123Play vs ROW8
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
123Play
Discover popular movies and TV shows available on the iTunes Store. This app provides instant access to the latest titles, including those currently in theaters. Easily explore by genre, search for specific content, and find top-rated or upcoming releases.
- Discover movies and TV shows
- Search by genre, title, or actor
- Find popular and upcoming titles
- Real-time updates from TMDb
- See currently playing/airing content
- Check iTunes availability
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123Play - Movies & TV Shows: Find Your Favorite Entertainment Instantly! 123Play is your ultimate guide to discovering the best movies and TV shows on the iTunes Store. With just a click, you can access the latest, most popular titles, including movies currently in theaters. Green Play Button means availability on iTunes. Key Features: Explore movies & TV shows by genre Search for movies, series, or actors Discover top-rated, upcoming, and popular titles Real-time updates from TMDb service Now playing & airing TV shows Start streaming now! Download 123Play today.
ROW8
Access the newest movies directly from theaters, ahead of their release on subscription services. This app offers a pay-per-view model, meaning you only pay for the films you choose to watch.
- Latest movies from theaters
- Early access before streaming
- Pay-per-view model
- No subscription required
- Movie Love Guaranteed
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ROW8 brings you the latest movies, fresh from the theaters and before subscription streaming services. No subscription ever - you only pay for what you watch. Movie Love Guaranteed!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: 123Play at 3.7 against ROW8's 3.3. 123Play also leads on ratings volume (7K vs 48). ROW8's advantage is review sentiment (38% vs 15%) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, update cadence, ads 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
Both are free to download. 123Play sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and ROW8 sells 21 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
123Play holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: 123Play has 7K ratings behind it against 48, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 15% of 123Play's written reviews are positive against 38% of ROW8's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
123Play ships an update every 3 months, ROW8 every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | 123Play | ROW8 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.7 (7K ratings) — better | 3.3 (48 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 14.8% of reviews | 37.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 7K — better | 48 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 25 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | David Buhauer | Philo |
Customer experience
123Play
ROW8
Bugs and requests
123Play
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crashes on launch
- Doesn't load movies
- Redirects to iTunes instead of playing movies
Requested features
3 requests- Allow watching movies for free
- Fix crashing issues
- Improve functionality to actually watch movies
ROW8
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
123Play
- Remove Ads$1.99
ROW8
- 2.99 HD Movie Rental$2.99
- 3.99 HD Movie Rental$3.99
- 4.99 HD Movie Rental$4.99
Show 18 moreShow fewer
- 5.99 HD Movie Rental$5.99
- 6.99 HD Movie Rental$6.99
- 7.99 HD Movie Purchase$7.99
- 9.99 HD Movie Purchase$9.99
- 9.99 HD Movie Rental$9.99
- 11.99 HD Movie Purchase$11.99
- 12.99 HD Movie Purchase$12.99
- 13.99 HD Movie Purchase$13.99
- 14.99 HD Movie Purchase$14.99
- 18.99 HD Movie Rental$18.99
- 18.99 HD Movie Purchase$18.99
- 19.99 HD Movie Rental$19.99
- 19.99 HD Movie Purchase$19.99
- 23.99 HD Movie Purchase$23.99
- 24.99 HD Movie Rental$24.99
- 24.99 HD Movie Purchase$24.99
- 28.99 HD Movie Purchase$28.99
- 29.99 HD Movie Purchase$29.99
