# Plezy vs HydraShelf

The clearest difference is price: HydraShelf at Free against Plezy's $5.99. HydraShelf also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (daily vs weekly). Plezy's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and chart position (#8 vs unranked).

HydraShelf is free to download; Plezy costs $5.99 up front. Plezy sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. HydraShelf asks for nothing beyond the download.

Plezy ships an update weekly, HydraShelf daily. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Plezy | HydraShelf |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $5.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[4.5 (124 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/plezy-media-server-client/id6754315964/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **124** | — |
| Positive reviews | 74.3% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Weekly | **Daily** |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Best chart rank | **#8** | — |
| Size | 124 MB | 5 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.5** | 17 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Edvard Wikhall](https://appshunter.io/developer/1847830664) | [Federico Sebastiani](https://appshunter.io/developer/1801020587) |

## What reviewers say

### Plezy

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/plezy-media-server-client/id6754315964)

**Currently charting:** #8 Top Paid · Entertainment, #77 Top Paid (US App Store)

Enjoy your media library with a sleek, modern interface focused on superior playback and offline access. Stream, download, and watch with friends, all without needing a separate subscription.

**Highlights:** Wide codec and HDR playback support, Download media for offline viewing, Synchronized watch parties with friends, Auto-skip intros and credits, Resume playback across devices, Browse libraries with rich metadata, Connect to multiple Plex servers

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Supporter | $3.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fast and responsive
- 👍 Clean and aesthetically pleasing UI
- 🚀 Efficient and lightweight
- 👍 Easy playback
- 👍 Excellent Plex client

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Constant crashes
- 🐛 Immediately crashes on opening
- 🔍 Limited functionality (no watchlist, single library view)

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes on clicking movies/TV shows
- Crashes within seconds of opening

**Requested features**

- Support for ripped extras
- Picture-in-picture or background playback
- Subtitle support


### HydraShelf

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hydrashelf/id6761987101)

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Plezy free?

Plezy costs $5.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is HydraShelf free?

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

### Do Plezy or HydraShelf have ads?

HydraShelf shows ads; Plezy does not.

### Which is updated more often, Plezy or HydraShelf?

Plezy ships an update weekly, and HydraShelf daily. Most recently, Plezy was updated on November 5, 2026 and HydraShelf on October 31, 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.*