Comparison

StepBy vs Bref Player

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

Head to head
About

StepBy

This app helps you manage personal workflows and tasks with a user-friendly, step-by-step approach. It allows you to create custom processes, execute them with focused guidance, and track your progress with detailed reports. An AI assistant can help generate your workflows.

Highlights
  • Custom SOP editor
  • Step-by-step execution mode
  • AI workflow creation
  • Progress tracking and reports
  • Branching steps for conditional logic
  • Local data storage
Features
Read full description

A checklist tells you what to do. StepBy helps you work through how to do it. Build reusable checklists and standard operating procedures for work, study and personal projects. Break a repeatable task into clear steps, follow the process with timers, and review what happened before your next run. BUILD A PROCESS YOU CAN REUSE Create actions, notes, sections and if/then branches. Add reference links and images, then use the canvas to see how your steps fit together. FOLLOW ONE STEP AT A TIME Choose a checklist overview or focus on the current step in the immersive view. Use timers to pace your work and record completion with a check, photo or number, depending on the step. LEARN FROM EACH RUN Review execution records, calendars, activity heatmaps and time trends. Look back at your path through the process and find steps you want to adjust. MAKE REPEATED TASKS EASIER TO START Set recurring plans with local reminders. Open a favorite SOP or task from a widget, then follow the process you prepared. TURN AN IDEA INTO STEPS Describe a goal to the built-in AI assistant to draft a structured SOP, then refine it through conversation. Share a process with a share code, or import one to adapt for yourself. START FREE Core execution and sync features are available in the free version. A one-time Pro purchase unlocks unlimited SOP creation, advanced statistics and AI features. Check the app for current entitlements. Step by step. Put your method into practice.

About

Bref Player

Consolidate your video, music, and book collections across various devices. Access local files, cloud storage, and media servers to enjoy your owned media with extensive format support and advanced playback features.

Highlights
  • Unified media library
  • Support for numerous video and audio formats
  • Connect to local files, NAS, cloud drives, and media servers
  • Offline downloads for viewing
  • Advanced subtitle support
  • Casting and IPTV playlist support
  • Organized library with artwork and playback progress
Features
Read full description

Your media, ready for every screen. Bref brings video, music and books together on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV. Connect your local files, NAS, cloud drives and media servers, and enjoy the collection you already own. VIDEO FORMATS Play MKV, MP4, MOV, M4V, AVI, WMV, ASF, FLV, WebM, RM / RMVB, MPEG / MPG, TS, MTS / M2TS, VOB, MXF, OGM / OGV, 3GP / 3G2, DVR-MS and WTV. Supported codecs include H.264 / AVC, H.265 / HEVC, AV1, VP9, VC-1 and MPEG. Open main features from BDMV and VIDEO_TS folders or ISO / IMG disc images, and resolve STRM / STRMLNK media links. PICTURE QUALITY Enjoy 4K video and HDR10, HLG or Dolby Vision playback on compatible devices, with hardware and software decoding paths. Compatible Apple TV setups can request a display mode that matches the content frame rate. DOLBY AUDIO AND MULTICHANNEL SOUND Play Dolby Digital (AC-3) and Dolby Digital Plus (E-AC-3) audio, and decode TrueHD and DTS / DTS-HD tracks. Switch audio tracks, use multichannel PCM output or stereo downmix, and enjoy 5.1 or 7.1 content with compatible output devices. AC-3 / E-AC-3 can also use the system compressed-audio output path, subject to the device, operating system and audio connection. YOUR SOURCES Access local files, SMB, NFS, WebDAV, FTP, FTPES, FTPS, SFTP and UPnP / DLNA. Connect Jellyfin, Emby, Plex, Feiniu Video, Baidu Netdisk, Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive on supported platforms. CASTING AND IPTV Cast video or music to Apple TV via UPnP / DLNA. Add M3U / M3U8 playlist URLs. MUSIC FORMATS Play MP3, AAC, M4A, FLAC, ALAC, APE, WAV, OGG, Opus and WMA, plus AC-3, E-AC-3, DTS / DTS-HD and MLP / TrueHD audio. Browse artwork and song information, follow available synchronized lyrics, and use playlists, shuffle and repeat playback. On iPhone and iPad, listen in the background and control music from the Lock Screen or Control Center. SUBTITLES AND BILINGUAL VIEWING Read SRT, ASS / SSA, WebVTT, TTML / DFXP, SAMI / SMI, MicroDVD and MPL2 text subtitles, plus PGS / SUP and VobSub (IDX / SUB) image subtitles. Choose embedded tracks, discover nearby files or import and associate subtitles manually. Adjust subtitle timing and display two subtitles together with compatible text-track combinations. AN ORGANIZED LIBRARY Match videos with artwork, descriptions and episode information. Manage favorites and watched status, save playback progress and return to recently played items. Create custom video collections across sources without moving the original files. OFFLINE DOWNLOADS Download supported videos for offline viewing. Pause and resume range-based downloads when the source is accessible. Add compatible HTTP / HTTPS video download links on iPhone, iPad and Mac. PREVIEWS AND CHAPTERS Preview the timeline and navigate supported disc titles and chapters. CACHE CONTROLS Use read-ahead and disk caching for network video. Adjust preload capacity, view cache usage and clear video or artwork caches. CROSS-DEVICE ACCESS AND ICLOUD Restore eligible purchases with the same Apple Account on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV. Sync supported source settings, playback progress and recently played records through iCloud. Enjoy controls adapted to touch, keyboard, pointer and the Siri Remote. BOOKS, TOO Connect an OPDS source to read EPUB and PDF books on supported platforms. APPLE TV: SWIPE TO SEEK Slide left or right on the Siri Remote touch surface to scrub continuously, with time and frame previews. Release to seek while preserving the prior playing or paused state. PLEASE NOTE Bref does not supply movies, third-party service memberships or decryption of protected content. Add media you own or are authorized to access. Available features and purchase options are shown in the app. Source, format and output support depend on the platform, operating system, media file and equipment. Network playback and sync require suitable services and connectivity. Privacy Policy: https://www.bref.cn/privacy/ Support: https://www.bref.cn/support/

Screenshots

StepBy4 screens
Bref Player4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Bref Player at every 2 days against StepBy's every 9 days. Bref Player also leads on device support (5 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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. StepBy sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Bref Player sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

StepBy ships an update every 9 days, Bref Player every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
StepBy versus Bref Player: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStepByBref Player
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—8 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB71 MB
Age rating4+9+
Developer馨洁龙 郑Hatch Co., Ltd

Customer experience

StepBy

Written reviews15 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bref Player

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

StepBy

One-time3
  • StepBy-Pro(lifetime)$2.99
  • StepBy - Upgrade to Pro+$2.99
  • StepBy-Pro+(lifetime)$4.99
2 purchases

Bref Player

Subscriptions1
  • Bref Pro Monthly7 Days trial$0.991 Month
One-time1
  • Bref Pro$9.99

Questions

Is StepBy free?
StepBy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Bref Player free?
Bref Player is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do StepBy or Bref Player have ads?
Neither StepBy nor Bref Player shows ads.
Which is updated more often, StepBy or Bref Player?
StepBy ships an update every 9 days, and Bref Player every 2 days. Most recently, StepBy was updated on November 7, 2026 and Bref Player on October 31, 2026.

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