Comparison

Embr vs vChat!

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

Head to head
About

Embr

This native client offers a fast and uncluttered way to watch live streams and interact with chat. Enjoy features like picture-in-picture, background audio, and seamless quality switching. Browse and favorite channels without an account, or sign in to join conversations.

Highlights
  • Native AVPlayer for streams
  • Picture-in-picture and background audio
  • Integrated chat with animated emotes
  • Favorite channels without an account
  • Search channels and categories
  • Moderator tools for chat management
Features
Read full description

Embr is a fast, native Twitch client built for iPhone — not a wrapped web view. Streams open in a real AVPlayer with picture-in-picture, background audio, and instant quality switching. Chat is rendered natively so it stays smooth even in the busiest channels. No bloat, no clutter, just watch and chat. Browse without an account. Star the channels you love to keep them one tap away, and sign in with Twitch only when you want your follows and to join the conversation. WATCH • Native AVPlayer video — live streams, VODs, and clips • Picture-in-picture and background audio — keep watching while you use other apps • Audio-only mode for listening with the screen off • Quality selection, latency display, and landscape fullscreen • Double-tap to seek, and adjustable playback speed on VODs BROWSE & DISCOVER • Favorites — star any channel and see who's live at a glance, no account needed • Live channels and top categories at a glance • Search channels and categories instantly • A Following tab that surfaces who's live (when signed in) • Rich channel pages with everything you need to dive in REAL-TIME CHAT • Live chat over Twitch EventSub — fast and reliable • Animated emotes from Twitch, 7TV, BetterTTV, and FrankerFaceZ, all merged together • Badges, cheermotes, mentions, and threaded replies • Emote autocomplete and recent-message backfill so you're never lost • Search the chat, report or block messages, and hide users you'd rather not see • Moderator tools — delete, timeout, and ban — when you're a mod in the channel • VoiceOver reads every message aloud, emote names included MADE FOR iPhone • Light and dark themes, with chat readability and text-scale controls • Haptics, third-party emote toggles, and a blocked-users list • Built natively in UIKit for speed and a small footprint • Full guest browsing — an account is optional FREE, WITH AN OPTIONAL TIP JAR Every feature is free for everyone. If Embr becomes how you watch, you can leave a tip in Settings. Tips unlock nothing; they just keep the app going. Embr is open source. ——— Embr is an independent, third-party app and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or connected to Twitch Interactive, Inc. "Twitch" and all related names, marks, and logos are trademarks of their respective owners and are used here only to describe what the app connects to. You sign in with your own Twitch account through Twitch's official OAuth; Embr never sees your password. Use of Twitch is subject to Twitch's own Terms of Service.

About

vChat!

Experience Twitch chat with full emote support and advanced moderation tools on your iPhone. Watch streams, replay past broadcasts with synchronized chat, and even manage your own stream directly from your device.

Highlights
  • Full 7TV, BTTV, FFZ emote support
  • Anonymous chat access
  • Integrated video player with Picture in Picture
  • Synchronized chat with VOD playback
  • Advanced moderation tools
  • Stream Studio for mobile stream management
  • Customizable themes and text sizes
Features
Read full description

Twitch chat that keeps up, on your iPhone. 7TV, BTTV and FFZ emotes render inline, animated, in every channel — the same chat your friends see on desktop, not a stripped-down version of it. Open the app and you are in, anonymously, with no account and no sign-in wall. WATCH Live streams, past broadcasts, highlights and clips, in one player. Past broadcasts replay the chat that ran alongside them, in step with the video, with the same emotes and colours as live chat. Picture in Picture and background audio keep a stream going while you do something else. CHAT Third-party emotes, badges, replies, mentions and whispers. Channel history is already there when you join. Pick out mentions, first-time chatters, returning chatters and words you choose with colours you set. Mute words you would rather not read. MODERATE Tap any name to time out, ban, delete a message, or read that person's recent history. Anyone — signed in or not — can block or report. STREAM STUDIO Run your own stream from your phone. Switch OBS scenes, watch bitrate and FPS, start polls and predictions, create a clip, start a raid, and edit your title, category and tags without touching your PC. MADE THE WAY YOU WANT IT Dark, light and OLED themes. Text and emote sizes. Timestamps, badges and each emote provider set globally or per channel. Settings you can search. PRIVACY No advertising SDK. No analytics SDK. No advertising identifier. Nothing sold, ever. Most of what vChat! knows about you never leaves your phone. vChat! Pro is a one-time $2.99 — no subscription. It adds chat search, filters for bots, commands and emote-only spam, and history search on any chatter. vChat! is an independent application and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Twitch Interactive, Inc.

Screenshots

Embr4 screens
vChat!4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: vChat! at 5.0 against Embr's 2.0. vChat! also leads on iOS requirement (15.5 vs 18.0). Embr's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and 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

Both are free to download. Embr sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and vChat! sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

vChat! holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Embr ships an update every 5 days, vChat! every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Embr versus vChat!: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEmbrvChat!
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings12 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.015.5 — better
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB30 MB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperMidgar OySabastian Hassler

Customer experience

Embr

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

vChat!

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Embr

One-time3
  • Small Tip$1.99
  • Medium Tip$4.99
  • Large Tip$9.99
1 purchases

vChat!

One-time1
  • vChat! Pro Lifetime$2.99

Questions

Is Embr free?
Embr is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is vChat! free?
vChat! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Embr or vChat!?
vChat! is rated higher. Embr averages 2.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while vChat! averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Embr or vChat! have ads?
Neither Embr nor vChat! shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Embr or vChat!?
Embr ships an update every 5 days, and vChat! every 3 days. Most recently, Embr was updated on November 5, 2026 and vChat! on October 31, 2026.

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