HD Player vs VLC media player
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HD Player
This app is a powerful video player designed to correctly display high-dynamic-range content like Dolby Vision and HDR10+. It supports a wide range of codecs, hardware acceleration for smooth playback, and various file transfer methods. Manage your video library with playlists and passcode protection.
- Dolby Vision support
- HDR10+ support
- Hardware-accelerated decoding
- Wide codec compatibility
- iTunes & Wi-Fi file sharing
- Playlist management
- Passcode video protection
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HD Player is one of the few video players that can present Dolby Vision & HDR10+ videos correctly. Some user reviews: "Best Player I've come across." by AhmedGad. "AMAZING video player. OH MY GOD! OMG! OMG! Now i can play 4k resolutions videos from my 5s. Thank you so much!" by Ash aby. "Best video player. With its simple design, this app plays .mkv formats with ease." by Brandope. "Excellent for 1080P on iPad Air." by smunsch. "Thanks for that great app!!" by Katara Moonlight. "Great - One of the best apps for video..." by Vhdgoat. Features: • Supports most of video and audio codecs. • Supports Dolby Vision videos. • Supports HDR10+ videos. • Hardware-accelerated H264 decoder. • Hardware-accelerated HEVC decoder. • Thanks to Hardware-accelerated decoder, HD Player provides an excellent video playback time than other software-based player. • Thanks to Hardware-accelerated decoder, HD Player consumes less energy than other software-based player. • Muti-core decoding. • TV Output & Bluetooth Headset. • iTunes & Wi-Fi file sharing. • WebDAV & SMB file sharing • SSA subtitle is fully supported. • HD Player supports many playing mode: normal mode, repeat mode and shuffle mode. • Manage your videos by playlist. • Save the video exit time, so it can start playing from beginning or where left off. • Protect your videos with passcode. HDR10+ playback requirements: • iOS 13.4. • iPhone, iPad with A10 processor and later. Dolby Vision playback requirements: • iPhone, iPad that supports Dolby Vision. Compatible OS: iOS 13.4 and later. Video resolution supported: • Up to FullHD on iPhone 5s, 6S & 6S Plus. • Up to 4K on iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus and later. • Up to 4K on A10 processor iPad. Compatible devices: • iPhone 6/6 Plus, iPhone 6S/6S Plus. • iPad mini 3, iPad mini 4. • iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad Pro. How to copy your videos to HD Player? • iTunes File Sharing. • WiFi transfer. • iCloud Drive. • WebDAV. • Windows & Mac file sharing.
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 rating: HD Player at 4.5 against VLC media player's 3.7. VLC media player's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). 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. HD Player sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and VLC media player sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
HD Player holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: VLC media player has 6K ratings behind it against 195, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 50% of HD Player's written reviews are positive against 52% of VLC media player's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
HD Player ships an update every 2 months, VLC media player fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | HD Player | VLC media player |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (195 ratings) — better | 3.7 (6K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 49.8% of reviews | 51.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 195 | 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 | — | #31 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV |
| Requires iOS | 13.4 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 48 MB | 186 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Khoa Tran Anh | VideoLAN |
Customer experience
HD Player
VLC media player
User reviews
HD Player
From 195 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Plays Dolby Vision and HDR10 videos
- 🚀 Smooth playback on old devices
- 👍 Great for 4K and 10-bit video
- 👍 Supports subtitle encoding and importing over WiFi
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes after iOS 17 update
- 🐛 Can't remove subtitles
- 🔋 Ads interrupt video playback
- 💰 Paid version removed from App Store
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
HD Player
Reported bugs
3 issues- Resume feature broken, audio stops when seeking
- Subtitles disappear during fast motion scenes
- Doesn't work on older iOS versions after updates
Requested features
2 requests- Add option to sort playlist by year, newest, or custom order
- Add editing option to customize movie cover and title
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
HD Player
- Remove Ads$0.99
- Full HD playback$0.99
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 HD Player free?
Is VLC media player free?
Which has better reviews, HD Player or VLC media player?
Do HD Player or VLC media player have ads?
Which is updated more often, HD Player or VLC media player?
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