Comparison

Liftplay vs Layout Grove

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

Head to head
About

Liftplay

This app allows you to play video streams using M3U and W3U playlists. It supports loading playlists locally or remotely, scanning QR codes, and includes an integrated web browser and smart player. Enjoy your streams with Chromecast & AirPlay support and VR compatibility.

Highlights
  • M3U and W3U playlist support
  • Load local or remote playlists
  • QR code playlist scanning
  • Integrated Web Browser
  • Chromecast & AirPlay support
  • VR compatible
Features
Read full description

Liftplay is a powerful and simple video player for playing video streams. Based on Wiseplay and compatible with m3u and w3u lists. Features - M3U and W3U playlist support. - Load local or remote playlists. - Load lists by scanning QR codes. - Integrated Web Browser. - Integrated Smart Player. - Search. - Chromecast & AirPlay support. - VR compatible. - And much more. Important Liftplay does not include or provide any content what so ever. This means that you should add your playlists to be able to play streams. Disclaimer - Liftplay does not supply or include any media or content. - Users must provide their own content. - Liftplay has no affiliation with any third-party provider. - We do not endorse the streaming of copyright-protected material without permission of the copyright holder.

About

Layout Grove

Features
Read full description

Turn your photos into finished posts — Stories, swipeable carousels and four kinds of vertical reel — without uploading a single one. Layout Grove does the layout work properly. Pick a shape, drop your photos in, frame each one exactly, and export at full resolution straight to your camera roll. SIX WAYS TO LAY OUT A POST Story — arrange up to six photos and videos across 83 built-in layouts, exported at the perfect size for Stories. Gallery Post — slice one photo into two or three seamless panels that swipe as a carousel, cropped pixel-perfect at 1080 × 1350. Reel Slideshow — Ken Burns motion with silky crossfades, exported as vertical video. Split Reel — two landscape strips stacked top and bottom, taking turns as the reel plays. Pan Reveal — a cinematic pan across one landscape photo that pulls back to reveal the whole frame. Photo Drop — photos tumble in one by one and settle into a stack, like prints dropped on a table. DESIGN YOUR OWN LAYOUTS When none of the 83 built-ins is the shape you want, build one. Place up to ten photo wells by hand — drag, pinch, rotate, resize. Cut each well into a circle, diamond, arch, hexagon or triangle, turn the cut a quarter at a time, add a mat, set the corners. Everything snaps to edges, centres and neighbouring wells, and every change undoes. Save it and use it like any other layout. FRAME EVERY PHOTO PROPERLY Pan, zoom, straighten and flip each photo inside its slot. Rotation zooms to keep the frame covered and settles to level when you get close. Adjust spacing, margins and corner radius across a whole layout at once. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account. No sign-up. No analytics, no tracking, no advertising, no third-party SDKs. Your photos are processed entirely on your iPhone and are never uploaded — the only thing Layout Grove ever asks the network is whether you have bought Pro. Drafts live on your device, and deleting the app deletes them. LAYOUT GROVE PRO Layout Grove is free, and everything it does today stays free. The layout builder is free to test in full — every gesture, the inspector, undo and save. Pro is a one-time purchase that lets you export the layouts from the layout builder.

Screenshots

Liftplay4 screens
Layout Grove4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Layout Grove at none against Liftplay's 1. Layout Grove also leads on ads (none vs shown). Liftplay's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price and update cadence 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. Liftplay sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Layout Grove asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Liftplay ships an update every 3 weeks, Layout Grove fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Liftplay versus Layout Grove: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLiftplayLayout Grove
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews31.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size81 MB6 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperApollo Apps, LLCWILLIAM BENJAMIN BURRARD-LUCAS

Bugs and requests

Liftplay

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • App crashes immediately upon opening
  • App closes during startup on iPad
  • Non-functional on Mac with Apple Silicon chips
  • URL input bar disappeared after update
  • M3U playlists won't open
Show 7 more
  • Chromecast connection fails
  • AirPlay not connecting to any device
  • Premium purchase not recognized (ads still appear)
  • Restore purchase required on every app launch
  • App incompatible with iOS 12 devices
  • Video links show crossed-out play button
  • HTML and PHP playlist links not supported

Requested features

10 requests
  • Apple TV version of the app
  • Picture-in-Picture (PIP) mode
  • Functional Chromecast support
  • Functional AirPlay support
  • Playlist backup and export functionality
Show 5 more
  • Ability to name custom playlists
  • Playlist refresh without deletion
  • Support for .mkv file format
  • YouTube link integration
  • Mac M1/M2 compatibility fix

Layout Grove

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Liftplay

One-time1
  • Premium$4.99
None

Layout Grove

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Liftplay free?
Liftplay is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Layout Grove free?
Layout Grove is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Liftplay or Layout Grove have ads?
Liftplay shows ads; Layout Grove does not.
Which is updated more often, Liftplay or Layout Grove?
Liftplay ships an update every 3 weeks, and Layout Grove fortnightly. Most recently, Liftplay was updated on October 15, 2026 and Layout Grove on October 7, 2026.

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