AVPlayerHD vs Swiftfin
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
AVPlayerHD
This app allows you to play virtually any computer video file format on your device without the need for conversion. It supports external subtitle files and offers advanced playback controls, including speed adjustment and gesture-based navigation. Additionally, it provides features like folder management and easy file transfer via USB or Wi-Fi.
- Plays AVI, Xvid, WMV, MKV, and more
- Supports external SMI and SRT subtitles
- Adjustable playback speed (0.5X to 2.0X)
- Gesture controls for playback and navigation
- Folder management with passcode protection
- USB and Wi-Fi file transfer
- Picture in Picture and Split View support
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Do you enjoy watching videos on your iPad? Do you hate not being able to because your iPad cannot support the video format? Or do you hate the inconvenient and time-consuming hassle of trying to convert video formats to fit into one that your iPad can support? This is why the AVPlayerHD was created. The AVPlayerHD can play almost any computer video file format such as AVI, Xvid, WMV and much more clearly and effortlessly. No converting hassles. Just copy files via USB and just drag and drop into the AVPlayer’s Media Explorer. The AVPlayerHD can also support external subtitle files such as SMI and SRT. So if you enjoy watching videos on your iPad, then the AVPlayerHD is an absolute necessity. • Video Format Extension - Support High quality video clips ( 720P, 1080P ) - Dolby Digital (AC3), Dolby Digital Plus (EAC3) - MP4,MOV,M4V - XVID,AVI,WMV,RMVB,ASF,H264,MKV… most of all movie file formats. - SMI, SRT, TXT, SubStationAlpha Subtitles • Post Processing - High quality video processing - Contrast,Saturation - TV-Out • Control the playback speed (From 0.5X to 2.0X) - User setting support -Sweep to the left : move to backword 10 sec -Sweep to the right : move to forward 10 sec -Sweep to the top : 1.5X speed -Sweep to the down : normal speed • Additional features - Supports Split View - Supports Picture in Picture mode ( h.264 format with H/W decoding ) - Rotation Lock / Aspect ratio Control - Folder Management:Pass code/Move/Rename/Create - Resume play from last position - Scrubbing search - supports e-mail attachment by "Open In" feature • USB/WIFI Transfer • Note 1. How to add video with USB - Run iTunes 9.1 or above - Device->My Device(My iPad)->Apps, drag and drop files to the AVplayerHD's documents 2. Support High quality video clips ( 720P, 1080P ) - High quality video clips of 720P (1280 x 720) or more are recommended for MP4 format. - MP4, MOV, M4V formats that QuickTime supports can be played up to 1080P by using H/W Decoder but, Post Processing function isn’t provided. - Support H/W decoding for MKV and AVI (720P supported on iPad1, 1080P supported on iPad2 / The New iPad) - Hybrid decoding mode is added and now it is able to play high resolution videos by using hardware accelerator feature embedded in iPhone/iPad even for mkv or avi in h264. Also battery use time has extended. - Application may crash in iPhone 3GS / iPod Touch due to heavy use of memory in Hybrid decoding. Try turning off all application running in background and reboot the device by holding down sleep mode button for long time. - If screen shakes it means hardware decoding is not supported. Try turning off hybrid decoding. - When the file formats are available for MKV or AVI the player supports hardware decoding. - If you cannot choose audio in mp4 or avi, change the extension to mkv temporarily and chosen audio channel will be applied. 3. The optimal speed when advancing its playing speed can differ depending on the way it’s compressed and the size. Video clips of XVID (AVI) 720 x 480 can be fast played up to 1.3-1.5 times faster than normal.
Swiftfin
Stream your video collection from a Jellyfin media server to your iOS device. Enjoy an easy-to-use interface for your media library and watch live TV if you have the necessary hardware.
- Native iOS/iPadOS video player
- Connects to Jellyfin media servers
- Stream video collection
- Easy-to-use interface
- Watch Live TV (with hardware)
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Swiftfin is a fast, native video player that works with Jellyfin, the open source free software media server. To use the app, you must have a Jellyfin server set up and running. Find out more at https://jellyfin.org With a Jellyfin server, you can: - Watch Live TV and recorded shows from your Jellyfin server (additional hardware/services required) - Stream your video to your iOS/iPadOS device - View your collection in an easy to use interface This is an official Jellyfin companion app. Thank you for using Jellyfin!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Swiftfin at Free against AVPlayerHD's $2.99. Swiftfin also leads on device support (3 vs 1). AVPlayerHD's advantage is rating (4.1 vs 3.8) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 3 months). On ratings volume, 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
Swiftfin is free to download; AVPlayerHD costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
AVPlayerHD holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 215 and 267 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 64% of AVPlayerHD's written reviews are positive against 53% of Swiftfin's.
AVPlayerHD ships an update every 3 weeks, Swiftfin every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | AVPlayerHD | Swiftfin |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.1 (215 ratings) — better | 3.8 (267 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 64.3% of reviews — better | 53.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 215 | 267 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV — better |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 52 MB | 186 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | EPLAYWORKS | Anthony Lavado |
Customer experience
AVPlayerHD
Swiftfin
User reviews
AVPlayerHD
From 215 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Best app of my teenage years
- 🚀 Plays everything smoothly
- 👍 Excellent interface
- 👍 Reliable and dependable
- 👍 Plays a wide range of formats
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- 🐛 Audio sync issues
- 🐛 Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 🔒 Buggy file transfer
Swiftfin
From 267 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Smooth and responsive UI
- 🚀 Fast and efficient media playback
- 🔒 Secure user profiles and pin protection
- 💡 Seamless switching between multiple user accounts
- 👍 Clean and modern app design
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes or freezes
- 🔋 Inconsistent battery performance
- 🔒 Difficulty changing server IP/domain
- 🐛 Issues with subtitle and audio track selection
- 🐛 Unreliable live TV and DVR functionality
Bugs and requests
AVPlayerHD
Reported bugs
5 issues- Picture-in-picture mode not working
- Status bar not hiding in full screen
- Can't see all files on network drive
- Dropbox and Google Drive integration broken
- Crashes when trying to delete files
Requested features
9 requests- Update for iPadOS 17
- Sort by name, size, date, length
- Slow speed playback (x0.25)
- Chromecast support
- Local network streaming
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- OneDrive support
- Subtitle color customization
- Drag and drop screenshot capture
- Alphabetize folder list
Swiftfin
Reported bugs
5 issues- Unable to connect to Jellyfin server after recent updates
- Sorting and filtering not working as expected
- Playback issues with certain video codecs and formats
- Home bar not disappearing during video playback
- Sync issues between iOS and tvOS versions
Requested features
5 requests- Add offline media download capability
- Implement Picture-in-Picture mode
- Introduce a shuffle option for episodes
- Integrate e-book and audiobook support
- Allow customization of media library views
In-app purchases
AVPlayerHD
No in-app purchases
Swiftfin
No in-app purchases









