It's Playing vs VLC media player
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
It's Playing
Stream videos directly from cloud storage or local network devices without conversions. Enjoy high-performance playback, subtitle search, and advanced playback controls. Supports a wide range of audio and video formats for a seamless entertainment experience.
- Direct cloud and local network streaming
- High-performance 1080p playback
- Direct subtitle search and download
- Support for MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, WMV, VOB, RMVB
- One-click access to Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive
- Background playback and earbud controls
- Frame by frame video navigation
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Every video, no conversions, pure entertainment. Direct cloud and local network media streaming, anywhere you are. Featured in Wired, Gizmodo, Cult of Mac, TUAW with brand new features in each update. • Spotlight · High performance playback, up to 1080p; · Direct subtitle search and download; · TV-Out and Air Play; · Easy gestures, including pinch-to-zoom. • Formats · Video playback for MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, WMV, VOB, RMVB; · Audio playback for MP3, M4A, WMA, OGG, FLAC; · Consult the detailed format list on our website. • Cloud · PUT.IO® enables background downloading and cloud hosting (Pro); · Dropbox® one click access to over-the-air movie playback; · OneDrive, Google Drive one click access to over-the-air movie playback (Pro); · Youtube® video playback (Pro); · HTTP media file playback (Pro); · and It's playing videos cloud channel. • Network · Access Macs, NAS (network disks), Windows, Ubuntu, Airport disks, etc; · Native support for SanDisk Connect™ Wireless Media Drive (Pro); · Native support for SanDisk Connect™ Wireless Flash Drive (Pro); · Native support for SanDisk iXpand™ Flash Drive (Pro); · Native support for Maxell Airstash® (Pro); · Native support for Seagate Satellite™ (Pro); · Native support for iUSBport Mini (Pro); · It's playing Desktop Helper is the easiest path to stream from your media library. • Playback · Background playback and earbud controls; · Auto-advance/playlist within folders; · Auto-repeat mode; · Audio gain; · Playback speed, from 1/8x to 8x adjustments; • Video forensics · Frame by Frame video image navigation; · Photographic pinch-to-zoom gestures; · Image contrast, brightness and saturation adjustments; • International features · multi language audio tracks; · multi channel audio support; · fetch subtitles for any movie with one tap; backed by OpenSubtitles.org. • Files management · user friendly, cut, copy, paste & rename controls; · you can also choose to store files in a secured private folder. (Pro) Only available in Pro In-app purchase. (*) It's playing aims at handling every video from anything around your iPhone/iPod/iPad. You'll always be able to find videos that surpass your devices processing capabilities or which are encoded in unsupported audio or video formats. (**) DTS playback is currently unavailable, check our website for updates or use the helper app. •• Check out http://itsplayingapp.com for demonstration videos and detailed information •• Contact us at support@itsplayingapp.com
VLC media player
Play virtually any video or audio file directly without conversion. Stream media from cloud services, network servers, or the web. Offers advanced subtitle support and playback controls.
- Plays all video and audio formats
- No file conversion needed
- Cloud and network streaming
- Advanced subtitle support
- Playback speed control
- Chromecast rendering
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VLC is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player. It can play all your movies, shows and music in most formats directly without conversion. It allows file synchronization with Dropbox, GDrive, OneDrive, Box, iCloud Drive, iTunes, direct downloads and through Wi-Fi sharing as well as streaming from SMB, FTP, SFTP, NFS, UPnP/DLNA media servers and the web. VLC offers support for advanced subtitles including full SSA compatibility, multi-track audio, playback speed control and rendering through Chromecast. VLC is completely free and open source.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: VLC media player at free against It's Playing's free with in-app purchases. VLC media player also leads on ratings volume (6K vs 68) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). It's Playing's advantage is rating (4.0 vs 3.7). On price, 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
Both are free to download. It's Playing sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and VLC media player sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
It's Playing holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: VLC media player has 6K ratings behind it against 68, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 56% of It's Playing's written reviews are positive against 52% of VLC media player's.
It's Playing ships an update every 2 months, VLC media player fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | It's Playing | VLC media player |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (68 ratings) — better | 3.7 (6K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 55.6% of reviews — better | 51.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 68 | 6K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | — | #21 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better |
| Requires iOS | 13.4 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 33 MB | 186 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Addition, Lda | VideoLAN |
Customer experience
It's Playing
VLC media player
User reviews
It's Playing
From 68 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Plays a wide range of video formats
- 🚀 Smooth playback even for high-quality files
- 📁 Convenient file management and organization
- 🔊 Useful audio controls (volume boost, pitch adjustment)
- 🎨 Customizable video settings (brightness, contrast, etc.)
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and playback issues
- 🔇 Lack of support for some audio codecs (AC3, DTS)
- 🔍 Difficulty browsing long file names
- 🔌 Performance issues on older devices
- 🔒 Unreliable network connectivity and file sharing
VLC media player
From 6K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Plays everything
- 👍 Great for offline media
- 🔒 No ads or subscriptions
- 🚀 Convenient file transfer
- 👍 Customizable playback
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy after updates
- 🔋 Drains battery
- 👎 Confusing UI/UX
- 🐛 Unreliable network streaming
- 👎 Lacks basic features
Bugs and requests
It's Playing
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crashes when playing certain video files
- Playback freezes or stutters on high-bitrate content
- Issues with audio/video sync and codec compatibility
Requested features
4 requests- Add support for Chromecast and AirPlay
- Implement a queue/playlist feature
- Improve file management with better folder support
- Provide better integration with cloud storage services
VLC media player
Reported bugs
5 issues- Playback issues with certain codecs
- Crashes when accessing network shares
- Inconsistent shuffle/repeat behavior
- Subtitle sync problems
- Deleted files not freeing up storage
Requested features
5 requests- Picture-in-Picture mode
- Improved playlist management
- Folder-based organization
- Lyrics support
- Chromecast integration
In-app purchases
It's Playing
- Pro$9.99
VLC media player
- Micro Tip$0.99
- Small Tip$2.99
- Medium Tip$4.99
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- Large Tip$9.99
- Huge Tip$14.99
Questions
Is It's Playing free?
Is VLC media player free?
Which has better reviews, It's Playing or VLC media player?
Do It's Playing or VLC media player have ads?
Which is updated more often, It's Playing or VLC media player?
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