8player vs zFuse
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
8player
This versatile media player allows you to stream, download, and enjoy videos, music, and photos from various sources. It offers a clean interface, offline playback, and supports a wide range of file formats across iOS and Apple TV devices.
- Stream from cloud and network services
- Download for offline playback
- Supports DLNA/UPnP, SMB, FTP
- Wide range of video, audio, and image format support
- Create and manage music playlists
- Cast to DLNA and Chromecast devices
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Enjoy your media, your way. 8player is an all-in-one video, music and photo player for iPhone and iPad. Stream, download and enjoy your favorite media anytime, anywhere. Available on the App Store since 2010, 8player combines powerful playback, flexible connectivity and a clean, intuitive design. WHY 8PLAYER? • Beautiful and intuitive interface • Smooth streaming from cloud storage, NAS devices and network servers • Available on iPhone, iPad and Apple TV • Your media stays private. 8player does not collect your data PLAY FROM ALL YOUR SOURCES • DLNA/UPnP media servers • SMB network shares • FTP and SFTP servers • Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive • Local files on your device PACKED WITH FEATURES • Download files for offline playback • Play on TVs and other devices using DLNA, Chromecast and AirPlay • Create and manage music playlists • Use subtitles and switch between multiple audio tracks • Adjust playback speed • Continue watching with Picture in Picture • Use intuitive gesture controls • Access compatible DLNA/UPnP servers remotely over mobile networks or through a VPN Remote access setup guide: https://08software.com/8player-remote-access SUPPORTED FORMATS • Video: mp4, mkv, avi, mov, ts, webm and more • Audio: mp3, flac, aac, alac, wav and more • Images: heic, jpeg, png, gif, tiff and more Your media. Your device. Your control. Standard Apple Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
zFuse
Play any video format and encoding directly from your device or network storage without conversion. Enjoy advanced subtitle effects, gesture controls, and file management features. Supports media servers, TV casting, and privacy protection.
- Plays all video formats and encodings
- Supports ASS/SSA/SUP effect subtitles
- Network playback from PC/NAS
- Gesture controls for playback and settings
- Folder encryption for privacy
- File download and decompression
- TV casting and media server support
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- zFuse can play all video formats and encodings, allowing you to play video files on your mobile device without the need to convert to MP4. - zFuse supports ASS/SSA/SUP effect subtitles, enabling you to experience full subtitle effects just like on your PC/Mac. - zFuse features powerful networking technologies that allow you to play media from your PC or NAS directly, without occupying any space on your limited device storage and without needing to download anything. - zFuse also allows you to easily download files or directories directly from your PC or NAS, making it the perfect companion for your trips. - zFuse supports a variety of gestures - simply move your fingers to adjust playback position, font size, volume, and brightness. - zFuse carefully protects your privacy with folder encryption, so you no longer need to worry about privacy issues. - zFuse's detailed features include: * SMB/CIFS playback and discovery (easily play media files from your PC). * Download media files or directories from SAMBA/DLNA/WebDAV/FTP directly. * UPnP/DLNA playback and discovery. * Emby and Jellyfin media server support. * AirPlay playback. * Picture-in-Picture mode support. * iPad split-screen multitasking support. * Hardware acceleration. * HDR Tone Mapping support on non-HDR displays. * Subtitle effects support. * 0.5x-3.0x playback speed control. * 0.5x-5.0x screen zoom. * Media preview while seeking. * Built-in audio enhancement. * Multi-soundtrack selection. * Embedded/external subtitle track selection. * Subtitle synchronization. * Audio synchronization. * External subtitle font selection support. * Playlist file preview before playback. * Blu-ray directory playback. * Real-time playlist management and editing. * Screen mirroring. * File Management: - Delete, move, rename, create folders. - Wi-Fi file transfer support without USB cable connection. - Streaming media playlist creation support. - File decompression support: 7z, zip, rar, tar, bz, bz2, etc. * Gesture Controls: - Horizontal drag: adjust playback position. - Vertical drag on left side: adjust volume. - Vertical drag on right side: adjust brightness. - Pinch to zoom: adjust screen size. - Double-tap: play/pause. - Two-finger double-tap: change video aspect ratio. * External Keyboard Support: - Space: pause/play. - Left Arrow: backward seek. - Right Arrow: forward seek. - Esc: exit playback. - S: change playback speed. - B: play previous. - N: play next. - Z: change screen scale. * Supported Video Formats: MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, WMV, FLV, RMVB, ASF, OGV, Blu-ray ISO and more. * Supported Audio Formats: MP3, WAV, WMA, FLAC, APE and more. * Supported Subtitle Formats: SRT, SSA, ASS, SUP, VTT. * Supported Image Formats: JPG, PNG, BMP, TIFF, GIF, HEIC and more. * Supported eBook Formats: EPUB, TXT, PDF. * Code Editor Supported Languages: JSON, HTML, XML, C/C++, Lua, Java, Objective-C, Swift, Python, JavaScript. * Supported Document Formats: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Numbers, Keynote, Pages, RTF, CSV.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: zFuse at 4.7 against 8player's 2.8. zFuse also leads on review sentiment (80% vs 43%) and ratings volume (1.2K vs 177). 8player's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence, 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. 8player sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per year and zFuse sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
zFuse holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: zFuse has 1.2K ratings behind it against 177, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 43% of 8player's written reviews are positive against 80% of zFuse's.
8player ships an update fortnightly, zFuse every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | 8player | zFuse |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.8 (177 ratings) | 4.7 (1.2K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 43.2% of reviews | 80.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 177 | 1.2K — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 4 weeks |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 16.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 96 MB | 156 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 8soft Ltd | s-joys Co., Ltd. |
Customer experience
8player
zFuse
User reviews
8player
From 177 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
- 🚀 Fast and responsive
- 💡 Supports wide range of file formats
- 🎨 Elegant and visually appealing interface
- 🔌 Seamless DLNA/UPnP connectivity
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and stability issues
- 🚫 Lack of support for certain video codecs
- 🔍 Limited search and browsing functionality
- 🔇 Unreliable Bluetooth speaker connectivity
- 🔋 Drains battery quickly during use
zFuse
From 1.2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast and smooth playback
- 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- 🔒 No ads or in-app purchases
- 💡 Supports a wide range of video formats
- 🚀 Excellent video decoding and hardware acceleration
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes or freezes
- 🔍 Lacking advanced video settings (color, contrast, etc.)
- 🔍 Limited subtitle support
- 🔍 Inconsistent network file sharing performance
- 🔍 Cluttered UI with too many ads in some versions
Bugs and requests
8player
Reported bugs
4 issues- SMB connectivity issues after recent updates
- Subtitles not displaying correctly for some video files
- Playback freezes or stops when minimizing the app
- Inconsistent behavior when playing next/previous tracks
Requested features
5 requests- Add gapless playback for music
- Implement a more robust file sorting/browsing system
- Integrate Chromecast support
- Introduce an equalizer for audio customization
- Add password/security protection options
zFuse
Reported bugs
4 issues- Playback issues with certain video codecs
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between files
- Inability to remember last playback position
- Compatibility problems on older devices
Requested features
5 requests- Add picture-in-picture mode
- Implement a more robust subtitle management system
- Provide more video customization options
- Improve network file sharing stability and speed
- Optimize UI for better user experience
In-app purchases
8player
- Pro Annual7 Days trial$9.991 Year
zFuse
- Remove ads$9.99









