SmallTube vs Ultimate Player Pro
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SmallTube
A native iOS client for watching videos, offering ad-free viewing with picture-in-picture and background playback. Enjoy a streamlined experience for embeddable content.
- Ad-free viewing
- Picture-in-picture playback
- Background playback
- Native iOS experience
- Embeddable video support
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A simple and native YouTube client for iOS with no ads, picture-in-picture, and background playback. For picture-in-picture to work, toggle it while in fullscreen and then exit to home. After that, background playback will also work! Limitations: - Only embeddable video can play (most songs and copyrighted material are not available) - The app requires an API key from the YouTube Data API. You can easily create one for free.
Ultimate Player Pro
A free, minimal media player for iPhone and iPad. It allows importing local videos, organizing libraries, browsing network folders, and playing direct streams with advanced playback controls and subtitle support.
- Import local videos
- Organize media library
- Browse WebDAV/HTTP folders
- Play direct streams
- Fullscreen player
- Subtitle support
- Speed control
- AirPlay and Picture in Picture
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Ultimate Player is a free minimal media player for iPhone and iPad. Import local videos, organize your library, browse WebDAV and HTTP folders, play direct streams, and use a clean fullscreen player designed for subtitles, speed control, AirPlay, Picture in Picture, and precise playback settings. The first release focuses on a stable iOS 26 foundation with no ads, no tracking, no subscription, no in-app purchases, and no forced account. Advanced codec, cloud, subtitle, and casting parity work is tracked in the product roadmap and will be enabled as implementation and licensing allow.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Ultimate Player Pro at 100% against SmallTube's 0%. SmallTube's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (17.4 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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.
SmallTube ships an update every 2 days, Ultimate Player Pro every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SmallTube | Ultimate Player Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 days — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.4 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 0 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ioannis Notaris | Lim Sangjin |
Customer experience
SmallTube
Ultimate Player Pro
In-app purchases
SmallTube
No in-app purchases
Ultimate Player Pro
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is SmallTube free?
Is Ultimate Player Pro free?
Do SmallTube or Ultimate Player Pro have ads?
Which is updated more often, SmallTube or Ultimate Player Pro?
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