SABC+ vs Ster
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SABC+
Stream popular South African shows, films, news, radio, and live sports. Catch up on weekday dramas and never miss an episode, all accessible from anywhere.
- Live TV streaming
- On-demand content
- News broadcasts
- Radio stations
- Sports coverage
- Catch-up TV
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SABC Plus brings your most loved shows, films, news, radio, sport, catch up & weekday drama to your fingertips! Making content more accessible, siON with SABC 1, belong on SABC 2, Sisonke on SABC 3 and we’re part of the game with SABC Sport - we’ve got something for everyone! Forget the days of waiting to catch the drama – Now you get to follow it from anywhere! SABC Plus. Still Home.
Ster
Book tickets for your favorite movies across various cinema experiences. Explore options like Cine Prestige, IMAX, and SK commercial for a unique movie-going adventure. Discover art-house films or indulge in luxurious 'business class' seating.
- Book movie tickets
- Select movie, cinema, or show type
- Experience Cine Prestige
- Experience IMAX
- Experience SK commercial
- Discover art-house cinema
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The words “Movies” and “Cinema” are synonymous with Ster-Kinekor. Experience great movie entertainment for your family on three experiential cinema platforms - Cine Prestige, IMAX and SK commercial. Ster-Kinekor pioneered cinema concepts such as Cinema Nouveau, one of the world’s largest dedicated art-house multiplex circuits, and the luxurious Cine Prestige theatres, the first ‘business class’ cinema experience in South Africa. This app allows you to book a ticket to experience your favourite movies on the different cinema experiences, by selecting a movie, cinema or show type.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Ster at 2.7 against SABC+'s 1.7. Ster also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 14.0). SABC+'s advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 7 months) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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.
Ster holds the better App Store score, 2.7 against 1.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 13 and 14 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 8% of SABC+'s written reviews are positive against 5% of Ster's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
SABC+ ships an update every 2 months, Ster every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on August 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SABC+ | Ster |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.7 (13 ratings) | 2.7 (14 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 7.7% of reviews — better | 5.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 13 | 14 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 7 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 34 MB | 24 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | South African Broadcasting Corporation Ltd | Filmgrail |
Customer experience
SABC+
Ster
Bugs and requests
SABC+
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Ster
Reported bugs
92 issues- 🐛 Cannot add more than one vitality card
- 🐛 Lose all progress if payment fails
- 🐛 No further selection process to conclude purchase
- 🐛 Failed to book online
- 🐛 Cannot use discounts
Show 87 moreShow fewer
- 🐛 Don't get option to checkout with discounts
- 🐛 App doesn't show which cinemas are showing a movie
- 🐛 Lost favorite cinemas feature
- 🐛 Cannot save loyalty numbers
- 🐛 Tickets didn't show on app after booking
- 🐛 Unable to use vitality discount
- 🐛 Error messages
- 🐛 Unable to buy ticket
- 🐛 No button to payment system
- 🐛 Vitality numbers not auto saving
- 🐛 Loyalty number addition not intuitive
- 🐛 Went to unwanted places
- 🐛 Unable to pay in app and mobile web
- 🐛 No way to proceed to pay
- 🐛 No prompts
- 🐛 Only view one cinema at a time
- 🐛 Struggled to sign in
- 🐛 Sudden and random downtime
- 🐛 Broken payment system
- 🐛 Payment reserved but not booked
- 🐛 Cannot use vitality discount again
- 🐛 UX is a mess
- 🐛 Payment fails for no reason
- 🐛 Have to start booking process from scratch
- 🐛 No checkout button
- 🐛 No functionality to checkout
- 🐛 Hard to use deals
- 🐛 Cannot get to checkout page
- 🐛 Loyalty card details missing
- 🐛 Finding where to capture details is a nightmare
- 🐛 Glitched at payment stage
- 🐛 Payment didn't go through
- 🐛 Voided vitality cards
- 🐛 Failed booking not stored
- 🐛 Seats taken from previous booking
- 🐛 Discovery vitality not processing
- 🐛 Did not allow kids free movies
- 🐛 No payment method at checkout
- 🐛 Cannot book movie online
- 🐛 Cannot add payment card
- 🐛 More limitation than old one
- 🐛 Complicated to add vitality/SK numbers
- 🐛 Cannot change cinema without waiting
- 🐛 Lost user credentials and attributes
- 🐛 Reset password link doesn't work
- 🐛 Stuck on home page
- 🐛 Doesn't do anything
- 🐛 Vitality and payment issues
- 🐛 Does not activate payments screen
- 🐛 Poor development
- 🐛 Impossible to buy a ticket
- 🐛 Cannot access anything
- 🐛 Wrong password
- 🐛 Cannot log in
- 🐛 Bugs
- 🐛 Cannot access account
- 🐛 Create password link error
- 🐛 Tabs give BlockRenderError
- 🐛 Trying to log in for days
- 🐛 Link doesn't work
- 🐛 Can't log in
- 🐛 Wrong password on app
- 🐛 Reset password link does nothing
- 🐛 Frustrated and deleted app
- 🐛 Cannot see closest cinemas
- 🐛 Weeks without cinema view
- 🐛 Cannot get old customers to reset password
- 🐛 Endless loop to nowhere
- 🐛 Cannot log in with website credentials
- 🐛 Forgotten password links incorrect
- 🐛 Cannot log into old profile
- 🐛 Password wrong
- 🐛 Unable to log in to existing account
- 🐛 Forgot password link sends back to app
- 🐛 Cinema not showing
- 🐛 App just doesn't work
- 🐛 Cannot cancel tickets
- 🐛 Archaic way to fill card details
- 🐛 Doesn't let you pay
- 🐛 Whole of western cape not available
- 🐛 Doing this while at the cinema
- 🐛 Ebucks don't work
- 🐛 Points not transferring
- 🐛 Old app discontinued
- 🐛 Not working 100% smooth
- 🐛 Enter loyalty numbers manually
- 🐛 Gives errors upon entering card numbers
Requested features
10 requests- 💡 Apple Pay integration
- 💡 Ability to save loyalty card details
- 💡 Ability to view multiple cinemas at once
- 💡 Apple Wallet integration for tickets
- 💡 Option to select multiple cinemas
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- 💡 Option to add payment card
- 💡 Verified buyer for reviews
- 💡 Dark mode option
- 💡 Ebucks functionality
- 💡 Transfer points between apps
In-app purchases
SABC+
No in-app purchases
Ster
No in-app purchases
