CineReel · Comparison
Last updated: August 4, 2026
The best Plex clients
for Apple TV, compared.
Four apps play your Plex library on Apple TV: the official Plex app, Infuse, MrMC, and CineReel. The official app has the most features, Infuse has the best codec support, MrMC is the cheapest full player, and CineReel is the fastest native experience with no subscription. Here's the honest breakdown.
Yes, we make CineReel — so we listed everything the others do better too. See our full list of what CineReel doesn't do yet.
| Feature | CineReel | Plex (official) | Infuse | MrMC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free + one-time purchase | App free · Plex Pass $6.99/mo · $69.99/yr · $249.99/5 yr · $749.99 lifetime | Pro $1.99/mo · $16.99/yr · $99.99 lifetime | $6.99 one-time |
| Subscription required | No | For key features (Skip Intro, hardware transcoding, downloads) | Effectively yes (free tier is very limited) | No |
| Native tvOS interface | Yes — built in SwiftUI for the TV | Cross-platform UI | Yes | Kodi-style interface |
| Setup | QR code pairing from your iPhone | Sign in at plex.tv | Sign in with Plex account | Manual server setup |
| Plex account sign-in | Pro — 4-character code from your phone; Free uses server URL + token | Yes | Yes | Optional |
| Multiple servers / shared libraries | Pro — instant switching, each with its own login; Free is one server | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Detail pages (cast, synopsis, extras) | Not yet — select plays directly | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| User profiles / Plex Home | Pro — PIN-protected profiles with content-rating limits for kids | Yes | No | Yes (Kodi profiles) |
| Skip Intro | Pro — auto-skip using your server's markers; Free autoplays the next episode | Yes (Plex Pass) | Yes | No |
| Audio track selection | Pro — with remembered language preferences | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Subtitle selection | Pro — full picker plus size/style/background presets; Free auto-picks the best track | Full picker | Full picker + advanced styling | Full picker |
| Offline downloads | Pro — Mac, iPhone & iPad; original files, no re-encoding | Yes (Plex Pass, mobile) | No (streams only) | Local files supported |
| Live TV & DVR | No | Yes (Plex Pass) | No | Limited |
| Resume across devices | Yes — synced via your Plex server | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Playback fallback & recovery | Automatic multi-tier fallback, codec guard, self-healing errors | Standard | Standard | Standard |
| Top Shelf integration | Yes — top-rated movies from your server | Yes | Yes | No |
Pricing verified July 2026: Plex Pass rates per plex.tv (lifetime rose to $749.99 on July 1, 2026); Infuse Pro per firecore.com; MrMC per the App Store. Features change — check each app's site for current details.
CineReel · Free vs Pro
Every feature, tier by tier.
No hidden gates. If a feature isn't listed below, CineReel doesn't do it yet — see the full honest list. Everything else is either free forever or unlocked once with CineReel Pro.
Getting connected
- Connect to any Plex Media Server by URL and tokenFree
- Sign in with your Plex account — enter a 4-character code on your phonePro
- Automatic server discovery from your Plex accountPro
- Automatic fastest-connection selection, re-probed when your network changesPro
- Multiple servers with instant switching, each with its own credentialsPro
- QR-code pairing to send a server to Apple TV without typing on the remoteFree
- Works over LAN, remote, and TailscaleFree
Library
- Movie, TV, and music librariesFree
- Home with On Deck, Recently Added, and CollectionsFree
- Search within a library, and across all libraries at onceFree
- Choose which libraries appearFree
- Sort by recently added, title, year, runtime, or ratingFree
- Secondary sort fieldPro
- Filter by genre, year, runtime, content rating, and unwatched onlyPro
- Smart Collections — rule-based, saved, and reusablePro
- Custom Home rows — pin collections and smart collectionsPro
- Watchlists — multiple named listsPro
- Up Next queuePro
- Surprise Me — random pick from a watchlistPro
Playback
- Direct play with automatic transcode fallbackFree
- Automatic quality step-down when playback stallsFree
- Streaming quality selectionFree
- Resume where you left off, synced to your serverFree
- Autoplay the next episode, with a 15-second countdownFree
- Continue into the next seasonFree
- Audio and subtitle track selection, with language preferences rememberedPro
- Subtitle appearance presets — size, style, backgroundPro
- Auto-skip intros and credits, using your server's markersPro
- Delivery mode — auto, prefer direct play, or prefer compatibilityPro
- Bandwidth cap for remote streamingPro
- Playback statistics overlay — codec, resolution, bitrate, direct play vs transcodePro
Offline downloads
Pro · Mac, iPhone and iPad only- Download a film, a season, or an entire series
- Plays with your server switched off — no connection required
- Original files, no re-encoding
- Downloads screen showing what is stored, what is arriving, and space used
- Storage limit with automatic management — removes what you have watched first, never what you have not started
- Optional delete-after-watching
- Keep downloads off cellular (iPhone and iPad)
- Choose any folder, including an external drive (Mac)
Profiles
- Separate profiles with their own On Deck, history, and playback settingsPro
- PIN protectionPro
- Child profiles: maximum content rating, limited libraries, locked settingsPro
Personalisation
- Accent colourPro
- Grid densityPro
Platform
- Native Mac app with sidebar and full keyboard controlFree
- iPhone and iPad, portrait and landscapeFree
- Apple TV, built for the Siri RemoteFree
- One purchase unlocks all four platformsPro
- Diagnostics log for troubleshootingFree
The honest verdict.
CineReel
Choose CineReel if…
you run your own server, want a fast native player with no subscription, and value honest software that improves every release. QR pairing makes Apple TV setup the easiest of the four, and a single one-time Pro purchase now covers profiles, multiple servers, and offline downloads too.
Plex (official)
Choose Plex if…
you want the most complete feature set — detail pages, Live TV & DVR — and don't mind that those specific parts sit behind a Plex Pass subscription. Profiles, multi-server, and downloads no longer need it if you're using CineReel Pro.
Infuse
Choose Infuse if…
codec support is everything. Infuse direct-plays almost any file on-device, so your server never transcodes — great for Dolby Vision and lossless audio rips.
MrMC
Choose MrMC if…
you want Kodi's power on tvOS for a single one-time $6.99 and don't mind an interface that shows its home-theater-PC roots.
Why we built a fourth one.
The official app keeps moving toward streaming services and subscriptions. Infuse is excellent but costs more per year than CineReel costs once. MrMC hasn't had a design pass in years. We wanted a player that treats your own server as the whole point: native SwiftUI on every Apple platform, a bulletproof playback engine that recovers from real-world network hiccups by itself, QR-code setup on Apple TV in under a minute — and a one-time price.
It's young, and there are real gaps — we publish every one of them. But the list shrinks with almost every release.
Try the native one.
Free to download. One-time purchase. No subscription, ever.