Comparison

Viki vs Acorn TV

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

Head to head
About

Viki

Stream a vast collection of Asian dramas, movies, and TV shows from Korea, China, Japan, and Thailand. Enjoy legal streaming with subtitles in over 150 languages, and interact with a community of fans through timed comments and reviews. Watch for free or upgrade for an ad-free HD experience.

Highlights
  • Watch K-dramas, C-dramas, and more
  • Subtitles in 150+ languages
  • Save shows to watchlist
  • Interact with timed comments
  • Legal and officially licensed content
  • Ad-free HD streaming option
Features
Read full description

Watch Your Favorite Asian Dramas, Movies, and TV Shows Anytime, Anywhere with Viki! Dive into a world of award-winning K-dramas, C-dramas, Asian movies, TV series, and K-pop performances with Viki. Whether you're a fan of Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, or Thai shows and movies, we’ve got something for everyone. Watch for free or upgrade to Viki Pass for ad-free streaming in HD. Explore Popular Shows and Movies Across Asia, including: Korean Dramas: Lovely Runner, Dear X, True Beauty, Love Scout, Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, What's Wrong With Secretary Kim Chinese Dramas: Love’s Ambition, Prisoner of Beauty, Fireworks of My Heart, Eternal Love Taiwanese Dramas: Lost Romance, Revenged Love, Desire The Series Japanese Dramas: Mischievous Kiss, A Calm Sea and Beautiful Days with You Thai Dramas: F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers, Love in the Air, My Name is Busaba Korean Variety Shows: Running Man, Boys II Planet, Rented in Finland, Heart Signal Movies: Exhuma, Train to Busan, The Beauty Inside, Ne Zha, The Outlaws K-Pop: Performances and shows from BTS, BLACKPINK, EXO, TWICE Animated Movies & TV: Soul Land, Blue Spring Ride, 4 Week Lovers Key Features to Enhance Your Viewing Experience: Subtitles in 150+ Languages Watchlist: Save your favorite shows and movies for later Celebrity Pages: Find more shows from stars like Cha Eun Woo Song Hye Kyo Timed Comments & Reviews: Share thoughts and interact with viewers Rate & Review: Leave your opinions on shows and movies Legal Streaming: All content is officially licensed **Availability of shows may vary by region. Have questions, comments or suggestions? Reach us at mobile@viki.com Terms of Use: http://viki.com/legal/terms_of_use Privacy Policy: http://viki.com/legal/copyright

About

Acorn TV

Stream a curated collection of brilliant mysteries, suspenseful dramas, and comedies from around the world. Discover new series and exclusive originals added weekly, all available without commercials. Enjoy instant access to a vast library of content on all your devices.

Highlights
  • World-class library of dramas and mysteries
  • New series and episodes added weekly
  • Acorn TV Originals
  • Commercial-free streaming
  • Watchlist feature
  • Cross-device compatibility
Features
Read full description

Acorn TV is the go-to streaming destination for brilliant mysteries and suspense-driven dramas. Experience the world’s best stories, from the criminally cozy to the daringly dark. Get wrapped up in mystery. Try us free for 7 days! • Instant access to a world-class library of dramas, mysteries, comedies, documentaries, and more • New series and episodes added weekly, including Acorn TV Originals, so there's always something to watch • Always commercial-free. Watch whenever you want, wherever you want for one low monthly price • Search your favorite shows and watch immediately or save to your watchlist and come back to later • Sign up and stream on all your devices After the 7-day trial, your Acorn TV subscription will continue at the current monthly or annual rate depending on the type of plan you select. If you subscribe via iTunes, your payment will be charged to your iTunes account. You can easily cancel anytime by turning off auto-renew in your iTunes account settings The monthly subscription automatically renews every month unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Your iTunes account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. The annual subscription automatically renews every year unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Your iTunes account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription, where applicable.

