Comparison

JRemote vs Swiftfin

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

Head to head
About

JRemote

Control your JRiver Media Center library remotely from your iOS devices. Manage playback, edit metadata, and stream audio, even outside your home network. Supports DLNA devices and CarPlay.

Highlights
  • Full remote control of JRiver Media Center
  • DLNA device control and zone management
  • Automatic and manual server setup
  • Edit and view file metadata
  • Playback controls with HUD
  • Audio streaming to iOS device
  • CarPlay enabled
Features
Read full description

JRemote is a full featured native iOS remote for JRiver Media Center. JRemote was developed to offer you full remote control of your JRiver Media Center from any of your iDevices. Please note that you need JRiver Media Center version 15 or later. We recommend you always run the latest version. Features and specs: Universal app JRemote is a universal iOS application. The application will run on both iPhone/iPod touch as well as iPad’s. Each version is optimized for it`s screen size. Navigation JRemote uses the navigation setup from JRMC itself. This allows you to customize the navigation menu and sub-menus from within the JRiver application. - Multiple view modes (list, imagelist, thumbnails) - Search using JRMC`s fuzzy search engine - Virtual remote for controlling theater view DLNA and zones Use JRemote to control all your DLNA supported devices. Any device supported in JRMC can be controlled from JRemote by switching to that specific zone. You can link and unlink zone for multi-room playback. Easy setup Connecting to your computer is fully automatic, no need to enter your IP-address and Port number. You only need to enter the access key found in JRMC`s option panel (We do provide an option for you to add IP-address and Port manually if needed). - JRemote will let you connect to your server from outside your wifi, using standard mobile networks. For this to work you need to configure port forwarding on your internet router. - Wake-On-LAN is supported if you provide your machines MAC address. (Automatic when adding a server by access key) - JRemote is CarPlay enabled. Edit and view metadata Any metadata attached to a specific file can be viewed and edited. You can update multiple files in one operation. Rating may be set from multiple locations depending on iPhone/iPad version. Player controls JRemote includes all common playback controls including repeat mode, and shuffle mode. Control volume and progress from sliders while getting feedback from the HUD display Audio streaming JRemote lets you stream all your audio files to the device itself. Just select “This device” as the current zone. - Gapless playback - Stream any file up to 96kHz, 24 bit - Downloaded progress indicator - Supported audio formats include AAC, AIFF, ALAC, APE, DSF/DFF, FLAC, M4A, MP3, OGG, and WAV. - All files may be transcoded to MP3 from 128Kbs up to 320Kbs

About

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.

Highlights
  • Native iOS/iPadOS video player
  • Connects to Jellyfin media servers
  • Stream video collection
  • Easy-to-use interface
  • Watch Live TV (with hardware)
Features
Read full description

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

JRemote4 screens
Swiftfin4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Swiftfin at Free against JRemote's $12.99. Swiftfin also leads on ratings volume (267 vs 28). JRemote's advantage is review sentiment (63% vs 53%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.6). On rating, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Swiftfin is free to download; JRemote costs $12.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.8 for JRemote against 3.8 for Swiftfin. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Swiftfin has 267 ratings behind it against 28, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 63% of JRemote's written reviews are positive against 53% of Swiftfin's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
JRemote versus Swiftfin: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterJRemoteSwiftfin
Price$12.99Free — better
Rating3.8 (28 ratings)3.8 (267 ratings)
Positive reviews62.7% of reviews — better53.2% of reviews
Number of ratings28267 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple TV
Requires iOS13.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size53 MB186 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJRiverAnthony Lavado

Customer experience

JRemote

All ratings28 ratings
Positive67.9%
Neutral14.3%
Negative17.9%
Written reviews303 reviews
Positive62.7%
Neutral13.5%
Negative23.8%

Swiftfin

All ratings267 ratings
Positive64.8%
Neutral10.9%
Negative24.3%
Written reviews363 reviews
Positive53.2%
Neutral14.3%
Negative32.5%

User reviews

JRemote

From 28 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent remote control
  • 🔒 Stable and reliable
  • 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
  • 🚀 Fast and responsive
  • 👍 Great companion to JRiver Media Center

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and connection issues
  • 🐛 Compatibility problems with latest iOS versions
  • 🐛 Bugs with video playback
  • 🐛 Settings revert unexpectedly
  • 🔋 High battery consumption

Swiftfin

From 267 App Store ratings

What 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

JRemote

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashes when trying to play videos
  • Inability to connect to media server
  • Inconsistent behavior when changing media server IP
  • Playback issues with certain audio formats
  • Album art not updating when song changes

Requested features

8 requests
  • Offline music playback
  • Ability to control DSP settings
  • Customizable views and layouts
  • Gapless playback
  • Playlist creation and management
Show 3 more
  • CarPlay support
  • Synced cover art display
  • Metadata editing capabilities

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

None

JRemote

No in-app purchases

None

Swiftfin

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is JRemote free?
JRemote costs $12.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Swiftfin free?
Swiftfin is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, JRemote or Swiftfin?
JRemote and Swiftfin are both rated 3.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 28 and 267 ratings respectively.
Do JRemote or Swiftfin have ads?
Neither JRemote nor Swiftfin shows ads.
Which is updated more often, JRemote or Swiftfin?
JRemote ships an update every 3 months, and Swiftfin every 3 months. Most recently, JRemote was updated on October 15, 2026 and Swiftfin on October 14, 2026.

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