Awful vs Swiftfin
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Awful
This app provides a streamlined browsing experience for the Something Awful forums on iOS devices. It offers access to all forums, bookmarked threads, private messages, and includes features like image uploads and a smilie keyboard.
- Browse all forums and subforums
- Access bookmarked threads
- Built-in SALR functionality
- Smilie stickers and keyboard
- Upload images and pictures
- Manage private messages
- Favorite forums
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Browse the Something Awful forums nicely on your iPhone and iPad! • Every forum and subforum! • Quickly check your bookmarked threads! • Built-in SALR! • Smilie stickers and keyboard! • Upload images and pictures! • Private messages! • Favorite forums! • Rap sheets! • Excessive exclamation marks!
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 rating: Awful at 4.9 against Swiftfin's 3.8. Awful also leads on review sentiment (87% vs 53%) and update cadence (every 8 days vs every 3 months). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Awful holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 239 and 267 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 87% of Awful's written reviews are positive against 53% of Swiftfin's.
Awful ships an update every 8 days, Swiftfin every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Awful | Swiftfin |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (239 ratings) — better | 3.8 (267 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 86.6% of reviews — better | 53.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 239 | 267 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 8 days — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 102 MB | 186 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Dale Stonall-Mellor | Anthony Lavado |
Customer experience
Awful
Swiftfin
User reviews
Awful
From 239 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast and efficient
- 👍 User-friendly interface
- 🔒 Secure browsing experience
- 💡 Customizable layout and settings
- 🎨 Visually appealing design
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 📉 Declining performance over time
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 🚫 Compatibility issues with newer devices
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
Awful
Reported bugs
4 issues- Crashes when opening certain forums
- Inability to load images and media
- Freezing and lagging on older devices
- Sync issues between app and website
Requested features
4 requests- Add search functionality
- Implement dark mode option
- Improve thread navigation and bookmarking
- Integrate with other social platforms
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
Awful
No in-app purchases
Swiftfin
No in-app purchases
