Comparison

FileBrowser vs File Explorer & Player [Pro]

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

Head to head
About

FileBrowser

Access and manage files across your home computers, network drives, and cloud storage. Upload, download, copy, and edit documents directly from your device, with built-in viewers for various file types and streaming capabilities.

Highlights
  • Connect to computers, NAS, and cloud storage
  • Upload, download, copy, and move files
  • Multi-tabbed browsing and split-screen support
  • Edit documents in-place
  • Built-in viewers for documents, photos, and media
  • Stream movies and music with AirPlay/Chromecast
  • Annotate PDFs and images
Read full description

Use your iPad or iPhone to connect to your home computers, network drives and cloud storage. Easily upload/download/copy files and folders from one location to another, and browse your content using a variety of built-in viewers. *** FileBrowser remains the best option if you're looking for a file manager that supports a variety of external connections and also integrates deeply with iOS - Federico Viticci - MacStories *** *** FileBrowser's setup varies for every device, and the automatic wizards work super-well. Charlie Sorrel - Cult of Mac *** Ultra-fast browsing of your computers. Faster than Windows Explorer or Mac Finder and our users agree! GET ORGANIZED FileBrowser gives you everything you need to keep your files effortlessly organized: Move, edit, delete, rename, copy, zip and unzip. Download files from the web and paste them wherever you choose. MULTI-TABBED BROWSING Our FileBrowser suite of apps are the first file management apps to support multiple tabs. Connect to many of your locations at once and switch between them with ease. Use iPadOS split-screen mode to drag & drop between multiple windows. CONNECT TO Windows, Mac, Linux, Time Capsule, NAS drives, portable WiFi drives, SMB, Samba. Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, WebDAV, FTP and SFTP. Link to the same cloud storage with multiple accounts, if you have more than one Dropbox account, for example. EXTEND THE FILES APP FileBrowser allows you to access all your connections from the iOS Files app and other apps that use this as their document chooser, bringing network access to those apps. EDIT IN-PLACE No more copying of documents between apps. Launch an app to edit a network document in-place, such as Word or Pages or any of the Office and Mac suite. Changes are saved to the original document automatically. BLAZINGLY FAST Create bookmarks to your favorite locations & folders. Use a single tap to connect and browse to a favorite folder. PHOTO VIEWER Browse your photos wherever they are stored and display them on your TV or projector using AirPlay or Chromecast. Easily flick through holiday snaps or use the built-in slideshow feature. STREAM YOUR MOVIES / MUSIC Stream movie files or listen to music, both with AirPlay™ and Chromecast support. Use our built-in viewers or stream video to other apps. DOCUMENT VIEWER View Microsoft Office, Apple Pages, Numbers, KeyNote, PDF, text files, source code, HTML, and many more using the built-in viewers. ANNOTATE PDFS AND IMAGES Use the built-in annotation tools for PDFs and images, or use the iOS annotation tools to add notes, drawings or highlight text. SECURITY AND ENCRYPTION FileBrowser securely stores your passwords in the iOS keychain and uses iOS encryption features to protect your local content. Protect local files using a password, TouchID or FaceID. CONNECT ANYWHERE Connect to your Mac or PC when away from home. See our website for details: https://www.stratospherix.com/setupvpn TOO MANY FEATURES TO LIST FileBrowser has many features that we would like to tell you about. Check out our website. You'll be amazed! https://www.stratospherix.com/products/filebrowser FIRST CLASS SUPPORT User manuals and help are available at stratospherix.com/support with how-to articles and videos. You can also email us for fast, friendly support.

About

File Explorer & Player [Pro]

Transform your iPhone or iPad into a wireless drive for your Mac, enabling you to stream videos, view photos, and access documents remotely. Transfer files, store content on your iOS device, and even mount it as a drive on your computer.

Highlights
  • Stream video from Mac
  • View photos and documents
  • Transfer files
  • Store files on iOS device
  • Mount iOS device as drive
  • Wireless Mac file access
Features
Read full description

Turn your iPhone or iPad into the wireless flash drive for your Mac. Have full access to your Mac files – use your iOS device to stream videos, view photos and documents, from anywhere within your home. AT A GLANCE - Stream any video directly from your Mac; - View photos or documents stored on your Mac; - Transfer files between your Mac and your iOS device; - Store anything on your iOS device and take it with you on the go; - Mount your iOS device as drive on your Mac or Windows machine using WebDAV; - Use the Personal Hotspot of your iOS device to control your Mac when you don’t have access to other networks. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS - Mac with macOS 10.10 or above and Helper app installed; - iPhone, iPad or iPod touch with iOS 11 or above; - Shared wireless network connection between your computer and iOS device. TERMS OF USE https://cherpake.com/tos Ratings are like gold for indie developers like me, please give the app a quick rating on the App Store.

