# Varys for Plex vs Smart

The clearest difference is price: Varys for Plex at Free against Smart's $2.99. Varys for Plex also leads on device support (3 vs 1). Smart's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). On ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Varys for Plex is free to download; Smart costs $2.99 up front. Varys for Plex sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Smart asks for nothing beyond the download.

Varys for Plex ships an update every 3 weeks, Smart weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Varys for Plex | Smart |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $2.99 |
| Rating | **[4.8 (1.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/varys-for-plex/id1450380518/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **1.5K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 89.5% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 65 MB | 8 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.0** | 18.5 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Tobias Fonfara](https://appshunter.io/developer/429395867) | [Waqar Chaudhry](https://appshunter.io/developer/1670203257) |

## What reviewers say

### Varys for Plex

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/varys-for-plex/id1450380518)

Monitor your Plex Media Server's activity and health. View current streams, running conversions, and detailed media information. Manage users, libraries, and server updates with advanced features available in the Pro version.

**Highlights:** Monitor current streams and conversions, View detailed media information, Manage users and libraries, Server update monitoring, Real-time server resource monitoring (Pro), Cross-linking to IMDb, TMDb, TVDb, Apple Watch app

**Features:** Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Coffee Tall | $0.99 | one-time |
| Coffee Grande | $2.99 | one-time |
| Varys Pro | $3.99 | one-time |
| Coffee Venti | $4.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Efficient monitoring
- 👍 Clean and intuitive UI
- 🔒 Remote access without VPN
- 💡 Tautulli integration
- 👍 Comprehensive server stats

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes
- 🐛 Restore purchase issue
- 🔒 Limited functionality without Plex Pass
- 🐛 Incorrect audio channel detection
- 🐛 Unreliable notifications

**Reported bugs**

- Restore purchase window keeps appearing
- Connectivity issues when not on local network
- Incorrect audio channel detection

**Requested features**

- GPU usage monitoring
- DVR recording status
- Ability to manage users and devices
- Ability to edit metadata
- Ability to rate watched content


### Smart

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smart-pocket/id6753141793)

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Varys for Plex free?

Varys for Plex is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Smart free?

Smart costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Varys for Plex or Smart have ads?

Neither Varys for Plex nor Smart shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Varys for Plex or Smart?

Varys for Plex ships an update every 3 weeks, and Smart weekly. Most recently, Varys for Plex was updated on November 2, 2026 and Smart on November 5, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*