apps in 2026
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Plenty of apps show lyrics on your phone, but very few actually put them on the CarPlay screen. Since Apple doesn't scroll Apple Music or Spotify lyrics on CarPlay itself, a dedicated app is the only way to sing along on the road. The most common search we see is for a free CarPlay lyrics app. So this comparison starts with price. Below: what each app costs, what the free download really covers, and how to avoid the copycats.
Both of the CarPlay lyrics apps worth your time in 2026 are free to download, but neither shows lyrics on the car screen for free forever. Lyricast is the cheaper one to keep at $19.99 a year. Musixmatch puts CarPlay lyrics behind Premium at $35.99 a year in the US. Both work with Apple Music and Spotify.
How we compared them
A good CarPlay lyrics app has to do three things: show the current line in real time on the CarPlay screen, work with the service you already use (Apple Music or Spotify), and stay in sync without fuss. We also weighed price, the other places each app shows lyrics, and how cleanly it uses iOS 26's new CarPlay widgets. Both apps below clear the bar; they just lean in different directions.
| Feature | Lyricast | Musixmatch |
|---|---|---|
| Real-time CarPlay lyrics | Yes | Yes |
| Apple Music & Spotify | Yes | Yes |
| Free to download | Yes | Yes |
| CarPlay lyrics without paying | No — $19.99/yr plan | No — Premium only |
| Price per year | $19.99 | ~$35.99 (Premium) |
| Offline lyrics | Yes | Premium only |
| Live translations | — | 60+ languages (Premium) |
| Best for | Value and price | Translations, Apple Watch |
1. Lyricast — best value
Lyricast shows real-time, karaoke-style lyrics on your car screen for both Apple Music and Spotify. It is free to download, and there is one paid plan: $19.99 a year for unlimited lyrics. That is roughly half the price of the main alternative. You can set the text size and colour for glanceable reading, auto-launch it with your music, and pre-download lyrics on Wi-Fi. Songs you have already played stay cached on the device, so the words keep coming in a tunnel. It needs iOS 17 or newer.
- Best for: the cheapest way to keep synced lyrics on the car screen
- Price: free to download; $19.99/year for unlimited lyrics
- Works with: Apple Music and Spotify
2. Musixmatch — best for translations and Apple Watch
Musixmatch added live CarPlay lyrics in a May 2026 update, for Apple Music and Spotify. Its standout strength is translations in 60+ languages, shown as the lyrics play. It also puts lyrics on Apple Watch and the Lock Screen. Those car and watch features sit in Musixmatch Premium.
- Best for: translations in 60+ languages and Apple Watch lyrics
- Price: free to download; Premium around $35.99/year for full CarPlay lyrics
- Works with: Apple Music and Spotify
What's actually free in each app
Both apps cost nothing to install. That is why both turn up under "free CarPlay lyrics app". The free part ends in a different place for each one. Here is what each App Store listing says in September 2026.
- Lyricast — free to download, with a single paid plan at $19.99 a year for unlimited lyrics. There is one price and one thing it unlocks, so nothing else is gated behind a second tier.
- Musixmatch — free to download, and lyrics inside the app are free. Its own listing files dynamic lyrics on the CarPlay screen, the Lock Screen widget and Apple Watch under Musixmatch Premium. Premium is $35.99 a year in the US, so the car screen is the paid half.
Keeping either app past the free download costs $19.99 a year for Lyricast against $35.99 a year for Musixmatch Premium.
Watch out: several apps are named "Dynamic Lyrics"
Search the App Store for "dynamic lyrics" and the results are a wall of near-identical names from different developers: Dynamic-Lyrics, Lyrix: Dynamic Lyrics, Dynamic Lyrics Widget: Lyrify, Dynamic Lyrics - Lyrics Ride, Dynamic Lyrics: Karaoke Songs and Musixmatch Dynamic Lyrics all sit on the same results page. Before you install anything, check the developer name and the exact title. Read a few recent reviews and confirm the listing mentions CarPlay.
What to look for in a CarPlay lyrics app
- Live Activities and CarPlay widget support — that is how a lyrics app reaches the car screen (how to switch Live Activities on)
- Your streaming service — confirm Apple Music or Spotify is supported
- iOS 26 CarPlay widget support for glanceable, always-on lyrics
- A clear price — free to try, with a transparent subscription rather than a surprise paywall
Want lyrics on your own CarPlay screen? Lyricast sets it up in a minute.
Get the appWidget or full screen: which should you use?
iOS 26 gives CarPlay both widgets and Live Activities, so a lyrics app can appear two ways: as a small panel beside your map, or filling the screen. The panel is the one to leave on for everyday driving. It shows the line playing now and needs no tapping. Full screen is worth switching to when you want to sing along and read further ahead than one line. Check each app's App Store listing for which of the two it offers on your version of iOS.
No CarPlay? A car lyrics app still works over Bluetooth or USB
Not every car has CarPlay, and "car lyrics app" is a wider search than "CarPlay lyrics app". Lyricast's own setup steps cover the other cases. Connect the iPhone to the car by CarPlay, Bluetooth or USB. Then play a track in your music app, and the lyrics app picks up what is playing and shows the synced words.
Without CarPlay the words stay on the iPhone screen rather than the dashboard, so a mount you can glance at matters more than the cable. Played songs are cached on the device too, which is what keeps the lyrics running in a tunnel or on a rural stretch where the signal drops.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best free app for lyrics on CarPlay?
Both are free to download, so you can try either at no cost. Neither keeps CarPlay lyrics free: Lyricast asks $19.99 a year, and Musixmatch lists CarPlay lyrics under Premium at $35.99 a year in the US. Lyricast is the cheaper one to keep.
Is there a completely free CarPlay lyrics app?
Not one we would recommend. The two apps that reliably put synced lyrics on the CarPlay screen both charge for that feature after the free download. Free listings that promise permanent CarPlay lyrics are usually the copycat apps described above, so check the developer name before you install.
Do these apps work with both Apple Music and Spotify?
Yes. Both Lyricast and Musixmatch read whatever is currently playing, so they show synced lyrics for Apple Music and Spotify alike.
Why can't I just use Apple Music for lyrics on CarPlay?
Apple Music shows lyrics on your iPhone but not on the standard CarPlay screen while driving. Spotify's lyrics don't appear on CarPlay either. That gap is exactly what these third-party apps fill.
Does CarPlay have a lyrics widget?
Apple doesn't include a built-in lyrics widget. But iOS 26 brought widgets and Live Activities to CarPlay, so a lyrics app can put one on the dashboard. It shows the current line and updates as the song plays, without you opening anything.
Do I need iOS 26 for a CarPlay lyrics widget?
Dashboard widgets and Live Activities came to CarPlay with iOS 26, so that version gives the smoothest result. On iOS 17 and 18 you open the lyrics app on the CarPlay screen yourself instead of pinning a widget to the dashboard. Lyricast needs iOS 17 or newer either way.
Want the best value pick? Try Lyricast free and get real-time synced lyrics on your car screen for Apple Music and Spotify.
Once you have picked an app, follow our step-by-step CarPlay lyrics guide.