Comparison

Play Poster vs Media Stack

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Play Poster

This app transforms your iPad into a dedicated display for your Plex media server. It showcases full-screen poster art and playback information for currently playing content, and a slideshow of new additions when idle. Enjoy a clean, immersive interface for your entertainment space.

Highlights
  • Dedicated Plex display
  • Full-screen poster art
  • Playback information
  • Idle content slideshow
  • Auto-hiding controls
  • Content refresh
Features
Read full description

Transform your iPad into a dedicated Plex display Play Poster turns your iPad into a beautiful companion display for your Plex media server. Whether you have an older iPad looking for a new purpose or want to dedicate a current device, it shows full-screen poster art and information for whatever's currently playing on your Plex server. How it works: • Connects directly to your Plex server (local network or remote) • Displays poster art, title, and playback progress when media is playing • Shows a rotating slideshow of recently added content when idle • Full-screen immersive experience with auto-hiding controls • Updates automatically every 5 seconds Features: • Clean, distraction-free full-screen interface • Support for both movies and TV shows • Tap to show/hide detailed information and summaries • Automatic content refresh every hour • Works with iPadOS 15 and later Perfect for: • Giving older iPads a new dedicated purpose • Second screen setups in home theaters • Displaying current playback in common areas • Adding visual appeal to your entertainment space Setup is simple: Just enter your Plex server URL, port, and authentication token. The app validates your connection before saving, ensuring a smooth experience from the start. Note: Requires an existing Plex Media Server and valid Plex account.

About

Media Stack

Features
Read full description

Bring your media services together in a quiet, native home for iPhone and iPad. Connect as many Sonarr, Radarr, Lidarr, Prowlarr, Seerr and Tautulli services as you need. Keep each server distinct while browsing useful combined views. YOUR SERVICES, IN PERSPECTIVE Arrange Home around service health, upcoming releases, downloads, pending requests and current playback. Search your film, series and music libraries with filters and grid or list layouts. DAILY MANAGEMENT, CLOSE AT HAND Add and edit films, series or artists, choose profiles and folders, set monitoring, compare releases, manage downloads, preview file renames and match manual imports. Search every indexer at once through Prowlarr and send a release straight to a download client. Actions identify their originating service, and file deletion requires an explicit choice. A PLACE FOR WHAT’S NEXT See episode, film and album releases in Month or Upcoming calendar views. Add optional local release reminders. Follow requests and reported issues through Seerr, and view playback details, history and statistics through Tautulli. AT HOME ON YOUR DEVICE Upcoming-release and queue widgets show the last fetched information. Shortcuts open Home, Queue, Calendar, Requests or media search. Light and dark appearances, Dynamic Type, native navigation and an adaptive iPad sidebar make room for your way of working. Optional alerts tell you when a release is grabbed, a download finishes, a file is upgraded, Plex adds a title, a stream starts, a request arrives or a service needs attention. SIMPLY YOURS No ads, subscriptions or Managerr account. Services are stored locally on each device. API keys stay in device-only Keychain. Saved snapshots remain available offline; server changes require connectivity. Try the clearly labelled offline demo without a server. Managerr requires your own supported services for real management and does not supply, host or play media. Some actions depend on service capabilities and permissions. Widgets alerts and local reminders use the information last fetched by the app; there is no hosted push notification service.

Screenshots

Play Poster4 screens
Media Stack4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Media Stack at every 2 days against Play Poster's every 4 months. Play Poster's advantage is iOS requirement (15.8 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Play Poster ships an update every 4 months, Media Stack every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Play Poster versus Media Stack: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPlay PosterMedia Stack
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.8 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJudeWorksMann Badal

In-app purchases

None

Play Poster

No in-app purchases

None

Media Stack

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Play Poster free?
Play Poster is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Media Stack free?
Media Stack is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Play Poster or Media Stack have ads?
Neither Play Poster nor Media Stack shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Play Poster or Media Stack?
Play Poster ships an update every 4 months, and Media Stack every 2 days. Most recently, Play Poster was updated on October 6, 2026 and Media Stack on October 3, 2026.

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