# Plynic vs HydraShelf

The clearest difference is ads: Plynic at none against HydraShelf's shown. Plynic also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17). HydraShelf's advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 2 weeks). On price and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

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

Plynic ships an update every 2 weeks, HydraShelf daily. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Plynic | HydraShelf |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/plynic/id6757113719/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **1** | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | **Daily** |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Size | 82 MB | 5 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 17 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [融 林](https://appshunter.io/developer/1766739217) | [Federico Sebastiani](https://appshunter.io/developer/1801020587) |

## What reviewers say

### Plynic

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/plynic/id6757113719)

A cross-platform media player designed for a clean, efficient, and unified playback experience. It allows users to easily play and manage their own media from various sources without complex configurations or subscriptions.

**Highlights:** Unified media playback and management, Supports Emby, Jellyfin, SMB, and IPTV, Favorites, playback history, and custom playlists, Consistent cross-platform experience, Free and fully functional

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

**In-app purchases:** none


### HydraShelf

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

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Plynic free?

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

### Is HydraShelf free?

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

### Do Plynic or HydraShelf have ads?

HydraShelf shows ads; Plynic does not.

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

Plynic ships an update every 2 weeks, and HydraShelf daily. Most recently, Plynic was updated on October 31, 2026 and HydraShelf on October 25, 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.*