Comparison

DS cam vs Plex Dash

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

Head to head
About

DS cam

Monitor and receive alerts from your Synology surveillance cameras. Control PTZ, patrols, and lens functions in real-time. Easily filter recordings and manage essential tasks like disabling cameras or deleting snapshots.

Highlights
  • Real-time camera monitoring
  • Alert notifications
  • PTZ, patrol, and lens control
  • Advanced recording filters
  • Essential management tasks
  • Snapshot management
Features
Read full description

You must own a Synology NAS or NVR to run this app, and be running the latest Surveillance Station to get the complete set of features. DS cam makes it possible to monitor and receive alert notifications from all your surveillance cameras set up on a Synology DiskStation. Smart features such as PTZ, patrols or lens control allow for perfect control of your cameras in real-time, while advanced filters make it easy to pinpoint any specific event from large lists of recordings. You can even perform all essential management tasks, from disabling a camera to unlocking and deleting a snapshot. Find all detailed features about the app on our website: www.synology.com > Solutions > Surveillance > Surveillance Mobile > Specifications https://www.synology.com/dsm/7.2/software_spec/surveillance_station

About

Plex Dash

Monitor your Plex Media Server in real-time. Track streams, DVR recordings, and server resources with detailed graphs. Manage media artwork and refresh libraries directly from your device.

Highlights
  • Real-time playback status
  • DVR recording monitoring
  • Bandwidth and resource graphs
  • Top media and user history
  • Artwork management
  • Library refresh
  • Server log inspection
Features
Read full description

** You'll need a Plex Media Server and an active Plex Pass to use this app ** ** From the same people who brought you the Plex app ** ** PS - If you’re new to Plex, download the Plex app first ** Pop quiz, hotshot: how many streams is your Plex Media Server dishing out RIGHT NOW? What’s your most-watched movie in the past month? Is that CPU you picked up from a sketchy eBay vendor up to the task? More importantly, are you sure that’s the best poster for Speed (1994)? Plex Dash is a tool created by obsessive Plex Media Server admins for obsessive Plex Media Server admins. Get real-time status of playbacks, DVR recordings, Sync conversions, and more. Monitor bandwidth and server resources with sexy graphs. Dig deeper and learn about top items or individual user history. Fix up artwork. Refresh libraries. Inspect nerdy media details. If it all goes south, check out the raw server logs. MASTER YOUR MEDIAVERSE Who’s streaming what right now? Plex Dash answers in spades. Gorgeous Now Playing tiles keep you apprised of all the latest shenanigans, across all of your servers. Put that giant iPad to great use by duct-taping it to the wall (landscape, duh); lean back, pet your hairless cat, and keep an eye on your empire. DIVE UNDER THE HOOD Server up to something? DVR recording? Media Optimizer doing its… optimizing? You get a chonky lightning bolt to make sure this doesn’t go unnoticed. ONE-HANDED CURATION Browse and change artwork from the palm of your hand while checking out at your local co-op. It’s like that other swipey app, but with less risk of disease.

Screenshots

DS cam4 screens
Plex Dash4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Plex Dash at 81% against DS cam's 32%. Plex Dash also leads on rating (4.6 vs 3.0) and update cadence (monthly vs every 4 months). DS cam's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Plex Dash holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Plex Dash has 2.2K ratings behind it against 172, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 32% of DS cam's written reviews are positive against 81% of Plex Dash's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

DS cam ships an update every 4 months, Plex Dash monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
DS cam versus Plex Dash: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDS camPlex Dash
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (172 ratings)4.6 (2.2K ratings) — better
Positive reviews31.8% of reviews81.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1722.2K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size85 MB36 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSynology Inc.Plex Inc.

Customer experience

DS cam

All ratings172 ratings
Positive41.3%
Neutral14.0%
Negative44.8%
Written reviews283 reviews
Positive31.8%
Neutral18.0%
Negative50.2%

Plex Dash

All ratings2,151 ratings
Positive91.9%
Neutral2.5%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews588 reviews
Positive81.1%
Neutral5.8%
Negative13.1%

User reviews

DS cam

From 172 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Works great
  • 👍 Good and useful app
  • 🚀 Fast and stable
  • 👍 Completely control camera recordings
  • 👍 Toggle through events easily

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Regular app crashing
  • 🐛 Crashes frequently
  • 🐛 Cannot scroll back in timeline without issues
  • 🐛 Event viewer rarely works
  • 🐛 Slow and clunky

Plex Dash

From 2.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Useful for monitoring server status
  • 🚀 Convenient mobile access to server information
  • 💡 Ability to change artwork remotely
  • 🔒 Works seamlessly with Plex account
  • 👍 Easy to set up and use

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or bugs
  • 🔍 Limited functionality compared to web interface
  • 🔍 Clunky navigation and user interface
  • 🔍 Lacking advanced server management features
  • 🔍 Slow to update or refresh server information

Bugs and requests

DS cam

Reported bugs

16 issues
  • Regular app crashing
  • Cannot scroll back in timeline without issues
  • Event viewer rarely works
  • Keeps buffering
  • Crashes constantly
Show 11 more
  • Battery drain
  • Push notifications not reliable
  • Cannot click on push notifications
  • Cannot download h265 videos
  • Notifications missing thumbnails
  • Slow login process
  • Loses remembered connections
  • Slow to connect
  • Notifications stopped working
  • Crashes iPhone 14 Pro
  • Incompatible with older Surveillance Station versions

Requested features

11 requests
  • Selective motion notifications
  • Custom notification sounds
  • Ability to categorize alerts
  • Live scrubbing on timeline
  • Bookmarks and advanced filtering
Show 6 more
  • Ability to download h265 videos
  • Faster login process
  • Ability to retain remembered connections
  • Apple TV app
  • Dark mode for all screens
  • Ability to quickly switch between cameras

Plex Dash

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Difficulty connecting to server or finding servers
  • Crashes when viewing server graphs
  • Inaccurate or incomplete playback history

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add ability to manage users and permissions
  • Integrate more server administration functions
  • Improve library browsing and media details
  • Provide more detailed playback statistics
  • Add support for GPU monitoring
Show 1 more
  • Allow remote server control and updates

In-app purchases

None

DS cam

No in-app purchases

None

Plex Dash

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is DS cam free?
DS cam is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Plex Dash free?
Plex Dash is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, DS cam or Plex Dash?
Plex Dash is rated higher. DS cam averages 3.0 out of 5 from 172 ratings, while Plex Dash averages 4.6 from 2.2K ratings.
Do DS cam or Plex Dash have ads?
Neither DS cam nor Plex Dash shows ads.
Which is updated more often, DS cam or Plex Dash?
DS cam ships an update every 4 months, and Plex Dash monthly. Most recently, DS cam was updated on September 24, 2026 and Plex Dash on September 22, 2026.

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