Fakin’ The Funk is the long-standing tool for spotting upscaled audio, and it now runs on Mac as well as Windows. Crate Cleaner does the same kind of spectral check, but inside your Serato library, with no track limit on the free plan. Here is how they compare.
The short version: if you want to check folders of audio in many formats, on Windows, Mac or Linux, for a one-time €15.99, Fakin’ The Funk is a proven choice. If your music lives in Serato on a Mac, Crate Cleaner checks every track in the library for free with no cap, shows which crates the fakes are in, and can repair the tracks worth keeping.
Fakin’ The Funk reads more formats than Crate Cleaner, which checks the formats Serato plays. Its free version stops at 100 fake files; the full version removes that limit.
Side by side
| Crate Cleaner | Fakin' The Funk | |
|---|---|---|
| What it checks | Every track in your Serato library | Any files or folders you choose |
| How | Frequency cutoff across three spectral windows per track, sorted into four verdicts from clean to fake | Spectral analysis of real bitrate and frequency peak |
| Formats | The formats Serato plays: MP3, FLAC, WAV, AIFF, AAC | MP3, MP4/M4A, OGG, OPUS, FLAC, WMA, AAC, ALAC, MPC, SPX, TTA, WAV and more |
| Free limit | None: unlimited on every plan | Free version limited to 100 fake files |
| Serato crates | Shows the fakes in your library and crates; Pre-Gig Check flags them per crate | Not Serato-aware |
| Repair | Declipping and loudness repair: 100 tracks a month free, unlimited on Pro | Detection only; also flags corrupt and unreadable files |
| Platforms | Mac | Windows, Mac (10.15+), Linux |
| Price | Scan free; Pro $9/mo | €15.99 one-time, updates included |
Checked on each vendor’s own site in September 2026.
Choose Fakin’ The Funk if…
Choose Crate Cleaner if…
Other options
Spectro is a Mac app ($24.99 one-time, macOS 13 or later) that sorts files into lossless, medium and fake verdicts and tags them in Finder; its Serato support is listed as coming soon. Music Library Doctor scores tracks from 1 to 10 in its paid tier and reads Serato libraries. The method all of them rely on is explained in how to spot a fake 320kbps MP3.
FAQ
Run the unlimited quality scan on your real Serato library and see every suspect track.
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