Comparison

SofaPlay vs INPLAY

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

Head to head
About

SofaPlay

Stream photos and videos from your iOS device to your Smart TV wirelessly. This app connects your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to your TV, allowing you to instantly display media on the big screen without complex setup. It supports devices with UPnP/DLNA standards, including most modern TVs and some Blu-Ray players.

Highlights
  • Wireless media streaming
  • Connects iOS devices to Smart TVs
  • Instant display of photos and videos
  • iTunes file transfer support
  • UPnP/DLNA compatibility
Read full description

SofaPlay allows you to play media files directly from your iOS device on the tv. It connects your iPhone, iPod or iPad to your Smart TV and takes care of the streaming. Just choose any photo or video and it will appear instantly on the big screen in front of you. SofaPlay streams your video wirelessly to your TV. No configuration needed, no hassle. Also you can transfer any video, audio or image files via iTunes to your iOS device and use it in SofaPlay. IMPORTANT: SofaPlay is working with devices, which are supporting the UPnP/DLNA Digital Media Renderer standard. Fortunately, most of the new TVs are working with SofaPlay. Also, there are a few supported Blu-Ray Players. If your device has a network connection (wireless or wired), there is a great chance it is supported.

About

INPLAY

This multimedia player supports DRM content and offers in-app communication features for users. It allows for both online streaming and offline playback of downloaded movies, with adaptive download capabilities. Users can also opt for private communication channels.

Highlights
  • DRM content playback
  • In-app communication/chat
  • Offline playback
  • Adaptive download
  • Multi-language audio and subtitles
  • Customizable watermarks
Features
Read full description

IdeaNova INPLAY player plays DRM content and provides communication/chat functionality. INPLAY DRM is a free multimedia player provided by IdeaNova Technologies that plays DRM content and allows users to chat with each other. The content can be played over connected network from a backend streaming server or can be downloaded for offline playback. This is the port of INPLAY media player to the iOS platform. INPLAY for iOS can play single and multi bitrate content. INPLAY is intended for everyone, is totally free, has no ads, other than for the purpose of demonstrating pre-roll ad functionality, no in-app-purchases, no spying and is developed by IdeaNova developers. Features –––––––– INPLAY for iOS can use the default content or users can supply their own content for testing of various encoding and encryption features. The following features are available in this INPLAY sample DRM player: * INPLAY communicator: Allows users to communicate about the movies, travel or life in general while traveling and watching a movie over local network. This unique feature allows users to communicate with other passengers or communication with the flight crew for the purpose of service requests, personal announcements, etc. This is all possible without access to the Internet and the user can opt out of using this service and communicate over a private channel with only the users they trust. * INPLAY adaptive download: Allows users to download a movie and watch it offline without any infrastructure at all. This is a rather unique implementation as the content is still Widevine DRM protected and once downloaded, access to watch the content is granted for the duration of the Widevine DRM license. INPLAY has also implemented adaptive download, which maximizes the ability to download the content in a given time by adjusting the content bandwidth to the available network. *Online playback of FairPlay DRM content *Online playback of Widevine Classic DRM content *Online and offline playback of Widevine Modular DRM content *Playback of pre-roll advertisement – non DRM content *Playback using multi language audio and subtitles for Widevine Modular DRM content *INPLAY support display of visible watermark with options to adjust font and opacity

Screenshots

SofaPlay1 screens
INPLAY4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: INPLAY at 100% against SofaPlay's 25%. INPLAY also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1). SofaPlay's advantage is rating (4.5 vs 3.0) and update cadence (monthly vs every 4 months). On price, ads and device support 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. SofaPlay sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. INPLAY asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SofaPlay holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SofaPlay has 33 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 25% of SofaPlay's written reviews are positive against 100% of INPLAY's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SofaPlay ships an update monthly, INPLAY every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on June 23, 2026 and June 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
SofaPlay versus INPLAY: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSofaPlayINPLAY
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (33 ratings) — better3.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews25.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings33 — better2
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS10.3 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFabian PimmingerIdeaNova Technologies, Inc.

Customer experience

SofaPlay

All ratings33 ratings
Positive87.9%
Neutral3.0%
Negative9.1%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral5.0%
Negative70.0%

INPLAY

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

SofaPlay

One-time1
  • SofaPlay Pro$2.99
None

INPLAY

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SofaPlay free?
SofaPlay is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is INPLAY free?
INPLAY is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SofaPlay or INPLAY?
SofaPlay is rated higher. SofaPlay averages 4.5 out of 5 from 33 ratings, while INPLAY averages 3.0 from 2 ratings.
Do SofaPlay or INPLAY have ads?
Neither SofaPlay nor INPLAY shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SofaPlay or INPLAY?
SofaPlay ships an update monthly, and INPLAY every 4 months. Most recently, SofaPlay was updated on June 23, 2026 and INPLAY on June 1, 2026.

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