Comparison

Night Flight Plus vs Play Dead

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

Head to head
About

Night Flight Plus

Relive the iconic 1980s broadcast with full episodes, rare interviews, and artist profiles. Access thousands of classic music videos and cult films across various genres. Enjoy a vast collection of pop culture gems and nostalgic content.

Highlights
  • Full episodes from original series
  • Rare interviews and artist profiles
  • Thousands of classic stereo music videos
  • Hundreds of cult, comedy, and horror films
  • No ads
Features
Read full description

"Are You a Pop Culture-Obsessed Weirdo? Try Night Flight Plus." — The New York Times. Night Flight is back! The original Night Flight was broadcast all night long on the USA Cable Network from 1981-1988 on Friday and Saturday nights. Passionately remembered by millions, VH1 recently called Night Flight one the "10 Greatest Hard Rock Shows of All Time" and the single greatest rock omnibus program ever aired. Get Back In The Daze with the revival of this beloved and influential show with full episodes from the original series that include rare interviews, experimental video and hours of artist profiles. No Ads, Ever! With a Night Flight subscription, you also get access to thousands of classic stereo music videos from the 1980s and hundreds of hard to find full-length films from the cult, comedy, documentaries, horror and B movie genres. Night Flight Plus Pricing: • Subscription 1 Month - USD [6.99]* • Subscription 1 Year - USD [59.99]* * For non-US app stores, the equivalent currency charges will apply. Please note: App subscriptions do not include access to subscription-only content on our website. Additional Subscription Information: • Payment will be charged to the iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. • Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renewal is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. • The account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. • Subscriptions may be managed by the user, and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user’s Account Settings after purchase. • No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during the active subscription period. Privacy Policy - https://www.nightflightplus.com/privacy_policy Terms of Use - https://www.nightflightplus.com/terms • Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable.

About

Play Dead

Access a vast library of officially remastered live Grateful Dead concert recordings. Discover previously unreleased shows every week, including rare CD-only releases now available in high-resolution audio. Listen across your devices with seamless playback.

Highlights
  • Official Grateful Dead live recordings
  • Hi-res remastered audio
  • Exclusive 'Dead Drops' weekly
  • CD-only releases now streaming
  • Vault organized by year
  • Cross-device listening
  • Apple CarPlay support
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Play Dead is the official Grateful Dead streaming app, offering unprecedented hi-res access to the Grateful Dead Vault of live recordings. For the first time, the band’s live legacy is brought together in a single official streaming service, with newly transferred and mastered recordings from the original sources. Previously unreleased shows - called Dead Drops - will be available every Tuesday, augmenting the catalog of official live Grateful Dead releases, many of which have never been available on any streaming service. The Vault Unlocked Exclusive Hi-Res Recordings Access new high resolution transfers, mastered for the first time and available exclusively on Play Dead. Dead Drops Every Tuesday Previously unreleased recordings added, every Tuesday, curated by Grateful Dead archivist and legacy manager David Lemieux, mastered for the first time by David Glasser. CD-Only Releases, Now Streaming Shows previously available only on CD from box sets and Dave’s Picks are now streaming for the first time -only on Play Dead- in higher-than-CD-quality. The Vault by Year Live recordings are presented in order of performance date for the first time in the band’s history. Play Dead brings together three decades of live recordings into a single, evolving app designed for both longtime Dead Heads and those who just got on the bus. Listen Anywhere Listen and resume listening across devices, including Apple CarPlay. Subscription Subscriptions available starting at $9.99/month or $99.99/year. Official Access to the Grateful Dead Vault Created for Grateful Dead Productions and Rhino Entertainment, longtime stewards of the Grateful Dead catalog. Built by nugs, the leading platform for live music. For nugs Subscribers Play Dead is also available as an add-on to nugs. PlayDead Payment and Auto-Renewal Terms: Play Dead offers auto-renewing monthly and annual subscriptions to stream music from the Play Dead catalog. Two subscription types are available, monthly (30 days) and annual (365 days). All subscriptions auto-renew. A Play Dead monthly subscription is $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year for new users. Plans auto-renew at $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year after the first year. Payment will be charged to the iTunes Account at the time of your purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Accounts will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the users Account Settings after purchase. Terms of Use at http://nugs.net/terms.aspx Privacy Policy at http://nugs.net/privacy.aspx

Screenshots

Night Flight Plus4 screens
Play Dead4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Play Dead at free with in-app purchases against Night Flight Plus's subscription. Play Dead also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (64% vs 43%). Night Flight Plus's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 4.3) and ratings volume (790 vs 93). On price, update cadence and in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. Night Flight Plus sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month and Play Dead sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Night Flight Plus holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Night Flight Plus has 790 ratings behind it against 93, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 43% of Night Flight Plus's written reviews are positive against 64% of Play Dead's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Night Flight Plus ships an update every 3 weeks, Play Dead every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Night Flight Plus versus Play Dead: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNight Flight PlusPlay Dead
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (790 ratings) — better4.3 (93 ratings)
Positive reviews43.3% of reviews64.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings790 — better93
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 4 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank—#111 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size77 MB88 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperNight Flight Inc.nugs.net enterprises, LLC

Customer experience

Night Flight Plus

All ratings742 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral3.2%
Negative9.3%
Written reviews90 reviews
Positive43.3%
Neutral10.0%
Negative46.7%

Play Dead

All ratings92 ratings
Positive80.4%
Neutral8.7%
Negative10.9%
Written reviews42 reviews
Positive64.3%
Neutral14.3%
Negative21.4%

Bugs and requests

Night Flight Plus

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Crashes
  • Logging out issues
  • Unavailable content
  • Playback issues
  • Casting issues
Show 1 more
  • UI/UX problems

Requested features

7 requests
  • Sync across devices
  • Clickable categories
  • Continue Watching
  • Favorites sync
  • Landscape mode
Show 2 more
  • Subtitles/captions
  • Live schedule

Play Dead

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Night Flight Plus

Subscriptions2
  • Night Flight Monthly7 Days trial$6.991 Month
  • Night Flight Annual7 Days trial$59.991 Year
2 purchases

Play Dead

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Yearly$99.991 Year

Questions

Is Night Flight Plus free?
Night Flight Plus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Play Dead free?
Play Dead is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Night Flight Plus or Play Dead?
Night Flight Plus is rated higher. Night Flight Plus averages 4.6 out of 5 from 790 ratings, while Play Dead averages 4.3 from 93 ratings.
Do Night Flight Plus or Play Dead have ads?
Night Flight Plus shows ads; Play Dead does not.
Which is updated more often, Night Flight Plus or Play Dead?
Night Flight Plus ships an update every 3 weeks, and Play Dead every 4 weeks. Most recently, Night Flight Plus was updated on October 29, 2026 and Play Dead on October 28, 2026.

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