# Aether Player vs Photon Player

The clearest difference is rating: Photon Player at 5.0 against Aether Player's 2.0. Photon Player also leads on update cadence (daily vs weekly). Aether Player's advantage is ratings volume (3 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Aether Player sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Photon Player sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Photon Player holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 1 respectively.

Aether Player ships an update weekly, Photon Player daily. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Aether Player | Photon Player |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [2.0 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/aether-player/id6775229911/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/photon-player/id6804291311/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **3** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Weekly | **Daily** |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 156 MB | 37 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 26.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Vision Pro | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Vision Pro |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Vaclav Zmrhal](https://appshunter.io/developer/6774553226) | [Oliver Walton](https://appshunter.io/developer/6797878404) |

## What reviewers say

### Aether Player

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/aether-player/id6775229911)

A personal media player for Plex, Jellyfin, and Emby servers, as well as local files. It offers a unified library view, supports a wide range of formats, and provides features like offline downloads and user profiles. Enjoy your media across all Apple devices with a focus on privacy.

**Highlights:** Connects to Plex, Jellyfin, Emby servers, Unified library view with deduplication, Supports MKV, HEVC, HDR, lossless audio, Offline downloads and Smart Downloads, User profiles with age rating controls, Customizable subtitles and OpenSubtitles search, Music player and Live TV support

**Features:** Family Sharing, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Supporter (Monthly) | $0.99 | per month |
| Supporter (Yearly) | $9.99 | per year |
| Small Tip | $0.99 | one-time |
| Medium Tip | $4.99 | one-time |
| Large Tip | $9.99 | one-time |
| Aether Lifetime | $39.99 | one-time |


### Photon Player

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/photon-player/id6804291311)

This app unifies your media library from various servers, cloud storage, and live TV subscriptions into a single, accessible interface. Enjoy seamless playback with support for high-quality formats and offline downloads.

**Highlights:** Connects to Plex, Jellyfin, Emby, and more, Supports SMB, NFS, FTP, WebDAV, and UPnP shares, Live TV with EPG and channel lists, Dolby Vision and HDR playback, Offline downloads with Pro subscription, Handoff and Spotlight integration, Cross-platform support (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS)

**Features:** SharePlay, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Photon Pro Monthly | $1.99 | per month |
| Photon Pro Yearly | $14.99 | per year |
| Photon Pro Lifetime | $49.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Aether Player free?

Aether Player is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Photon Player free?

Photon Player is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Aether Player or Photon Player?

Photon Player is rated higher. Aether Player averages 2.0 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Photon Player averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Aether Player or Photon Player have ads?

Neither Aether Player nor Photon Player shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Aether Player or Photon Player?

Aether Player ships an update weekly, and Photon Player daily. Most recently, Aether Player was updated on October 31, 2026 and Photon Player 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.*