Poptonium for Plex vs Media Stack
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
Poptonium for Plex
Read full descriptionHide full description
A native, lightweight Plex client. Fully customizable by owners, from curations to ratings. Full Google Cast support and broad codec support that plays almost anything without transcoding. A customizable library - Server owners set the layout and add their own sections - Owners choose which ratings are shown - Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb, Metacritic, and TMDB all supported Plays almost anything - Handles most codecs and containers, no transcoding needed Cast to any screen - Full Google Cast support - Control playback from a notification, no need to open the app - Adjust subtitles, audio, and quality on the fly Subtitles in seconds - Search and download missing subtitles right in the app - No sign-ups or accounts needed for your users - Save subtitle preferences for entire TV shows Some functionalities such as library customization and subtitle downloads require the Poptonium server to be installed alongside Plex. See poptonium.app for instructions.
Media Stack
Read full descriptionHide full description
Bring your media services together in a quiet, native home for iPhone and iPad. Connect as many Sonarr, Radarr, Lidarr, Prowlarr, Seerr and Tautulli services as you need. Keep each server distinct while browsing useful combined views. YOUR SERVICES, IN PERSPECTIVE Arrange Home around service health, upcoming releases, downloads, pending requests and current playback. Search your film, series and music libraries with filters and grid or list layouts. DAILY MANAGEMENT, CLOSE AT HAND Add and edit films, series or artists, choose profiles and folders, set monitoring, compare releases, manage downloads, preview file renames and match manual imports. Search every indexer at once through Prowlarr and send a release straight to a download client. Actions identify their originating service, and file deletion requires an explicit choice. A PLACE FOR WHATβS NEXT See episode, film and album releases in Month or Upcoming calendar views. Add optional local release reminders. Follow requests and reported issues through Seerr, and view playback details, history and statistics through Tautulli. AT HOME ON YOUR DEVICE Upcoming-release and queue widgets show the last fetched information. Shortcuts open Home, Queue, Calendar, Requests or media search. Light and dark appearances, Dynamic Type, native navigation and an adaptive iPad sidebar make room for your way of working. Optional alerts tell you when a release is grabbed, a download finishes, a file is upgraded, Plex adds a title, a stream starts, a request arrives or a service needs attention. SIMPLY YOURS No ads, subscriptions or Managerr account. Services are stored locally on each device. API keys stay in device-only Keychain. Saved snapshots remain available offline; server changes require connectivity. Try the clearly labelled offline demo without a server. Managerr requires your own supported services for real management and does not supply, host or play media. Some actions depend on service capabilities and permissions. Widgets alerts and local reminders use the information last fetched by the app; there is no hosted push notification service.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Media Stack at every 2 days against Poptonium for Plex's every 9 days. Poptonium for Plex's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Poptonium for Plex ships an update every 9 days, Media Stack every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Poptonium for Plex | Media Stack |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days | Every 2 days β better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 β better | 26.0 |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 52 MB | 16 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Benjamin de Waal Malefijt | Mann Badal |
In-app purchases
Poptonium for Plex
No in-app purchases
Media Stack
No in-app purchases









