Awful vs Swiftfin
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Awful
Access and navigate the Something Awful forums with ease on your iPhone and iPad. Enjoy features like bookmarked threads, image uploads, private messages, and a dedicated smilie keyboard. This app offers a streamlined browsing experience for forum enthusiasts.
- Browse all forums and subforums
- Access bookmarked threads
- Built-in SALR functionality
- Smilie stickers and keyboard
- Image and picture uploads
- Private message access
- Favorite forums and rap sheets
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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 278 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 November 6, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Awful | Swiftfin |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (239 ratings) — better | 3.8 (278 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 86.6% of reviews — better | 53.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 239 | 278 — 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 | 104 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 278 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
