Comparison

Review for Plex vs ViewPane

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

Head to head
About

Review for Plex

This app provides server administrators with detailed insights and management tools for their Plex Media Server. Monitor streams, analyze viewing habits, and control library settings directly from your device.

Highlights
  • Real-time stream monitoring
  • In-depth viewing statistics
  • Advanced media management
  • Fix media matching
  • Server and library control
  • Powerful search functionality
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Review for Plex seamlessly integrates with your existing Plex Media Server, unlocking a wealth of data and insights at your fingertips. Review connects directly to your server's official API, giving you powerful insights without needing third-party tools. Please note that this application is designed for server administrators. To access certain advanced features, an active Plex Pass subscription may be required. For the best experience, we recommend using the latest version of Plex Media Server. Monitor all current streams in real-time, see who is watching what, and get detailed information on every session. Sync your entire watch history to uncover fascinating statistics, including your most-played movies and shows, top users, and fun facts about your viewing habits. Review isn't just for viewing, it's for managing. - Take control of your media library like never before. - Refresh metadata, analyze media files for optimal playback, change posters, and easily fix incorrect media matches, all from your iPhone. - You can also access and modify a wide range of advanced server and library settings, giving you unparalleled control over your medias. Key Features: - Real-Time Activity Monitoring: See live stream details, including user, player, and location. - In-Depth Statistics: Discover your top media, active users, and peak viewing times. - Advanced Media Management: Refresh metadata, analyze files, and change artwork. - Fix Matching: Easily correct mismatched movies and shows. - Full Server & Library Control: Access and edit advanced settings. - Powerful Search: Instantly find any item in your libraries. - Native iOS Experience: A clean, fast, and responsive interface built with SwiftUI. Review for Plex is not affiliated with Plex Inc.

About

ViewPane

Features
Read full description

ViewPane is the companion app for Frigate NVR — the open-source, self-hosted network video recorder trusted by thousands of self-hosting enthusiasts. Your cameras. Your network. Your phone. NATIVE HEVC LIVE VIEW Tap any camera for a fullscreen live view played as real video with hardware H.265/HEVC decode — full resolution, full frame rate, no server re-encoding. Pinch to zoom, pan while zoomed, rotate for landscape. ALL YOUR CAMERAS IN ONE GRID A clean 2- or 3-column grid with thumbnails you set yourself — capture the exact frame you want for each camera. Live Wall (Pro) turns the grid into an auto-updating multi-camera view with Auto, Large, Medium, or Small tiles, and a long-press pins any camera as the big tile. BROWSE AI-DETECTED EVENTS Scroll events with thumbnails, confidence scores, and zone labels. Filter by camera, detection type (person, car, dog, cat), or time range (Pro). Tap any event for the snapshot and recorded clip. PLAY, SAVE, AND SHARE CLIPS (PRO) Event clips and continuous recordings download to your phone, play smoothly mobile-optimized, and hand off to the system share sheet — save to your files or photos via the share sheet, or send to anyone. GET NOTIFIED (PRO) Motion alerts through your own self-hosted relay container, driven by your MQTT broker. Per-camera schedules, tap an alert to jump to the live view and snooze that camera. No cloud middleman — the relay runs on your hardware. Delivery is best-effort: alerts ride your network and Apple's push service, so treat them as a convenience, not a guarantee. WORKS EVERYWHERE Connect over your local network at home or remotely through Tailscale or a reverse proxy — ViewPane automatically picks the right URL. Sign in with Frigate's own built-in login (0.16+), Basic Auth, or a Bearer Token. The app refuses to send credentials over unsafe public HTTP. PRIVACY FIRST No analytics, no tracking, no accounts, no cloud. Server credentials live in your device's secure keychain. Camera footage flows directly between your phone and your server — we never see it. The only optional external service is push delivery (an anonymous device token; never video or credentials). BUILT FOR FRIGATE USERS Works with Frigate 0.14 or newer (tested on 0.16, 0.17 and 0.18), community or Frigate+. Multi-server support (Pro). Demo mode lets you tour the full app with sample data before touching your config. Built and tested daily on a 10-camera Frigate install. ViewPane is for viewing cameras you own and operate. It is a viewer, not a security or alarm system: it does not monitor anything itself or contact anyone on your behalf, and push notifications are best-effort and can be delayed or dropped by your network or by Apple's and Google's push services. ViewPane is a viewer for cameras you own and operate. It is not a security or alarm system, does not monitor anything on your behalf, and is not a substitute for a monitored service. Free tier: one server, the camera grid, fullscreen native-HEVC live view with pinch-zoom and landscape, the last 20 events, LAN + Tailscale access, and demo mode. ViewPane Pro ($9.99/year — under a dollar a month) adds push notifications, full event history with filters, clip playback and saving, unlimited servers, and Live Wall. ViewPane is not affiliated with the Frigate NVR project. Privacy Policy: https://viewpane.app/privacy · Terms of Use (EULA): https://viewpane.app/terms

Screenshots

Review for Plex4 screens
ViewPane4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Review for Plex at none against ViewPane's 1. ViewPane's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.5). On price, ads 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. ViewPane sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per year. Review for Plex asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Review for Plex versus ViewPane: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReview for PlexViewPane
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequency—Every 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS18.516.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB34 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBRUNO DURANDKenneth Campbell

In-app purchases

None

Review for Plex

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

ViewPane

Subscriptions1
  • ViewPane Pro$9.991 Year

Questions

Is Review for Plex free?
Review for Plex is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ViewPane free?
ViewPane is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Review for Plex or ViewPane have ads?
Neither Review for Plex nor ViewPane shows ads.

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