Varys for Plex vs Arrcade
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Varys for Plex
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.
- 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
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Plex Dash? Compare both apps on features.varys-app.com! Varys for Plex connects to your existing Plex Media Server and gives you easy access to several data. This app requires your own Plex Media Server with remote access recommended for use away from home. Please note that most of the features require an active Plex Pass subscription. This app works with servers you are logged in as admin only. Latest version of Plex Media Server is recommended. Free trial of Varys Pro is available! FEATURES - Universal app for iPhone and iPad - App for Apple Watch - Easy app linking with Plex Media Server (incl. two-factor auth support) - List of current streams incl. details like user, player, quality, eta - List of running conversions incl. details like transcoding speed and remaining time - Option to terminate streams with optional message - All details to streamed media e.g. summary, file size, bitrate, resolution, audio/video/subtitle tracks, duration, release date, rating, related media and more - Watch history for media items - Cross linking between related media, track/album/artist, episode/season/tv show - Cross linking to the official Plex app (if installed) - Cross linking to IMDb, TMDb and TVDb - Fast server switching (if you own multiple Plex Media Servers) - Plex Media Server console - Dark Mode / Light Mode - Compact mode - Face ID/Touch ID support ADDITIONAL FEATURES OF PRO VERSION - Realtime server CPU / RAM / bandwidth monitoring - Complete user management incl. sending/accepting invites and granting/revoking access to libraries, allow/deny sync, and live tv - Plex Media Server update monitoring incl. release notes - Playback history (optionally choose Tautulli as source) - Playback history details (requires separate Tautulli server) - Recently added media - User list incl. playback statistics and filter option - Top played movie/tv show/artist - Statistics graphically represented as charts - List and details of all libraries incl. search and filters with access to all media details without having those streamed - Library size and total duration info - Library statistics - Manual update of libraries - List and manage collections - Change covers and artwork on the go - Authorized devices management - Plex Dance™ - Live TV & DVR guide refresh - Number of current streams as app icon badge - Siri Shortcuts - Huge number of Widgets - Lockscreen Widgets - Dynamic tabs - Multiuser support - Overview over all your servers Varys for Plex is not affiliated with Plex Inc.
Arrcade
Manage your self-hosted media collection with a unified interface. Browse your library, track releases, and control downloads from one app. Discover new content and optimize your storage.
- Unified dashboard for media software
- Release calendar and upcoming view
- Live download queue management
- Cross-service search
- Movie and TV discovery
- Push notifications
- Disk space optimization
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Arrcade is a unified, native interface for managing your self-hosted media library software. Browse your collection, view your release calendar, manage your download queue and stay on top of upcoming releases, all from one app on iPhone, iPad and the web. Arrcade does not provide any media. It is a controller that connects to open-source software you have already installed on your own server. SUPPORTED SERVICES • Sonarr and Radarr for TV and films • Lidarr for music and Listenarr for audiobooks • Prowlarr for indexer management • Bazarr for subtitles • Seerr for requests and discovery • Tautulli for streaming statistics DOWNLOAD CLIENTS • SABnzbd, NZBGet, qBittorrent, Transmission and Deluge FEATURES • A single dashboard for your whole stack • Release calendar and upcoming view • Live download queue and activity • Search across your connected services • Movie and TV discovery powered by TMDB • Connect multiple instances of each service • Push notifications for grabs, downloads and health alerts • Make space: find the old films and TV seasons taking up your disk and delete them safely Arrcade requires Sonarr, Radarr, Prowlarr or another supported open-source service running on your own hardware to function. It is a companion app for software you host yourself. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Arrcade is free to use with two connections. A one-time Pro purchase adds unlimited connections, push notifications and Make space.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Varys for Plex at 4.8 against Arrcade's 1.0. Varys for Plex also leads on ratings volume (1.5K vs 1). Arrcade's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Varys for Plex sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Arrcade sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Varys for Plex holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Varys for Plex has 1.5K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Varys for Plex ships an update every 3 weeks, Arrcade every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Varys for Plex | Arrcade |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (1.5K ratings) — better | 1.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 89.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1.5K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 65 MB | 43 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Tobias Fonfara | Benjamin Morton |
Bugs and requests
Varys for Plex
Reported bugs
3 issues- Restore purchase window keeps appearing
- Connectivity issues when not on local network
- Incorrect audio channel detection
Requested features
6 requests- GPU usage monitoring
- DVR recording status
- Ability to manage users and devices
- Ability to edit metadata
- Ability to rate watched content
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- Support for multiple servers
Arrcade
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Varys for Plex
- Coffee Tall$0.99
- Coffee Grande$2.99
- Varys Pro$3.99
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- Coffee Venti$4.99
Arrcade
- Arrcade Pro$5.99









