HISTORY Vault vs Frndly TV
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HISTORY Vault
Explore thousands of documentaries and specials about history, from ancient times to modern conflicts. Watch full-length, commercial-free videos on demand, with new content added weekly. Access classic series and discover the events and people that shaped our world.
- Thousands of documentaries and specials
- Commercial-free viewing
- New videos added weekly
- Classic HISTORY Channel series
- No TV provider needed
- On-demand streaming
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Now with over 2,000 videos – HISTORY Channel brings you thousands of documentaries and specials exploring the events and people that shaped our world, from ancient empires to modern warfare, all commercial-free. Watch commercial-free, full-length videos with no TV provider needed. New videos are added weekly, featuring everything from ancient civilizations and World Wars to space exploration. Plus your favorite classic HISTORY Channel series. Watch: • America: The Story of Us • Days That Shaped America • The Men Who Built America • Founding Fathers • Ice Road Truckers And many more! Note: HISTORY Vault content is only available to stream in the United States. Free Trial is only valid for first-time subscribers. Video can only be streamed in the U.S. and U.S. Territories. Payment is charged to the iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Your account will be charged for renewal at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage your subscription and auto-renewal by visiting Account Settings on your device. If you turn off auto-renew during the current subscription period, your subscription will be canceled for the subsequent period. Please visit support.historyvault.com if you are experiencing any issues. Terms of Use: http://www.aenetworks.com/terms Privacy Policy: http://www.aenetworks.com/privacy
Frndly TV
Stream over 50 live and on-demand channels for an affordable price. Enjoy popular networks like A&E, The HISTORY Channel, and Hallmark Channel, with options to record shows and access a 72-hour look back feature.
- 50+ live and on-demand channels
- Record shows and movies
- 72-hour look back feature
- Affordable pricing
- Includes popular networks like A&E and Hallmark
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The most affordable LIVE TV streaming service! Watch 50+ channels including A&E, The HISTORY Channel, MeTV, Hallmark Channel, INSP, Lifetime, LMN, Great American Family & more. Channel List: MeTV Toons, A&E, Hallmark Channel, INSP, Lifetime, Hallmark Mystery, Game Show Network, LMN, FETV, The Weather Channel, Hallmark Family, Court TV, UPtv, FYI, Great American Family, Justice Central, PixL, Outdoor Channel, Bounce, Dove Channel, GREAT, BYUtv, Great American Faith & Living, MILITARY HISTORY, Pursuit Channel, Vice, Local Now, MeTV, QVC, FMC, Story Television, Dove Spirit of the Heart Land, Heroes & Icons, Western Bound, REELZ, WEST, Start TV, Laff, Catchy Comedy, Crime & Investigation, ION, ION Mystery, GRIT, Movies!, MeTV+, aspireTV, TheGrio, Dabl, ION Plus, Tastemade, Stingray Channel Holidayscapes, Stingray Greatest Hits, Stingray Flashback 70s, Stingray Hot Country and MovieSphere Gold.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: HISTORY Vault at none against Frndly TV's shown. HISTORY Vault also leads on rating (3.9 vs 3.6). Frndly TV's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. HISTORY Vault sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Frndly TV sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
HISTORY Vault holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 3.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.1K and 2.5K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 29% of HISTORY Vault's written reviews are positive against 34% of Frndly TV's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
HISTORY Vault ships an update monthly, Frndly TV fortnightly. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.
| Parameter | HISTORY Vault | Frndly TV |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.9 (1.1K ratings) — better | 3.6 (2.5K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 29.1% of reviews | 34.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.1K | 2.5K — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 106 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | A+E Global Media | Frndly TV, Inc |
Customer experience
HISTORY Vault
Frndly TV
User reviews
HISTORY Vault
From 1.1K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great content
- 🚀 Interesting documentaries
- 👍 Variety of historical topics
- 👍 Reasonable subscription price
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy app with frequent crashes
- 🐛 Streaming and downloading issues
- 🐛 Inconsistent user experience across devices
- 🔒 Difficult to cancel subscription
- 🔒 Billing and account issues
Frndly TV
From 2.5K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💕 Great channel selection
- 🎥 Ability to record shows and movies
- 💰 Affordable pricing
- 🕰️ 72-hour look back feature
- 🏠 Family-friendly content
Room to improve
- 🔍 Poor search functionality
- ⏪ Inconsistent resume playback
- 🚨 Frequent app crashes and bugs
- 📺 Excessive commercials and ad breaks
- 🔇 Lack of closed captioning
Bugs and requests
HISTORY Vault
Reported bugs
3 issues- Login and password reset problems
- Incompatibility with certain devices
- Inconsistent content availability
Requested features
5 requests- Add more recent and popular shows
- Improve search and navigation
- Implement resume playback and favorites
- Add Chromecast/casting support
- Provide multi-language options
Frndly TV
Reported bugs
5 issues- App freezes and crashes
- Playback issues (restarts, buffering, out-of-sync audio)
- Inconsistent recording and saving of progress
- Search results not showing recorded content
- Compatibility issues on certain devices
Requested features
5 requests- Picture-in-picture mode
- Ability to record new episodes only
- Channel sorting and filtering options
- Improved fast forward/rewind controls
- Better progress tracking and resume playback
In-app purchases
HISTORY Vault
- History Vault7 Days trial$5.991 Month
- History Vault7 Days trial$59.991 Year
Frndly TV
- Lifetime Movies Club7 Days trial$5.991 Month
- HISTORY Vault7 Days trial$5.991 Month
- Hallmark+7 Days trial$8.991 Month
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Hallmark+ Monthly1 Month trial$8.991 Month
- Frndly TV Basic$8.991 Month
- Classic Monthly7 Days trial$10.991 Month
- Premium Monthly7 Days trial$12.991 Month
- Frndly TV Basic7 Days trial$83.991 Year
- Classic Yearly7 Days trial$95.991 Year
- Premium Yearly7 Days trial$119.991 Year









