# Emby vs PewDecide

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PewDecide at none against Emby's 3. PewDecide also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). Emby's advantage is device support (5 vs 2). On price, ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Emby sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. PewDecide asks for nothing beyond the download.

Emby ships an update every 3 weeks, PewDecide weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Emby | PewDecide |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[3.1 (654 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/emby/id992180193/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **654** | — |
| Positive reviews | 30.8% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 126 MB | 34 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 15.1 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [Emby Media](https://appshunter.io/developer/992180192) | [Evyatar Kopans](https://appshunter.io/developer/1878095331) |

## What reviewers say

### Emby

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/emby/id992180193)

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:** Family Sharing, Siri integration, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Emby Premiere | $6.99 | per month |
| Unlock Playback | $4.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

- Playback errors
- Inability to play certain file formats
- Disconnection issues
- Syncing problems
- Crashes on launch

**Requested features**

- Picture-in-picture mode
- Swipe gestures for navigation
- Improved music management
- Offline playback enhancements
- Chromecast improvements


### PewDecide

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pewdecide/id6759326200)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Emby free?

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

### Is PewDecide free?

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

### Do Emby or PewDecide have ads?

Neither Emby nor PewDecide shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Emby or PewDecide?

Emby ships an update every 3 weeks, and PewDecide weekly. Most recently, Emby was updated on October 17, 2026 and PewDecide on October 2, 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.*