8player vs Mediastation
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/
Mediastation
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Mediastation allows you to access all your media (photos, music and videos) stored on your Mediastation server (UPnP, DLNA server). Requires the installation of Mediastation server available from http://www.nabocorp.com/mediastation.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Mediastation at none against 8player's 1. Mediastation also leads on iOS requirement (8.1 vs 16.6). 8player's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 8 months). On price, 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
Both are free to download. 8player sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per year. Mediastation asks for nothing beyond the download.
8player ships an update fortnightly, Mediastation every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | 8player | Mediastation |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.8 (168 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 43.4% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 168 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 8 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 8.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 96 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 8soft Ltd | Sporty Apps |
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
Mediastation
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
8player
- Pro Annual7 Days trial$9.991 Year
Mediastation
No in-app purchases
