Shazam still does not ship a real desktop app. Apple removed the Mac client years ago, the Windows version never shipped, and the only first-party way to identify a song on a computer in 2026 is the Music Recognition tile baked into macOS. Everyone else has to piece together browser extensions, web uploaders, and open-source clients to get the same job done. These seven Shazam alternatives for PC cover every angle: live capture from a microphone, identification of audio playing in a browser tab, file uploads, and Mac-native recognition.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Windows | Mac | Linux | Free | Catches mic audio | Catches browser audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SongRec | A real desktop Shazam client | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Indirectly (via mic) |
| AHA Music | Tabs, YouTube, streaming sites | Extension | Extension | Extension | Yes | No | Yes |
| macOS Music Recognition | Mac users who never leave the OS | No | Yes (Sonoma+) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AudioTag.info | Identifying short audio files | Web | Web | Web | Yes | No | No |
| Mooma.sh | Backup when AudioTag fails | Web | Web | Web | Yes | No | No |
| SoundHound (web) | Humming or singing a tune | Web | Web | Web | Yes | Yes | No |
| Genius | When you only remember lyrics | Web | Web | Web | Yes | No | No |
Why Shazam has no PC app
Shazam shipped a Mac app for years, then Apple bought the company in 2018 and rolled the feature into its own products. The Mac client was retired and the desktop product stack was reduced to: Shazam inside the iOS Control Center, Shazam inside the Apple Music app, and the Music Recognition button on macOS. Anyone on Windows or Linux is outside the supported set. That is the gap these tools fill.
A second gap is that even on Mac, the built-in recognition only listens to what your microphone or system audio hears. It cannot scan a saved audio file or work backward from a clip a friend sent. The web tools below cover that case.
The 7 alternatives
1. SongRec, best free desktop client
SongRec is an unofficial open-source client that talks to the same fingerprinting service Shazam uses. It runs natively on Linux (GTK), and on Windows and macOS via builds and Flatpak. The interface is one button and a result panel. Microphone capture or audio file works the same way.
What sets it apart is honesty about the source. The maintainer documents the reverse-engineered API, packages it cleanly through Flathub, and ships the source on GitHub for anyone to audit. No account, no upload to a third party beyond the fingerprint match itself.
Where it falls short: No lyrics, no playlist sync, no history beyond the local CSV log it writes. It identifies the song and then leaves you to do something with the answer.
Cost: Free, open source (GPL-3.0).
Bottom line: Pick SongRec if you want the closest thing to a desktop Shazam app and you are comfortable installing software from Flathub or GitHub releases.
2. AHA Music, best for browser audio
AHA Music is a browser extension for Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Brave. When something plays in any tab, click the extension icon and it identifies the song from the tab audio directly. It is the most reliable way to identify music inside YouTube, Twitch streams, web radio players, or Bandcamp embeds on a desktop.
It is also the lowest-friction option. No download, no system permissions beyond the extension, no microphone use. The free tier gives unlimited identifications.
Where it falls short: It cannot capture audio from outside the browser. If you are playing music from the Spotify desktop app or a local file, AHA Music does not help. It also displays ads in the popup and pushes its own playlist features.
Cost: Free.
Bottom line: Install AHA Music as the default song-ID button for browser audio, then keep something else around for system audio.
3. macOS Music Recognition, best for Mac users
Apple’s built-in Shazam lives in the Control Center on macOS Sonoma and later. Click the icon (you have to add it from System Settings, Control Center, Music Recognition), let it listen, and the recognized song appears in Notification Center and saves to your Shazam library if you are signed into iCloud.
This is the cleanest experience on a Mac because it captures system audio and microphone audio at the same time. The result syncs with the same library your iPhone Shazam uses, so a song you tagged on the desktop appears on your phone within seconds.
Where it falls short: Mac only, Sonoma or newer. Apple Music is the only deep link offered (Spotify and YouTube links exist but the prompt favors Apple). No way to scan a file or paste audio.
Cost: Free, included with macOS.
Bottom line: If you are on a recent Mac, this is the default. Use it for everything except file-based identification.
4. AudioTag.info, best for file uploads
AudioTag is a free web service that identifies a song from an audio file. Upload anything up to 15 MB or about 30 seconds, and the matcher returns the song title, artist, and timestamp of the match. It accepts MP3, WAV, FLAC, OGG, M4A, and a few others.
