Comparison

Crate for Plex vs Plinth Player

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

Head to head
About

Crate for Plex

A native, unofficial music player for your Plex Media Server, designed for iPhone and Apple Watch. Enjoy your owned music library with features like offline listening, crossfade, and queue management without subscriptions or ads.

Highlights
  • Plex music library browsing
  • Offline listening
  • Apple Watch app
  • Crossfade playback
  • Queue management
  • Smart caching
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Your Plex music library, finally given the iOS music player it deserves. Crate is a native, unofficial music player for your Plex Media Server, built for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and CarPlay. Pay once. No subscription. No ads. No tracking. Just your music, played beautifully. ON IPHONE - Browse your entire library — albums, artists, playlists - Now Playing reimagined with crossfade, queue, lyrics, and hearts - Stations built from your own library — Hits, Heart Beats, On Repeat, and more - Discover view to rediscover albums you'd forgotten you loved - Download albums for offline listening - Smart caching keeps recently-played tracks ready offline - Pick up where you left off — Crate restores your last session on launch - Light and dark modes that actually look like iOS IN THE CAR - Full CarPlay app — Home, Library, Discover, Stations, and Search - Top Picks and recent albums the moment you connect - Hands-free with Siri: "Hey Siri, play House in Crate" - Ask Siri for a playlist, an artist, or a station, or say "I like this song" to heart it ON IPAD - A layout built for the big screen, in both orientations - Lyrics alongside the artwork, the way they should be ON APPLE WATCH - A real watchOS app — browse, download, and play from your wrist - Doubles as a remote when your iPhone is the one playing - Download albums directly to your watch - Phone-optional playback with AirPods THE FUNDAMENTALS, DONE RIGHT - Gapless playback with crossfade between tracks - Volume matching, so quiet albums and loud ones sit at the same level - Lossless FLAC playback on iPhone (Apple Watch auto-transcodes for compatibility) - Stream quality control, with Data Saver and Low Data Mode respected automatically - Shuffle with no repeats - Hearts to track what you love - Queue management you can actually use WHAT'S NOT INSIDE - No subscription - No ads - No tracking - No login wall to a service that isn't yours Crate connects directly to your own Plex Media Server. Your music. Your server. Your player. REQUIREMENTS Crate requires a Plex Media Server with a music library and a free Plex account. Plex Pass is not required. Crate is an unofficial third-party application and is not made by, endorsed by, or affiliated with Plex Inc.

About

Plinth Player

Features
Read full description

Plinth puts your own music library in your pocket. If you run Emby or Jellyfin — or someone in your life does — Plinth is the native iPhone app that connects straight to your server. No re-uploading your collection to someone else's cloud. No subscription to listen to music you already own. Just your library, the way you organised it, wherever you go. Stream or take it offline Play anything on your server over Wi-Fi or cellular, or download albums, playlists, and podcast episodes to your iPhone for the gym, the plane, or the subway. Downloads are yours to keep until you remove them, and Plinth shows you exactly what's stored and how much space it's using. Built for real libraries • Browse by album, artist, song, or playlist • High-quality playback, including lossless FLAC and ALAC • Create playlists in the app — they sync back to your Emby server • Podcast shows and episodes alongside your music • A Home screen that surfaces your playlists and recent listening • Clean offline mode with a clear banner when you're off-network Your server, your rules Plinth talks directly to your own Emby or Jellyfin instance. Your music never passes through our servers — we don't have any. Sign in with your existing server account and you're listening in seconds. Connect over HTTPS for a secure link, or your local network at home. Made for everyone in the house Whether you run a full home-lab NAS or you're just signing into a family member's server, Plinth keeps the setup simple: enter your server address, sign in, and play. Private by design No ads. No tracking. No account with us. Plinth connects only to the server you tell it to. Read our privacy policy at https://www.zielsdorfsolutions.com/plinth/privacy. Plinth is an independent app and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Emby LLC or the Jellyfin project. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Crate for Plex4 screens
Plinth Player4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Plinth Player at Free against Crate for Plex's $3.99. Plinth Player also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.4). Crate for Plex's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and chart position (#184 vs unranked). On ads 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

Plinth Player is free to download; Crate for Plex costs $3.99 up front. Plinth Player sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per year. Crate for Plex asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Crate for Plex ships an update every 2 months, Plinth Player monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Crate for Plex versus Plinth Player: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCrate for PlexPlinth Player
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (6 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings6 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid—
Best chart rank#184 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS26.418.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDarren EbbingZielsdorf Solutions LLC

In-app purchases

None

Crate for Plex

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Plinth Player

Subscriptions1
  • Plinth Annual$4.991 Year
One-time1
  • Plinth Lifetime$9.99

Questions

Is Crate for Plex free?
Crate for Plex costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Plinth Player free?
Plinth Player is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Crate for Plex or Plinth Player have ads?
Neither Crate for Plex nor Plinth Player shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Crate for Plex or Plinth Player?
Crate for Plex ships an update every 2 months, and Plinth Player monthly. Most recently, Crate for Plex was updated on October 13, 2026 and Plinth Player on October 15, 2026.

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