# Owncasts vs Plex Photos

The clearest difference is rating: Owncasts at 3.9 against Plex Photos's 1.3. Owncasts also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 5 months). Plex Photos's advantage is ratings volume (292 vs 7). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Owncasts holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 1.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Plex Photos has 292 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 0% of Owncasts's written reviews are positive against 4% of Plex Photos's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Owncasts ships an update weekly, Plex Photos every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Owncasts | Plex Photos |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[3.9 (7 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/owncasts/id6451178968/reviews)** | [1.3 (292 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/plex-photos/id6504519803/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 7 | **292** |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | **3.9% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 5 months |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 25 MB | 52 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | **16.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple TV** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Gabe Kangas](https://appshunter.io/developer/395148234) | [Plex Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/383457676) |

## What reviewers say

### Owncasts

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/owncasts/id6451178968)

Discover and watch independent live streams from various sources. Receive instant notifications when your favorite streamers go live, ensuring you never miss an update. This app aggregates content from Owncast-powered platforms.

**Highlights:** Watch independent live streams, Get notified when streamers go live, Aggregate Owncast-powered content, On-the-go viewing

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Plex Photos

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/plex-photos/id6504519803)

Access and view your personal photo libraries from anywhere. Relive your favorite moments with curated highlights, chronological timelines, and organized library browsing. Requires a Plex Media Server with a photos library.

**Highlights:** Recommended photo highlights, Chronological timeline view, Browse by folders and albums, Access personal media libraries, Seamless remote viewing

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Quick response
- 👍 Good organization
- 🎉 Impressive beginning

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Freezes and crashes
- 🚫 Lacks basic features
- 🤔 Questionable purpose
- 🚫 No HEIC support
- 🚫 No upload/sync capability

**Reported bugs**

- Buttons not responding to touch
- Vertical videos shown in landscape
- Photos disappearing or not loading
- Rotation issues causing app freezes

**Requested features**

- Add ability to sync photos from mobile devices
- Implement HEIC format support
- Improve video playback controls
- Allow organizing photos into albums
- Integrate with cloud storage services


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Owncasts free?

Owncasts is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Plex Photos free?

Plex Photos is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Owncasts or Plex Photos?

Owncasts is rated higher. Owncasts averages 3.9 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while Plex Photos averages 1.3 from 292 ratings.

### Do Owncasts or Plex Photos have ads?

Neither Owncasts nor Plex Photos shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Owncasts or Plex Photos?

Owncasts ships an update weekly, and Plex Photos every 5 months. Most recently, Owncasts was updated on September 22, 2026 and Plex Photos on September 18, 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.*