Comparison

PeerTube vs iArchivist

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

Head to head
About

PeerTube

Watch, share, and publish videos on a decentralized network. This app offers a free, privacy-respecting alternative to mainstream video platforms, allowing you to explore content across thousands of independent servers without an account.

Highlights
  • Watch and subscribe to channels
  • Explore decentralized federation
  • Search and discover videos
  • Offline video downloads (future)
  • Upload videos from mobile (future)
  • Comment and interact with community (future)
Read full description

Discover the PeerTube mobile application, a free alternative to video streaming giants like YouTube. Thanks to its decentralised network, PeerTube lets you watch, share and publish videos in complete freedom, while remaining in control of your data. The official PeerTube application is your gateway to hundreds of thousands of videos, available across more than a thousand different platforms, and now viewable on your mobile device wherever you are. Main features of the application Watch videos and subscribe to your favourite channels: Follow your favourite creators, no matter which instance they're hosted on, and find out what's new on the home screen. Find videos you've watched and saved for later in ‘Library’. Explore the PeerTube federation: easily browse videos and creators on different PeerTube instances hosted around the world. Discover diverse content from a multitude of interconnected servers. No account required! Search and discover videos: Use our search engine to find specific videos, channels or themes across the entire PeerTube network. Choose themes that interest you to find the content that's right for you. Offline download: Download videos directly to your device and watch them without an internet connection, wherever and whenever you want. Upload videos from your mobile device: Easily import your own videos from your device, and contribute to PeerTube's decentralised ecosystem. Comment and interact: Comment, discuss and exchange around videos with the PeerTube community. Why choose PeerTube? PeerTube is more than just a video platform. It's a decentralised network that respects your privacy and offers you an ethical alternative to the platforms of surveillance capitalism. Unlike centralised services, PeerTube does not collect your personal data or track you for advertising purposes. With PeerTube, you have complete control over your video experience. Download the PeerTube application now and join a community that supports a free, decentralised Internet that respects its users. Who is behind PeerTube? PeerTube is a project developed by Framasoft, a French non-profit organisation committed to popular education about the digital commons. Framasoft is known for its many initiatives aimed at raising public awareness of alternatives to large centralised platforms and encouraging digital practices that are more respectful of privacy and individual freedoms. This is done in particular through the De-google-ify Internet campaign, which proposes some fifteen services as alternatives to those of the net giants.

About

iArchivist

Access and control your TubeArchivist server from your Apple devices. Add videos, manage subscriptions, trigger downloads, and organize playlists with a native interface.

Highlights
  • Manage videos and subscriptions
  • Trigger server downloads
  • Track download progress
  • Create and modify playlists
  • Native experience on Apple devices
Features
Read full description

View and manage your TubeArchivist instance across your iPhone, iPad and Apple TV devices in a beautiful native experience. Manage - Add and delete new videos and subscriptions directly from the app. - Trigger server downloads directly from the app and track the progress. - Create and modify custom playlists and existing playlists. This app requires that you have your own TubeArchivist server.

Screenshots

PeerTube4 screens
iArchivist4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: PeerTube at 3.9 against iArchivist's 3.0. PeerTube also leads on ratings volume (34 vs 4) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.6). iArchivist's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 5 weeks) and review sentiment (60% vs 47%). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PeerTube holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PeerTube has 34 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 47% of PeerTube's written reviews are positive against 60% of iArchivist's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PeerTube ships an update every 5 weeks, iArchivist every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
PeerTube versus iArchivist: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPeerTubeiArchivist
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (34 ratings) — better3.0 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews47.1% of reviews60.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings34 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size63 MB83 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperFramasoftChristopher Wunsch

Customer experience

PeerTube

All ratings34 ratings
Positive70.6%
Neutral8.8%
Negative20.6%
Written reviews51 reviews
Positive47.1%
Neutral13.7%
Negative39.2%

iArchivist

All ratings4 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative40.0%

Bugs and requests

PeerTube

Reported bugs

17 issues
  • App freezes on opening
  • Cannot scroll on landing page
  • App does not orient correctly
  • App gets stuck upside down
  • Video player has delay
Show 12 more
  • Accidental touch controls for brightness/volume
  • Cannot find own videos
  • App logs out users
  • Not accessible with screen magnification
  • Video loading issues
  • Screen remains frozen on homepage
  • App freezes on splash screen
  • Cannot log into account
  • Cannot search other instances properly
  • Instance addresses not saved
  • Cannot add custom instances
  • App is unusable

Requested features

14 requests
  • Background playback
  • Picture-in-picture mode
  • Widget with video previews
  • Ability to add custom instances
  • Support for more PeerTube instances
Show 9 more
  • User accounts
  • Ability to upload videos
  • Creator section
  • Move creator work from YouTube
  • Incentives for followers
  • Import videos
  • Create an account
  • Airplay support
  • Set default instance

iArchivist

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

PeerTube

No in-app purchases

None

iArchivist

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PeerTube free?
PeerTube is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is iArchivist free?
iArchivist is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PeerTube or iArchivist?
PeerTube is rated higher. PeerTube averages 3.9 out of 5 from 34 ratings, while iArchivist averages 3.0 from 4 ratings.
Do PeerTube or iArchivist have ads?
Neither PeerTube nor iArchivist shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PeerTube or iArchivist?
PeerTube ships an update every 5 weeks, and iArchivist every 10 days. Most recently, PeerTube was updated on October 24, 2026 and iArchivist on October 31, 2026.

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