Comparison

8player vs nPlayer

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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/

About

nPlayer

Play virtually any video or audio file format without conversion. Stream media from remote devices and cloud services, and control playback with intuitive gestures. Offers extensive subtitle and audio codec support for a seamless viewing experience.

Highlights
  • Plays all video and audio formats without conversion
  • Streams media from network devices and cloud services
  • Supports DTS and Dolby audio codecs
  • Advanced subtitle customization and synchronization
  • Gesture-based playback controls
  • Hardware acceleration for H.264, HEVC, AV1
Features
Read full description

** nPlayer officially supports DTS (DTS HD ), DTS Headphone:X. ** nPlayer supports Dolby (AC3, E-AC3). ** nPlayer is the universal app. You can install it in any other iOS device without additional purchase. - You don't need to convert video files to MP4 to play them in your mobile device. nPlayer enable you to play all kinds of video formats and codecs without file converting efforts. - You don't need to store video files in your device with limited storage space. nPlayer's powerful and various network technologies will help you to stream them from remote devices. - With your finger tip, you can adjust playback position, move to previous and next subtitle position, adjust location and font size of subtitles, control volume and brightness. - Experience nPlayer, thousands of users recommendations. * Features - Supports officially DTS audio codec (DTS HD) - Supports Dolby audio codec (AC3, E-AC3) - Supports iXpand Drive - Supports Chromecast - Supports video cast for Smart TV - Supports HDMI output - Supports video files : MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, WMV, ASF, FLV, OGV, RMVB, TP etc. - Supports audio files : MP3, WAV, WMA, FLAC, APE etc. - Supports subtitle files : SMI, SRT, SSA, IDX, SUB, LRC, SUP, MLP2 etc. - Supports image files : JPG, PNG, BMP, GIF, TIFF etc. - Supports playlist files : CUE, M3U, PLS - Supports WebDAV, FTP, SFTP, HTTP, SMB/CIFS, NFS - Supports UPnP/DLNA (supports subtitles if DLNA server provides subtitles information.) - Supports cloud service (Box, Dropbox, OneDrive, Yandex.Disk) - Supports in-app web browser - Supports iTunes video/audio play (except for DRM contents) - Supports videos and pictures in Album - Playback speed control : 0.5x ~ 4.0x - Resume playback - AB repeat(specific section repetition) - Screen lock - Supports AV1/HEVC/H.264/MPEG4 Hardware acceleration - Supports 3D video mode - Screen flip horizontally, vertically. brightness and saturation control - Aspect ratio : Default, 1:1, 3:2, 4:3, 5:3, 16:9, 1.85:1 etc - Supports multi-track audio - Supports audio boost - Supports audio sync - Supports lyrics display - Supports Dolby, DTS HDMI Bitstream (Passthru) - Supports embedded subtitles - Supports multi-track subtitles - Supports user’s selection of subtitle files - Supports addition of optional subtitle files while playback - Supports subtitles font, color, shadow, outline customization - Supports subtitles sync - Supports external subtitle fonts - Supports SAMI(SMI) tag - Supports SSA/ASS with full styling, embedded subtitles - File management : Delete, Move, Rename, Create a folder - Playlist management : Add, Delete, Modify - Supports recently played list - Folder lock - Supports Open-in - Supports UI theme * Gesture Features - Tap : Menu - Double tap : Pop-up play - Drag horizontally : Playback position adjustment - Drag vertically on right half of the screen : Volume control - Drag vertically on left half of the screen : Brightness control - Pinch on the screen : Screen size adjustment - Drag horizontally on subtitle text : Move to previous/next subtitle text - Drag vertically on subtitle text : Subtitle position adjustment - Pinch on subtitle text : Subtitle font size adjustment - Supports finger gesture customization

Screenshots

8player4 screens
nPlayer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: 8player at Free against nPlayer's $4.99. nPlayer's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 2.8) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). On update cadence, ads 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

8player is free to download; nPlayer costs $4.99 up front. 8player sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per year. nPlayer asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

nPlayer holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: nPlayer has 1.9K ratings behind it against 167, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 44% of 8player's written reviews are positive against 54% of nPlayer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

8player ships an update fortnightly, nPlayer every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
8player versus nPlayer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter8playernPlayer
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating2.8 (167 ratings)4.7 (1.9K ratings) — better
Positive reviews43.7% of reviews53.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1671.9K — better
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#25 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple TViPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS16.613.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size95 MB61 MB
Age rating4+17+
Developer8soft LtdNewin Inc.

Customer experience

8player

All ratings167 ratings
Positive43.1%
Neutral5.4%
Negative51.5%
Written reviews933 reviews
Positive43.7%
Neutral10.1%
Negative46.2%

nPlayer

All ratings1,904 ratings
Positive92.9%
Neutral2.0%
Negative5.0%
Written reviews729 reviews
Positive53.8%
Neutral12.6%
Negative33.6%

User reviews

8player

From 167 App Store ratings

What 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

nPlayer

From 1.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Stable and fast
  • 👍 Comprehensive features
  • 🔒 Secure file management
  • 💡 Excellent network integration
  • 👍 Customizable interface

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes
  • 🔋 Battery drain issues
  • 🐛 Chromecast connectivity problems
  • 🐛 Subtitle issues when casting
  • 🐛 Metadata display bugs

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

nPlayer

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Playback position not saved after app exit
  • Inability to connect to some network drives
  • Inconsistent behavior when playing certain video formats
  • Subtitles not displayed correctly in some cases

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add support for Apple TV
  • Improve Chromecast support
  • Implement sleep timer for audio
  • Allow customization of subtitle size/color
  • Add option to disable metadata fetching
Show 1 more
  • Improve file sorting and playlist management

In-app purchases

1 purchases

8player

Subscriptions1
  • Pro Annual7 Days trial$9.991 Year
None

nPlayer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is 8player free?
8player is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is nPlayer free?
nPlayer costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, 8player or nPlayer?
nPlayer is rated higher. 8player averages 2.8 out of 5 from 167 ratings, while nPlayer averages 4.7 from 1.9K ratings.
Do 8player or nPlayer have ads?
Neither 8player nor nPlayer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, 8player or nPlayer?
8player ships an update fortnightly, and nPlayer every 9 days. Most recently, 8player was updated on October 1, 2026 and nPlayer on September 30, 2026.

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