Comparison

Emby vs Swiftfin

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

Head to head
About

Emby

Unite your personal videos, music, and photos into a single, accessible library. Stream your media to any device with automatic on-the-fly conversion and elegant organization. Share with friends and family, and manage access with robust parental controls.

Highlights
  • Personal media aggregation
  • On-the-fly media conversion
  • Elegant media organization
  • Media sharing with friends/family
  • Parental controls
  • Cloud-synced media streaming
Features
Read full description

Bringing all of your personal media together into one place has never been easier! Emby unites your personal videos, music, and photos and streams them to your devices. Get the free Emby Media Server from the Emby website (required as part of your Emby install). • Emby automatically converts your media on-the-fly to play on any device. • Emby organizes your media into an elegant display with artwork, rich metadata and related content. • Easily share your media with friends and family. • Rich parental control and management features allow the Emby Server administrator to easily control access for your entire family. • Stream your cloud-synced media (with installed cloud sync providers) The app is free to browse your media collection, and free to cast media to other devices. Playback requires a small one-time in-app purchase, or an active Emby Premiere subscription, also available in-app. Emby Premiere is available in-app as a monthly subscription for $6.99 USD per month. Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account upon confirmation of purchase. The subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and the renewal cost is $6.99 USD. Subscriptions may be managed and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to your Account Settings after purchase. No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during the active subscription period. Our privacy policy can be found at https://emby.media/privacy. Please also see our terms of use at https://emby.media/terms. All content displayed here is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. The videos displayed are available on the Open Movie Project, found at http://www.blender.org/

About

Swiftfin

Stream your video collection from a Jellyfin media server to your iOS device. Enjoy an easy-to-use interface for your media library and watch live TV if you have the necessary hardware.

Highlights
  • Native iOS/iPadOS video player
  • Connects to Jellyfin media servers
  • Stream video collection
  • Easy-to-use interface
  • Watch Live TV (with hardware)
Features
Read full description

Swiftfin is a fast, native video player that works with Jellyfin, the open source free software media server. To use the app, you must have a Jellyfin server set up and running. Find out more at https://jellyfin.org With a Jellyfin server, you can: - Watch Live TV and recorded shows from your Jellyfin server (additional hardware/services required) - Stream your video to your iOS/iPadOS device - View your collection in an easy to use interface This is an official Jellyfin companion app. Thank you for using Jellyfin!

Screenshots

Emby4 screens
Swiftfin4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Swiftfin at 3.8 against Emby's 3.1. Swiftfin also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and review sentiment (53% vs 31%). Emby's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 3 months) and device support (5 vs 3). On price, ratings volume 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. Emby sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Swiftfin asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Swiftfin holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 3.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 647 and 267 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 31% of Emby's written reviews are positive against 53% of Swiftfin's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Emby ships an update every 3 weeks, Swiftfin every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Emby versus Swiftfin: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEmbySwiftfin
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.1 (647 ratings)3.8 (267 ratings) — better
Positive reviews30.5% of reviews53.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings647 — better267
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, Apple TV
Requires iOS12.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size131 MB186 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEmby MediaAnthony Lavado

Customer experience

Emby

All ratings647 ratings
Positive48.1%
Neutral7.4%
Negative44.5%
Written reviews449 reviews
Positive30.5%
Neutral12.2%
Negative57.2%

Swiftfin

All ratings267 ratings
Positive64.8%
Neutral10.9%
Negative24.3%
Written reviews362 reviews
Positive53.3%
Neutral14.1%
Negative32.6%

User reviews

Emby

From 647 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great app
  • 👍 Awesome interface
  • 🚀 Flawless performance
  • 🚀 Smooth playback
  • 👍 Customizable home screen

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes frequently
  • 🐛 Buggy app
  • 🐛 Unreliable Chromecast support
  • 🔒 Paywall for basic functionality
  • 🐛 Playback issues

Swiftfin

From 267 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Smooth and responsive UI
  • 🚀 Fast and efficient media playback
  • 🔒 Secure user profiles and pin protection
  • 💡 Seamless switching between multiple user accounts
  • 👍 Clean and modern app design

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or freezes
  • 🔋 Inconsistent battery performance
  • 🔒 Difficulty changing server IP/domain
  • 🐛 Issues with subtitle and audio track selection
  • 🐛 Unreliable live TV and DVR functionality

Bugs and requests

Emby

Reported bugs

7 issues
  • Playback errors
  • Inability to play certain file formats
  • Disconnection issues
  • Syncing problems
  • Crashes on launch
Show 2 more
  • Orientation issues
  • Transcoding problems

Requested features

7 requests
  • Picture-in-picture mode
  • Swipe gestures for navigation
  • Improved music management
  • Offline playback enhancements
  • Chromecast improvements
Show 2 more
  • Faster server scanning/indexing
  • Better codec/format support

Swiftfin

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Unable to connect to Jellyfin server after recent updates
  • Sorting and filtering not working as expected
  • Playback issues with certain video codecs and formats
  • Home bar not disappearing during video playback
  • Sync issues between iOS and tvOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add offline media download capability
  • Implement Picture-in-Picture mode
  • Introduce a shuffle option for episodes
  • Integrate e-book and audiobook support
  • Allow customization of media library views

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Emby

Subscriptions1
  • Emby Premiere$6.991 Month
One-time1
  • Unlock Playback2 variants$4.99
None

Swiftfin

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Emby free?
Emby is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Swiftfin free?
Swiftfin is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Emby or Swiftfin?
Swiftfin is rated higher. Emby averages 3.1 out of 5 from 647 ratings, while Swiftfin averages 3.8 from 267 ratings.
Do Emby or Swiftfin have ads?
Neither Emby nor Swiftfin shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Emby or Swiftfin?
Emby ships an update every 3 weeks, and Swiftfin every 3 months. Most recently, Emby was updated on September 23, 2026 and Swiftfin on September 22, 2026.

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