Comparison

nPlayer vs PlayActive

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

nPlayer

Play virtually any video or audio file format without conversion. Stream media from remote devices and cloud services, and control playback with intuitive gestures. Offers extensive subtitle and audio codec support for a seamless viewing experience.

Highlights
  • Plays all video and audio formats without conversion
  • Streams media from network devices and cloud services
  • Supports DTS and Dolby audio codecs
  • Advanced subtitle customization and synchronization
  • Gesture-based playback controls
  • Hardware acceleration for H.264, HEVC, AV1
Features
Read full description

** nPlayer officially supports DTS (DTS HD ), DTS Headphone:X. ** nPlayer supports Dolby (AC3, E-AC3). ** nPlayer is the universal app. You can install it in any other iOS device without additional purchase. - You don't need to convert video files to MP4 to play them in your mobile device. nPlayer enable you to play all kinds of video formats and codecs without file converting efforts. - You don't need to store video files in your device with limited storage space. nPlayer's powerful and various network technologies will help you to stream them from remote devices. - With your finger tip, you can adjust playback position, move to previous and next subtitle position, adjust location and font size of subtitles, control volume and brightness. - Experience nPlayer, thousands of users recommendations. * Features - Supports officially DTS audio codec (DTS HD) - Supports Dolby audio codec (AC3, E-AC3) - Supports iXpand Drive - Supports Chromecast - Supports video cast for Smart TV - Supports HDMI output - Supports video files : MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, WMV, ASF, FLV, OGV, RMVB, TP etc. - Supports audio files : MP3, WAV, WMA, FLAC, APE etc. - Supports subtitle files : SMI, SRT, SSA, IDX, SUB, LRC, SUP, MLP2 etc. - Supports image files : JPG, PNG, BMP, GIF, TIFF etc. - Supports playlist files : CUE, M3U, PLS - Supports WebDAV, FTP, SFTP, HTTP, SMB/CIFS, NFS - Supports UPnP/DLNA (supports subtitles if DLNA server provides subtitles information.) - Supports cloud service (Box, Dropbox, OneDrive, Yandex.Disk) - Supports in-app web browser - Supports iTunes video/audio play (except for DRM contents) - Supports videos and pictures in Album - Playback speed control : 0.5x ~ 4.0x - Resume playback - AB repeat(specific section repetition) - Screen lock - Supports AV1/HEVC/H.264/MPEG4 Hardware acceleration - Supports 3D video mode - Screen flip horizontally, vertically. brightness and saturation control - Aspect ratio : Default, 1:1, 3:2, 4:3, 5:3, 16:9, 1.85:1 etc - Supports multi-track audio - Supports audio boost - Supports audio sync - Supports lyrics display - Supports Dolby, DTS HDMI Bitstream (Passthru) - Supports embedded subtitles - Supports multi-track subtitles - Supports user’s selection of subtitle files - Supports addition of optional subtitle files while playback - Supports subtitles font, color, shadow, outline customization - Supports subtitles sync - Supports external subtitle fonts - Supports SAMI(SMI) tag - Supports SSA/ASS with full styling, embedded subtitles - File management : Delete, Move, Rename, Create a folder - Playlist management : Add, Delete, Modify - Supports recently played list - Folder lock - Supports Open-in - Supports UI theme * Gesture Features - Tap : Menu - Double tap : Pop-up play - Drag horizontally : Playback position adjustment - Drag vertically on right half of the screen : Volume control - Drag vertically on left half of the screen : Brightness control - Pinch on the screen : Screen size adjustment - Drag horizontally on subtitle text : Move to previous/next subtitle text - Drag vertically on subtitle text : Subtitle position adjustment - Pinch on subtitle text : Subtitle font size adjustment - Supports finger gesture customization

About

PlayActive

Features
Read full description

PlayActive is the easiest way to run and play live pub quizzes. 1. Discover & follow pubs: Find participating pubs and get notified about quiz nights. 2. Table-vs-Table mode: Join your table and compete live with real-time updates. 3. QuizMaster tools: Queue questions, start/stop rounds, lock answers, and announce winners. 4. Projector view: TV-safe layout for timers, questions, sponsors, and standings. 5. Fair scoring: Tie-breakers, penalties, and consistent leaderboards. 6. Lightweight onboarding: Quick signup for Players, Pub Owners, and QuizMasters. 7. Sponsor placements (pilot): Non-intrusive brand slots on lobby/scoreboard.

Screenshots

nPlayer4 screens
PlayActive4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: PlayActive at Free against nPlayer's $4.99. nPlayer's advantage is chart position (#30 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

PlayActive is free to download; nPlayer costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

nPlayer ships an update every 9 days, PlayActive every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
nPlayer versus PlayActive: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameternPlayerPlayActive
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (1.9K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews53.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.9K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
Best chart rank#30 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size61 MB43 MB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperNewin Inc.PlayActive AS

Bugs and requests

nPlayer

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Playback position not saved after app exit
  • Inability to connect to some network drives
  • Inconsistent behavior when playing certain video formats
  • Subtitles not displayed correctly in some cases

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add support for Apple TV
  • Improve Chromecast support
  • Implement sleep timer for audio
  • Allow customization of subtitle size/color
  • Add option to disable metadata fetching
Show 1 more
  • Improve file sorting and playlist management

PlayActive

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

nPlayer

No in-app purchases

None

PlayActive

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is nPlayer free?
nPlayer costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is PlayActive free?
PlayActive is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do nPlayer or PlayActive have ads?
Neither nPlayer nor PlayActive shows ads.
Which is updated more often, nPlayer or PlayActive?
nPlayer ships an update every 9 days, and PlayActive every 2 weeks. Most recently, nPlayer was updated on November 2, 2026 and PlayActive on October 28, 2026.

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