# Photon Player vs MADPLAY TV

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: MADPLAY TV at none against Photon Player's 3. MADPLAY TV also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). Photon Player's advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 9 days) and device support (5 vs 3). On price and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Photon Player sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. MADPLAY TV asks for nothing beyond the download.

Photon Player ships an update daily, MADPLAY TV every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Photon Player | MADPLAY TV |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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 | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Daily** | Every 9 days |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 37 MB | 56 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **17.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Vision Pro** | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Oliver Walton](https://appshunter.io/developer/6797878404) | [Ali Shehata](https://appshunter.io/developer/6804025897) |

## What reviewers say

### 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 |


### MADPLAY TV

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/madplay-tv/id6812806899)

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Photon Player free?

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

### Is MADPLAY TV free?

MADPLAY TV is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Photon Player or MADPLAY TV have ads?

Neither Photon Player nor MADPLAY TV shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Photon Player or MADPLAY TV?

Photon Player ships an update daily, and MADPLAY TV every 9 days. Most recently, Photon Player was updated on November 6, 2026 and MADPLAY TV 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.*