Comparison

Kanopy vs ReelAthon

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

Head to head
About

Kanopy

Access a vast library of films and documentaries for free with your library card. Enjoy ad-free streaming of award-winning movies, The Criterion Collection, and curated content for children, with new titles added regularly.

Highlights
  • Free film streaming
  • Ad-free viewing
  • Library card required
  • Festival award-winning films
  • Documentaries
  • The Criterion Collection
  • Kanopy Kids with parental controls
Features
Read full description

Stream thousands of films for free without ads through your library. Sign up with your library card and start watching festival award-winning films, thought-provoking documentaries, The Criterion Collection, and more with new titles added weekly. Browse Kanopy Kids for unlimited age-appropriate shows and movies with access to parental controls. Available on mobile, web, and living room devices.

About

ReelAthon

Discover curated movie marathons based on themes, franchises, or moods. Easily plan, track, and share your viewing experiences with friends. Features a "Wheel of Boom" for spontaneous movie selection and family-safe options.

Highlights
  • Curated movie marathons
  • Franchise and theme-based lineups
  • Wheel of Boom for random selection
  • Build and share custom marathons
  • Track watched films and rate them
  • Family-safe viewing option
Features
Read full description

Never argue about what to watch again. ReelAthon turns movie night into the best part of the week. Instead of scrolling for an hour, pick a mood, a franchise, or a theme and get a ready-made marathon: a hand-curated lineup of films that actually belong together. Over 1,100 movies, organized into more than 100 marathons, every one built by a person who loves movies, not an algorithm. BROWSE MARATHONS FOR EVERY OCCASION - Franchises in the right order, old and new: Planet of the Apes from 1968 to today, every Mission: Impossible, Dune, Mad Max, and dozens more - Themes with real depth: Fists of Fury, Spy Games, Dark and Brooding Heroes, Epic Romances, Whodunits, Kaiju and Titans - End of the World, sliced ten ways: killer robots, rogue AI, alien invasion, Big Brother regimes, nuclear war, outbreaks, natural disaster, the wasteland, and the walking dead - Holiday lineups for Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day, and more - Career marathons for your favorite actors and characters CAN'T DECIDE? SPIN Tap the Wheel of Boom and a slot-machine drum picks tonight's movie for you, tuned to your taste. Don't like it? Spin again. PLAN, TRACK, AND SHARE - Build your own marathon by hand-picking films, then save it or send it to a friend, who can import it with one tap - Set a pace and get a finish date, with evening reminders so the lineup actually gets watched - Mark films watched, rate them, and uncover a "Did you know?" fact on every title - Earn a Reel Buddy card that levels up as you watch, and share it anywhere MADE FOR EVERY COUCH Tell ReelAthon who's watching. Turn on "Watching with kids" and every marathon stays family-safe automatically. Pick a vibe for the night without changing your saved tastes. ONE PRICE, YOURS FOREVER ReelAthon is free to browse. Unlock the full version with a single purchase to open every marathon, build unlimited lineups, plan your binges, and share them. No subscription. No account required. Everything stays on your device. Stop scrolling. Start watching.

Screenshots

Kanopy4 screens
ReelAthon4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Kanopy at none against ReelAthon's 1. Kanopy also leads on ratings volume (153K vs 2) and chart position (#193 vs unranked). ReelAthon's advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 2 weeks) and review sentiment (100% vs 72%). On price, ads and iOS requirement 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. ReelAthon sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Kanopy asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ReelAthon holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Kanopy has 153K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of Kanopy's written reviews are positive against 100% of ReelAthon's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Kanopy ships an update every 2 weeks, ReelAthon daily. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Kanopy versus ReelAthon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKanopyReelAthon
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (153K ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews71.9% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings153K — better2
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#193 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size103 MB44 MB
Age rating12+17+
DeveloperKanopyBrandon Henrie

Customer experience

Kanopy

All ratings152,540 ratings
Positive95.9%
Neutral2.1%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews816 reviews
Positive71.9%
Neutral7.7%
Negative20.3%

ReelAthon

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Kanopy

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App crashes and freezes frequently
  • Login issues, unable to sign in or access account
  • Chromecast and TV streaming problems
  • Video playback issues, including blurry or out of sync
  • Inconsistent behavior when resuming or rewatching movies

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add ability to pause, rewind, and resume movies without using credits
  • Improve search and browsing functionality
  • Provide more content filtering and parental control options
  • Add support for offline viewing and downloads
  • Enhance Chromecast and TV integration
Show 1 more
  • Improve video quality and playback stability

ReelAthon

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Kanopy

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

ReelAthon

One-time1
  • Lifetime$2.99

Questions

Is Kanopy free?
Kanopy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ReelAthon free?
ReelAthon is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Kanopy or ReelAthon?
ReelAthon is rated higher. Kanopy averages 4.8 out of 5 from 153K ratings, while ReelAthon averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Kanopy or ReelAthon have ads?
Neither Kanopy nor ReelAthon shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Kanopy or ReelAthon?
Kanopy ships an update every 2 weeks, and ReelAthon daily. Most recently, Kanopy was updated on November 1, 2026 and ReelAthon on October 21, 2026.

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