# Pippin vs Photon Player

The clearest difference is update cadence: Photon Player at daily against Pippin's every 11 days. Pippin's advantage is iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Pippin sells 3 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.

Pippin ships an update every 11 days, Photon Player daily. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Pippin | Photon Player |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/photon-player/id6804291311/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | — | **1** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 11 days | **Daily** |
| Monetization | — | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 99 MB | 37 MB |
| Requires iOS | **18.0** | 26.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Vision Pro** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Liam Morris](https://appshunter.io/developer/6783976417) | [Oliver Walton](https://appshunter.io/developer/6797878404) |

## What reviewers say

### Pippin

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pippin/id6783976415)

**Features:** Family Sharing, Siri integration, SharePlay

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pippin Pro Monthly | $0.99 | per month |
| Pippin Pro Yearly | $4.99 | per year |
| Pippin Pro - Lifetime | $9.99 | one-time |


### Photon Player

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

This app consolidates your media library from various sources like servers, cloud storage, and live TV subscriptions into a single, unified interface. Enjoy seamless playback with support for advanced features like Dolby Vision and HDR, and download content for offline viewing.

**Highlights:** Connects to Plex, Jellyfin, Emby, Photon, and Silo servers, Supports SMB, NFS, FTP, WebDAV, and UPnP shares, Live TV playback with M3U and Xtream Codes, Dolby Vision and HDR support, Offline downloads with Pro subscription, Handoff and Spotlight integration, Cross-platform compatibility (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 Pippin free?

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

### Is Photon Player free?

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

### Do Pippin or Photon Player have ads?

Neither Pippin nor Photon Player shows ads.

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

Pippin ships an update every 11 days, and Photon Player daily. Most recently, Pippin was updated on November 10, 2026 and Photon Player on November 6, 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.*