Comparison

Saisei Player vs Playfyn

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

Head to head
About

Saisei Player

Read full description

Your libraries. One player. Stream your own videos, save them for offline viewing, and translate text in a paused frame without leaving the player. BRING YOUR SOURCES TOGETHER Connect Plex, Jellyfin, Emby, Kyoo and Seanime. Browse videos on your NAS or shared folders with SMB and WebDAV, or sign in to Telegram to watch videos from your chats and channels. You can also open local videos from Files. Switch between your sources in one familiar player. PAUSE. TRANSLATE. KEEP WATCHING. On iPhone and iPad, pause a video to recognize text within the scene: a chat on a phone screen, a sign or a document. Turn on translation to read it in the frame, then tap a highlighted region to see the original and translation. Choose a supported language or copy the text without leaving your video. TAKE YOUR VIDEOS WITH YOU Download from supported sources for offline viewing. Manage your queue, pause or retry downloads, and share completed files with other apps. EXPLORE A BIGGER VIEW Play compatible 180° and 360° VR videos directly from supported sources without downloading them first. KEEP YOUR CONTROLS CLOSE Move your favorite player controls toward one side for easier one-handed use. Browse folders, shuffle videos, and manage playlists where your source supports them. Connect a source, choose a video and make yourself at home. Saisei Player does not provide media content. Use your own accounts and media sources. Features vary by source. Text recognition and translation depend on device and language support; language downloads may be required. Film footage and stills: Sintel Ā© Blender Foundation | durian.blender.org. CC BY 3.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Edited, cropped and composited for app previews and screenshots. Additional preview footage: Wing It! — (CC) Blender Foundation | studio.blender.org Spring — Ā© Blender Foundation | cloud.blender.org/spring CC BY 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Edited, cropped and composited for the app preview.

About

Playfyn

Features
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Playfyn is a beautiful, fast client for your own Jellyfin media server — built for people who care how their library looks and plays. Point it at your server, sign in, and your movies and shows are ready on Apple TV, iPhone, and iPad. PLAYBACK THAT RESPECTS YOUR FILES • Full-quality 4K HDR10 and Dolby Vision passthrough — your files play as they were mastered, not re-encoded • MKV and more play seamlessly; when a transcode is genuinely needed, Playfyn degrades gracefully and automatically • Surround audio (Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus) with smart track selection that keeps quality high • Automatic intro and credits skipping (with the Intro Skipper plugin) • Continuous playback, resume anywhere, and an Up Next row that keeps your place across devices MADE FOR EVERY SCREEN • Apple TV: a fast, focus-driven interface designed for the big screen, with a Top Shelf and light/dark looks • iPhone and iPad: Picture in Picture, AirPlay, background audio with full lock-screen controls, and cellular data protection that caps streaming quality on the go • iPad multitasking: Split View, Slide Over, and Stage Manager YOUR LIBRARY, YOUR WAY • A rich home screen with a featured carousel, Up Next, favorites, and recently added • Powerful library browsing: filter by genre or resolution, sort your way, search everything • Playback stats HUD for the curious: live codec, bitrate, and resolution info PRIVATE BY DESIGN Playfyn talks only to your Jellyfin server. No accounts with us, no analytics, no tracking — the App Privacy label is "Data Not Collected," and we mean it. FREE TO TRY, ONE PURCHASE EVERYWHERE Try Playfyn free. Upgrading to Playfyn Pro unlocks unlimited playback with a subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase — and universal purchase means one buy covers Apple TV, iPhone, and iPad. REQUIREMENTS Playfyn requires your own Jellyfin server (free, open-source software — jellyfin.org) on your home network or reachable remotely. Playfyn ships with no media content; you bring your own library. Playfyn is an independent project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Jellyfin project. PLAYFYN PRO — SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS • Playfyn Pro Monthly — $4.99 per month, auto-renewing • Playfyn Pro Lifetime — $39.99, one-time purchase, does not renew Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. A monthly subscription renews automatically unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period; your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel your subscription in Settings > your Apple Account > Subscriptions. One purchase covers iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. Terms of Use (EULA): https://playfyn.app/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://playfyn.app/privacy/

Screenshots

Saisei Player4 screens
Playfyn3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Saisei Player at none against Playfyn's 2. On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Playfyn sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Saisei Player asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. Both last shipped on September 30, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference Ā· 5 level
Saisei Player versus Playfyn: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSaisei PlayerPlayfyn
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyFortnightlyFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS26.026.0
Further details — not scored
Size148 MB41 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCodingmiao PTE. LTD.Playfyn Media LLC

In-app purchases

None

Saisei Player

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Playfyn

Subscriptions1
  • Playfyn Pro - Monthly$4.991 Month
One-time1
  • Playfyn Pro - Lifetime$39.99

Questions

Is Saisei Player free?
Saisei Player is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Playfyn free?
Playfyn is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Saisei Player or Playfyn have ads?
Neither Saisei Player nor Playfyn shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Saisei Player or Playfyn?
Saisei Player ships an update fortnightly, and Playfyn fortnightly. Most recently, Saisei Player was updated on September 30, 2026 and Playfyn on September 30, 2026.

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