It exists because Shazam has no upload route. If a friend sends you a phone recording of a track playing at a restaurant, AudioTag is the fastest way to find out what it was. No account needed.
Where it falls short: The fingerprint database is smaller than Shazam’s, so obscure tracks fail more often. Captcha gates each upload. No mobile experience to speak of.
Cost: Free, with optional paid API for developers.
Bottom line: Keep AudioTag bookmarked for the “what is this clip” case. It is the only first-class file-upload identifier with a real success rate.
5. Mooma.sh, best backup web identifier
Mooma.sh is a second free web uploader, useful when AudioTag returns no match. It accepts files or a YouTube URL, which is convenient when the source is already online. Results come back as a track ID with links to streaming services.
The interface is barebones and the brand is unfamiliar, but it has consistently returned matches for tracks that AudioTag misses, particularly remixes and DJ sets where the dominant melody differs from the released studio version.
Where it falls short: Slower than AudioTag for the first match. Occasional ads. No API.
Cost: Free.
Bottom line: Pair Mooma with AudioTag. One usually catches what the other misses.
6. SoundHound (web), best for humming a tune
SoundHound keeps a working web identifier at soundhound.com that listens through the browser microphone. The unique feature here is hum-to-search: SoundHound’s matching engine is built around melody, not just acoustic fingerprint, so you can sing or hum a tune and get a candidate match. Shazam cannot do this and the macOS Music Recognition feature cannot either.
The website is lighter than the SoundHound mobile app and avoids the AI assistant pivot SoundHound has been pushing on mobile.
Where it falls short: Humming accuracy varies. Pop songs and famous melodies get caught reliably; instrumental or jazz tunes often do not. Slow on first load.
Cost: Free.
Bottom line: Use SoundHound web when the song is stuck in your head but not in your room.
7. Genius, best for partial lyrics
Genius is not a song-ID tool in the audio sense, but if you remember a single line, the site’s lyric search is the most accurate on the web. Paste the lyric snippet, scan the results, click through to the annotated lyrics page to confirm.
Pair this with the other tools when audio is unavailable. Office headphones not handy, no recording, but you remember the chorus: Genius works where none of the audio tools can.
Where it falls short: Useless for instrumentals or songs in languages you do not read well. Ads on every page.
Cost: Free.
Bottom line: Bookmark Genius as the lyric fallback. It catches what audio fingerprinting cannot.
How to choose
Pick SongRec if you want a single desktop tool that mirrors how Shazam works on a phone. Pick AHA Music if most of your listening happens in browser tabs. Pick macOS Music Recognition if you are on a recent Mac and never need to identify a file. Pick AudioTag or Mooma for files and clips. Pick SoundHound if the song is in your head. Pick Genius if you only have lyrics.
Most users end up with two: a desktop client for live audio and a web tool for files. SongRec plus AudioTag is the practical combination on Windows and Linux. macOS Music Recognition plus AudioTag is the practical combination on Mac.
FAQ
Is there a Shazam app for Windows or Mac in 2026?
No. Shazam never shipped a Windows app, and the Mac client was discontinued after Apple’s acquisition. The built-in Music Recognition tile on macOS Sonoma and later is the only first-party desktop entry point and it is Mac-only.
Can I use Shazam in a browser?
The shazam.com homepage exists but it does not identify songs directly. It is a search and metadata site backed by the mobile and macOS clients. To identify songs from a browser on PC, install AHA Music or use AudioTag.info for uploads.
Does any PC tool identify songs offline?
No. Every option above sends a fingerprint to a remote service for matching. SongRec is the most transparent about what it sends and where, but it still requires a network connection at the moment of identification.
Is SongRec legal to use?
SongRec is an open-source client that uses Shazam’s public fingerprinting endpoint. It is not affiliated with Apple or Shazam and your usage is at your own risk, but the project itself is public on GitHub with no reported takedown. Treat it the same as any unofficial third-party client.
What is the best Shazam alternative for PC overall?
For most people on Windows or Linux, SongRec covers the largest share of cases with one tool. For Mac users, the built-in Music Recognition tile in Control Center is the default and AudioTag.info fills the file-upload gap.
