Vinegar vs ThreadMaster
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Vinegar
Enhance your YouTube viewing experience by replacing the default player with a streamlined HTML video tag. Enjoy ad-free playback, enable picture-in-picture, and listen to videos in the background with audio-only mode.
- Replaces YouTube player with HTML5
- Removes ads
- Restores picture-in-picture
- Background audio playback
- Minimal interface
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Vinegar is a Safari extension that replaces the YouTube player with a minimal HTML video tag. It removes ads, restores picture-in-picture, and allows videos to play in the background when set to audio-only quality. Note: The phrase 'can read and alter webpages' in the permissions section is just an unfortunate choice of words. Vinegar needs access to the webpage to find the YouTube player and replace it. It's not doing anything creepy! (Also, do check out Vinegar's companion app, Baking Soda. It's essentially a less powerful version of Vinegar, but it works on all websites except YouTube.)
ThreadMaster
Browse multiple forums and communities with advanced features like NG filters, unread tracking, and dark mode. Save favorite threads, track browsing history, and participate in discussions. Optimized for fast, organized reading on various devices.
- Multi-forum browsing
- NG filters (threads, boards, regex)
- Unread tracking
- Favorites and history
- Dark mode
- Thumbnail and link previews
- Thread creation and posting
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◆ Multi-Forum Viewer with Advanced Features ThreadMaster is a powerful forum viewer for browsing threads across multiple boards and communities. It includes advanced features like NG filters, unread tracking, differential loading, and dark mode. Whether you check daily updates or follow long discussions, ThreadMaster keeps reading fast and organized. ◆ Main Features - Favorites: Save threads and boards for easy access. - Browsing History: Track your viewed threads. - Thread Creation: Start your own discussions. - Posting: Participate in discussions by posting your comments. - Thumbnail Display: View image URLs as thumbnails. - Anchor Link Preview: Preview links before clicking. - ID Post List: View posts grouped by each user ID. - Dark Mode: Comfortable browsing at night. - iPad Support: Optimized for larger screens. - Highlight Own Posts: Easily find your comments. - Cache Deletion: Free up storage space. - Sage Button: Don't bump threads when you post. - Differential Reading: Update threads with new posts only. - Unread Counts: See the number of unread posts in favorites and thread lists. - Read Items Grouping: Organize read items in thread lists. - Automatic Image Loading: Manage image loading preferences. - Mosaic Feature: Add mosaics to images. - Rich Thread Sorting: Various sorting options for threads. - Regular Expression NG: Filter threads by body, email, or name. - Board NG: Filter out unwanted boards. - Thread NG: Filter out unwanted threads. - In-thread Search: Find specific content within threads. ◆ Supported Services - Supports multiple forum and board services. - Additional compatibility updates are delivered continuously. *We plan to add more features based on your requests.* ◆ Bug Reports We welcome feedback and bug reports within the app or through the following forms: - Feedback: https://forms.gle/GfPPr37Cyya1msGX9 - Please use this instead of app reviews. - Bug Reports: https://forms.gle/ndAVLvmPbXo25pEEA - Current bugs are listed here. ◆ Terms of Service For detailed terms, please refer to: https://hackmd.io/W8T2gLO-TRmQj-5nxfocdw
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: ThreadMaster at Free against Vinegar's $1.99. ThreadMaster also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.2). Vinegar's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and ads (none vs shown). On update cadence 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
ThreadMaster is free to download; Vinegar costs $1.99 up front. ThreadMaster sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Vinegar asks for nothing beyond the download.
ThreadMaster holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Vinegar has 761 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 64% of Vinegar's written reviews are positive against 33% of ThreadMaster's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Vinegar ships an update every 3 days, ThreadMaster every 4 days. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.
| Parameter | Vinegar | ThreadMaster |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.2 (761 ratings) | 5.0 (11 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 64.1% of reviews — better | 33.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 761 — better | 11 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days — better | Every 4 days |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | #58 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 102 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | And a Dinosaur | Kazumasa Shimomura |
Customer experience
Vinegar
ThreadMaster
Bugs and requests
Vinegar
Reported bugs
8 issues- Videos default to mute audio
- Doesn't work with AirPlay
- Playback issues when switching apps or rotating device
- Toolbar buttons not working
- Video player crashes when rotating device
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- Inconsistent video quality selection
- Doesn't update video history
- Doesn't remember playback speed settings
Requested features
9 requests- Add playback speed options
- Add support for chapters
- Add option to disable ad blocker
- Add option to disable extension on certain sites
- Add support for higher resolutions and HDR
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- Add support for Chromecast
- Add keyboard shortcuts for navigation
- Add option to always start in theater mode
- Add option to default to highest available quality
ThreadMaster
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Vinegar
No in-app purchases
ThreadMaster
- VIPプラン7 Days trial$3.991 Month
- VIPプラン7 Days trial$34.991 Year
- Donation$0.29
- Donation$0.49
- Donation$2.99
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- Donation$5.99
- Donation$9.99
- Lifetime VIP$59.99
- Donation$199.99
- Donation$599.99








