The free Music League alternative
Aux Battles is a free, no-login alternative to Music League. Where Music League runs rounds over days with accounts and playlist submissions, Aux Battles runs them live in minutes: share a 4-letter code, everyone answers a prompt with a song, and the room votes blind.
Same core game (friends submit Spotify, YouTube or SoundCloud songs to a prompt and rate each other's picks), with no accounts, no cost, and nothing to install. Paste the code into the group chat and everyone's in. It's built for the party that's happening right now, not the league that resolves next Friday.
Aux Battles vs Music League
| Feature | Aux Battles | Music League |
|---|---|---|
| Account required | None - just a display name | Sign-up for every player |
| Setup time | About 10 seconds - share a 4-letter code | Minutes - create a league, invite, wait for sign-ups |
| Cost | Free, no paywall | Free tier, paid upgrades |
| How long a round takes | Minutes - live in one sitting | Days - a submission window, then a voting window |
| Best for | Parties, calls, group chats - right now | Slow-burn leagues over weeks |
| Voting | Blind 1–5 stars, submitters revealed after | Points spread across a shortlist |
| Player count | Best at 3–10, no hard limit | Built for standing groups of 10–20 |
| Prompts | 3,205 built in across 15 themes | Host writes each round theme |
| Music sources | Spotify, YouTube & SoundCloud | Spotify |
| Live streaming | Twitch battles: classic, bracket or friends mode | Not supported |
| Download | Runs in the browser | Runs in the browser |
Music League is a trademark of its owner. Aux Battles is an independent game and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Music League.
The three real differences
1. Time scale
Music League rounds are asynchronous by design. A theme goes up, everyone has a few days to submit, then a voting window opens and results land later. That is genuinely good for a group spread across time zones that wants something to check in on. It is a bad fit for six people on a call tonight who want a winner before anyone goes to bed. An Aux Battles round runs start to finish in a few minutes, and a full game of five rounds fits in about half an hour.
2. The account wall
Every Music League player needs an account and a linked Spotify. That is a fine cost for a league you'll play for two months and a fatal one for a game you want to start at a party, since someone always ends up stuck on a signup screen while everyone else waits. Aux Battles asks for a display name and nothing else, and players who only want to listen and vote never need a music account at all.
3. Who writes the prompts
In Music League the host writes each round's theme, which quietly makes one person responsible for whether the league is fun. Aux Battles ships 3,205 prompts across 15 themes and draws them at random, or you can spin the wheel for one out loud. Custom prompts still work if your group has a running joke worth turning into a round.
When Music League is the better choice
Worth being straight about: Music League is the better tool for a long-running competition. If you want a standing league with the same fifteen people, a season table, playlists that persist after each round, and a pace that lets people discover music slowly over weeks, that is exactly what it is built for, and Aux Battles does none of it. There are no accounts, so there is no history, no season, and no leaderboard that survives closing the tab.
Pick Music League if the group is committed and the timeline is weeks. Pick Aux Battles if the group is together now and the timeline is tonight. Plenty of people run both: a league ticking over in the background, and an aux battle whenever everyone lands on the same call.
When Aux Battles wins
Everyone is together right now, on a Discord call, over FaceTime, or around one speaker at a house party and you want a music game you can start in ten seconds without anyone signing up. Streamers get an option Music League has no equivalent for: a Twitch battle in classic, bracket tournament, or friends mode format, where chat submits and votes live alongside the room.
New to the format? Here's how an aux battle works, or read the rules and the strategy that wins rounds. Comparing more than one option? There's also a songbattle.io comparison and a Jackbox one.
Music League alternative FAQ
What is the closest thing to Music League without an account?
Aux Battles. It runs the same submit-and-vote format, everyone answers a prompt with a song and the group rates the picks, but nobody creates an account. The host shares a 4-letter room code, players enter a display name, and the round starts. Voting is blind, so submitters stay hidden until the ratings are in.
Is Music League free?
Music League has a free tier that covers a standard league, with paid upgrades for larger or longer-running ones. Aux Battles is free with no paid tier at all. There are no accounts to upgrade, so there is nothing to charge for.
Can I import my Music League league into Aux Battles?
No. There is no import, because Aux Battles has no accounts, no standing leagues and no stored player history to import into. A round is created fresh from a room code each time. If you want to reuse a Music League theme, paste it in as a custom prompt when the round starts.
How is the voting different from Music League?
Music League gives each player a pool of points to spread across the songs they liked. Aux Battles rates every song individually, 1–5 stars and blind, and the highest average wins the round. Rating everything means no submission goes unheard, and blind voting means picks are judged on the music rather than on who submitted them.
Does Aux Battles need Spotify Premium?
No. Spotify tracks play right in the browser through an embedded player, same as YouTube and SoundCloud, so nobody needs Premium, an account, or an app installed to play. Logging into Spotify unlocks the full track instead of a 30 second preview. Music League is Spotify-only.
How many people can play at once?
It works best with 3–10 players and there is no hard limit. Music League is built for a standing group that commits to several rounds over weeks; Aux Battles is built for whoever happens to be in the room or on the call tonight.
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