Screenshots

FileBrowser4 screens
File Explorer & Player [Pro]4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: FileBrowser at 5.6K against File Explorer & Player [Pro]'s 832. FileBrowser also leads on price ($7.99 vs $9.99) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). File Explorer & Player [Pro]'s advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 5 weeks). On rating, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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

FileBrowser costs $7.99 and File Explorer & Player [Pro] $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for FileBrowser against 4.6 for File Explorer & Player [Pro]. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: FileBrowser has 5.6K ratings behind it against 832, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 82% of FileBrowser's written reviews are positive against 83% of File Explorer & Player [Pro]'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

FileBrowser ships an update every 5 weeks, File Explorer & Player [Pro] every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
FileBrowser versus File Explorer & Player [Pro]: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFileBrowserFile Explorer & Player [Pro]
Price$7.99 — better$9.99
Rating4.7 (5.6K ratings) — better4.6 (832 ratings)
Positive reviews82.1% of reviews83.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5.6K — better832
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple TV
Requires iOS15.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size70 MB59 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStratospherix LtdRemote Sunrise LTD

Customer experience

FileBrowser

All ratings5,642 ratings
Positive94.2%
Neutral2.4%
Negative3.4%
Written reviews1,157 reviews
Positive82.1%
Neutral6.1%
Negative11.8%

File Explorer & Player [Pro]

All ratings832 ratings
Positive90.3%
Neutral4.0%
Negative5.8%
Written reviews220 reviews
Positive83.2%
Neutral4.1%
Negative12.7%

User reviews

FileBrowser

From 5.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great file manager
  • 🚀 Powerful and versatile
  • 🔒 Secure access to files
  • 💡 Excellent integration with iOS Files app
  • 👍 Reliable and stable

Room to improve

  • 🐛 SMB connection issues
  • 🐛 Misleading directory caching
  • 🐛 Video playback problems
  • 🐛 Buggy UI changes
  • 🐛 Inability to rename photos

File Explorer & Player [Pro]

From 832 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Invaluable app
  • 🚀 Fantastic app
  • 🚀 My go to app to access my media on my MacBook
  • 🚀 Super
  • 🚀 Fantastic File Explorer

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Meeds
  • 🐛 Reliable app, but annoying placement of subtitles button. Could benefit from a couple features.
  • 🐛 Connection
  • 🐛 Can't move files?

Bugs and requests

FileBrowser

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Copy and paste functionality broken after update
  • Inability to access iCloud files
  • Crashes when accessing large files
  • Thumbnails not generating properly

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for AV1 video codec
  • Improve audio playback controls
  • Implement a recycle bin/trash feature
  • Add option to loop video playback
  • Improve video scrubbing and seeking

File Explorer & Player [Pro]

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Video playback buggy
  • Pause button starts videos over
  • Seized all connections

Requested features

5 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Advanced analytics dashboard
  • Ability to sync entire photo libraries directly to the computer
  • Ability to move and delete files from the app
  • Ability to rename files stored on the iPhone and Mac from the app

In-app purchases

None

FileBrowser

No in-app purchases

None

File Explorer & Player [Pro]

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is FileBrowser free?
FileBrowser costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is File Explorer & Player [Pro] free?
File Explorer & Player [Pro] costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, FileBrowser or File Explorer & Player [Pro]?
FileBrowser is rated higher. FileBrowser averages 4.7 out of 5 from 5.6K ratings, while File Explorer & Player [Pro] averages 4.6 from 832 ratings.
Do FileBrowser or File Explorer & Player [Pro] have ads?
Neither FileBrowser nor File Explorer & Player [Pro] shows ads.
Which is updated more often, FileBrowser or File Explorer & Player [Pro]?
FileBrowser ships an update every 5 weeks, and File Explorer & Player [Pro] every 2 weeks. Most recently, FileBrowser was updated on September 24, 2026 and File Explorer & Player [Pro] on September 22, 2026.

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