Screenshots

Viki4 screens
Acorn TV4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Acorn TV at none against Viki's shown. Acorn TV also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). Viki's advantage is ratings volume (493K vs 24K) and review sentiment (56% vs 43%). On price, rating, update cadence 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Viki sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Acorn TV sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Viki against 4.7 for Acorn TV. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Viki has 493K ratings behind it against 24K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 56% of Viki's written reviews are positive against 43% of Acorn TV's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Viki ships an update monthly, Acorn TV every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Viki versus Acorn TV: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVikiAcorn TV
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (493K ratings) — better4.7 (24K ratings)
Positive reviews56.5% of reviews — better42.7% of reviews
Number of ratings493K — better24K
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#25 — better#103
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple TViPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size63 MB83 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperViKi Inc.RLJ Entertainment, Inc.

Customer experience

Viki

All ratings492,823 ratings
Positive94.9%
Neutral2.5%
Negative2.6%
Written reviews1,687 reviews
Positive56.5%
Neutral13.7%
Negative29.8%

Acorn TV

All ratings23,514 ratings
Positive92.5%
Neutral2.1%
Negative5.4%
Written reviews426 reviews
Positive42.7%
Neutral10.3%
Negative46.9%

User reviews

Viki

From 493K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🤩 Amazing content variety
  • 🌟 Great subtitles and translations
  • 👍 Convenient app features
  • 🤗 Helpful community comments

Room to improve

  • 🙄 Too many repetitive ads
  • 🤔 Inconsistent content availability
  • 😕 Buggy app performance
  • 🤯 Confusing subscription model

Acorn TV

From 24K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎥 Excellent programming
  • 🔍 Great selection of British, Australian, and New Zealand shows
  • 🕰️ No commercials
  • 👍 Easy to use app
  • 🌟 Refreshing and high-quality content

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent buffering issues
  • 🤯 Buggy app with crashes and glitches
  • 🤔 Inconsistent user experience across devices
  • 🔍 Limited content availability and missing seasons
  • 🔒 Difficult to cancel subscription

Bugs and requests

Viki

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App freezing or crashing
  • Playback issues with ads
  • Inconsistent episode availability
  • Sync issues across devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Picture-in-picture mode
  • Ability to adjust subtitle size
  • Improved continue watching functionality
  • More transparency on content licensing

Acorn TV

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App crashes frequently
  • Inability to log in or update profile
  • Shows not loading or playing properly
  • Inconsistent behavior when casting to TV
  • Incorrect episode ordering and missing progress tracking

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to resume watching where you left off
  • Improved search and navigation
  • Option to turn off subtitles
  • More variety in content beyond crime/detective shows
  • Seamless Chromecast/AirPlay integration

In-app purchases

13 purchases

Viki

Subscriptions10
  • Viki Pass Basic$0.991 Month
  • Viki Pass7 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • Viki Pass Standard3 variants$7.991 Month
Show 7 more
  • Viki Pass Plus(Americas only)$11.991 Month
  • Viki Pass Plus (Americas only)$11.991 Month
  • Viki Pass Plus$11.991 Month
  • Viki Pass Standard Annual1 Year trial$49.991 Year
  • Viki Pass Standard2 variants$79.991 Year
  • Viki Pass Plus$119.991 Year
  • Viki Pass Plus(Americas only)$119.991 Year
One-time3
  • Love Reset (2023) (KR)$4.99
  • Brave Citizen (2023) (KR)$4.99
  • Exhuma (2024) (KR)$4.99
6 purchases

Acorn TV

Subscriptions6
  • Acorn TV Membership$5.991 Month
  • Acorn TV Membership$9.991 Month
  • Acorn TV Membership7 Days trial$9.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Acorn TV Membership$59.991 Year
  • Acorn TV Membership$99.991 Year
  • Acorn TV Membership7 Days trial$99.991 Year

Questions

Is Viki free?
Viki is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Acorn TV free?
Acorn TV is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Viki or Acorn TV?
Viki is rated higher. Viki averages 4.8 out of 5 from 493K ratings, while Acorn TV averages 4.7 from 24K ratings.
Do Viki or Acorn TV have ads?
Viki shows ads; Acorn TV does not.
Which is updated more often, Viki or Acorn TV?
Viki ships an update monthly, and Acorn TV every 5 weeks. Most recently, Viki was updated on September 24, 2026 and Acorn TV on September 24, 2026.
Which is more popular, Viki or Acorn TV?
Viki currently peaks at #25 in the App Store charts, and Acorn TV at #103. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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