# CMSPlayer vs iPlay

The clearest difference is review sentiment: CMSPlayer at 80% against iPlay's 17%. CMSPlayer also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.6) and in-app purchases (none vs 3). iPlay's advantage is price (Free vs $2.99). On update cadence, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

iPlay is free to download; CMSPlayer costs $2.99 up front. iPlay sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. CMSPlayer asks for nothing beyond the download.

CMSPlayer holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: CMSPlayer has 160 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of CMSPlayer's written reviews are positive against 17% of iPlay's.

CMSPlayer ships an update every 9 days, iPlay weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | CMSPlayer | iPlay |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $2.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[4.7 (160 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cmsplayer/id6450680262/reviews)** | [3.6 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/iplay-watch-anywhere/id6480576133/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **160** | 5 |
| Positive reviews | **80.0% of reviews** | 16.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Size | 4 MB | 281 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.0** | 18.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Vision Pro | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Yuzhou Zhuang](https://appshunter.io/developer/1721516046) | [Guangzhou Panyu Huanyu Life Software Studio](https://appshunter.io/developer/1739412651) |

## What reviewers say

### CMSPlayer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cmsplayer/id6450680262)

This app provides a seamless playback experience for VOD sources, offering features like playback speed adjustment, AirPlay, and Picture in Picture. It allows users to manage multiple sources, search for content, and track watch history. Optimized for Apple devices, it integrates with iCloud for cross-platform syncing.

**Highlights:** Seamless playback experience, Playback speed adjustment, AirPlay and Picture in Picture support, Manage multiple VOD sources, Aggregate search with history, iCloud sync across platforms

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, SharePlay

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Simple, lightweight, excellent
- 👍 Powerful app, has most things
- 👍 Very easy to use
- 👍 Solved Apple TV viewing issues
- 👍 Great interface, powerful features

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Account banned inexplicably
- 🐛 Few resources, inactive community
- 🐛 Too many ads, intrusive
- 🐛 App crashes on Apple TV
- 🐛 App seems abandoned

**Reported bugs**

- iOS 18.1 system crashes
- Apple TV version keeps crashing
- App keeps prompting for rating
- Playback interface cannot switch episodes
- Playback interface cannot adjust brightness

**Requested features**

- Add more high-quality, ad-free sources
- Improve built-in player for smoother scrubbing
- Support Android TV Box protocol
- Add more protocols and fix UI
- Add iOS 12 system version


### iPlay

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/iplay-watch-anywhere/id6480576133)

Watch your videos anytime with this powerful media player. It supports adding Emby sites as content providers, offering a convenient way to access your media library across devices.

**Highlights:** Powerful video playback, Emby content provider support, Cross-platform compatibility, Watch videos anytime, Access media library

**Features:** Safari Extension, Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Pass | $0.99 | per month |
| Yearly Pass | $1.99 | per year |
| Lifetime Pass | $4.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is CMSPlayer free?

CMSPlayer costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is iPlay free?

iPlay is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, CMSPlayer or iPlay?

CMSPlayer is rated higher. CMSPlayer averages 4.7 out of 5 from 160 ratings, while iPlay averages 3.6 from 5 ratings.

### Do CMSPlayer or iPlay have ads?

Neither CMSPlayer nor iPlay shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, CMSPlayer or iPlay?

CMSPlayer ships an update every 9 days, and iPlay weekly. Most recently, CMSPlayer was updated on October 25, 2026 and iPlay on October 24, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*