Comparison

Moonfin vs Photon Player

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

Head to head
About

Moonfin

Access and manage your personal media library from your Jellyfin server on iOS, macOS, and tvOS. Stream content, download for offline viewing, and enjoy a modern interface across all your devices.

Highlights
  • Stream movies, shows, and music
  • Offline media playback
  • Live TV and DVR support
  • Multi-server connection
  • Customizable interface
  • Cross-device settings sync
Features
Read full description

Moonfin brings your Jellyfin and Emby experience to iOS, MacOS, and tvOS in one polished app. Whether you’re on the couch or on the go, Moonfin makes it easy to browse, stream, and manage your personal media library with a fast, modern interface built for every screen size. To use Moonfin, you’ll need your own Jellyfin or Emby server. With Moonfin, you can: • Watch movies, shows, and music from your personal library • Use one app across tvOS and mobile • Download media for offline playback • Browse and play Live TV and DVR content (server setup required) • Watch trailers directly in the app • Request new content with Seerr integration • Connect multiple servers and browse them in one place • Customize your home screen, navigation, and playback behavior • Sync compatible settings across devices with the Moonfin plugin • Use advanced playback controls for subtitles, audio tracks, and more Moonfin is a third-party client built with love for the Jellyfin and Emby communities.

About

Photon Player

Features
Read full description

Photon is a native player for the library you already own. Connect your media servers, your cloud and network storage, and your Live TV subscription, and everything you can watch appears in one place — on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Mac, from a single purchase. YOUR OWN LIBRARY, TOGETHER • Works with Jellyfin, Emby, Plex and Silo • Connect a server free, or as many as you like with Pro. Home and Search bring them all together; the Library tab keeps each source's own shelves separate, so you can still ask what is on one server. • Play straight from an SMB, NFS, FTP or WebDAV share, a UPnP server on your network, or Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive, with no media server at all • Live TV from an Xtream Codes subscription: a full program guide, favorites, and a channel list built for thousands of channels • Open a video from Files or the Finder and it becomes a title like any other — with a resume point, artwork and a name you can match against your servers AS IT WAS MADE • Dolby Vision and HDR, with AVPlayer driving the display for real HDR output • MKV and 4K play as they are. Nothing is quietly downscaled or re-encoded behind your back. • Dolby Digital Plus with Atmos passed through untouched; TrueHD and DTS-HD decoded losslessly rather than folded to stereo, and with Pro, TrueHD Atmos rendered with its height • Subtitles drawn as overlays, never burned into the picture • Standing choices for audio language, subtitle language, and when subtitles should come on at all • Skip intros and credits, and go straight into the next episode EVERYWHERE YOU WATCH • Download for offline with Pro. Transfers carry on while you are elsewhere, with a Live Activity on the Lock Screen and a notice when a title lands. • Handoff picks a film up on the next device at the frame you left it • Spotlight opens a title directly • Top Shelf on Apple TV, a real menu bar on the Mac, and one design across all four platforms BUILT FOR THE PLATFORM Written in SwiftUI for iOS, tvOS and macOS, with full Dynamic Type, VoiceOver labels on every control, and Reduce Motion respected throughout. There is no account to create and no service of ours in the path: Photon talks to your servers and to your own iCloud, and to nothing else. PHOTON PRO The free app is the whole player: one media server and one Live TV subscription, every drive and network share, and every format — 4K, MKV, Dolby Vision, TrueHD and DTS — with browsing, search, Handoff and SharePlay, no advertising and nothing to sign up for. Pro adds: • Every source at once: as many servers and Live TV subscriptions as you like, together in Home and Search • Downloads, for watching offline • Dolby Atmos from TrueHD soundtracks, rendered for your speakers or headphones • AirPlay to an Apple TV or any AirPlay screen • Your servers, settings and the way you have arranged Home, on every device you sign in on Available monthly, yearly, or as a one-off Lifetime purchase, with a free week on either subscription. One purchase covers iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Mac. Photon plays the media you already have on servers and storage you control. It is an independent client and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Jellyfin, Emby or Plex. Terms of Use (EULA): https://photon.oliverwalton.uk/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://photon.oliverwalton.uk/privacy/

Screenshots

Moonfin4 screens
Photon Player4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Moonfin at none against Photon Player's 3. Moonfin also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). Photon Player's advantage is update cadence (daily vs weekly). 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. Photon Player sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Moonfin asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Moonfin ships an update weekly, Photon Player daily. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Moonfin versus Photon Player: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMoonfinPhoton Player
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (66 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews80.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings66 — better—
Update frequencyWeeklyDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TViPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS16.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size141 MB37 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAXL NUNEZOliver Walton

In-app purchases

None

Moonfin

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Photon Player

Subscriptions2
  • Photon Pro Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Photon Pro Yearly$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Photon Pro Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is Moonfin free?
Moonfin is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Photon Player free?
Photon Player is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Moonfin or Photon Player have ads?
Neither Moonfin nor Photon Player shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Moonfin or Photon Player?
Moonfin ships an update weekly, and Photon Player daily. Most recently, Moonfin was updated on October 18, 2026 and Photon Player on October 14, 2026.

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