Lume vs iMPlayer
Lume asks for nothing but the App Store. iMPlayer requires an account and activates its premium per device through an external dashboard, covering roughly two devices with further devices sold at about $7 each. Lume's single $9.99 purchase covers every Apple device on your Apple ID, with Family Sharing included, no account and no activation. Both read Stalker/MAG portals — Lume adds four playback engines and hand-off to Infuse, VLC or VidHub.
At a glance
What each one costs, and what you get without paying.
Lume
Free tier + Pro (subscription or lifetime)
- Entry price
- $0.99 / month
- Annual plan
- None
- Lifetime unlock
- $9.99
- Free tier
- 1 playlist and 1 profile — no ads, no watermark, no time limit
- Apple platforms
- iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV
iMPlayer
Free with ads + one-time premium
- Entry price
- $24.99 once
- Annual plan
- None
- Premium unlock
- $24.99
- Free tier
- Ads and feature limits
- Apple platforms
- iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Vision Pro
What you get with Lume
Drawn straight from the verified rows below — only features we confirmed iMPlayer does not have.
- Hand a stream off to Infuse, VLC or VidHub
- Cross-device sync
- Multiple user profiles
- No ads in the free tier
- One purchase covers every Apple device
- Open source
- Free when you build it from source
Feature by feature
The features worth choosing between, side by side.
- Supported
- Supported with limits
- Not supported
- Not verified
| Feature | Lume | iMPlayer |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms & sources | ||
| Native Mac app | Native | Not verified |
| Stalker / MAG portals | Yes | Yes |
| Hand a stream off to Infuse, VLC or VidHub | Yes | No |
| Playback | ||
| Selectable playback engines | 4 — KSPlayer, VLCKit, AVPlayer, Lume Engine | Not verified |
| Multiview / multi-screen | Yes | In Pro |
| OpenSubtitles search inside the player | Yes | Yes |
| Library & metadata | ||
| TMDB artwork and metadata | Yes | Not verified |
| Ratings from IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic | Yes | Not verified |
| Per-episode watch progress | Yes | Yes |
| Offline downloads | In Pro | Yes |
| Trakt integration | In Pro | Yes |
| Profiles & sync | ||
| Cross-device sync | Yes | Partial |
| Multiple user profiles | In Pro | No |
| Trust & value | ||
| No ads in the free tier | Yes | No |
| Unlimited streaming on the free tier | Yes | Yes |
| One purchase covers every Apple device | Yes | Partial |
| Open source | Yes | No |
| Free when you build it from source | Yes | No |
Lume's column shows the full app, Pro features included. Pro is $9.99 once — or free when you build Lume from source.
- Native Mac app: Most players in this set ship their iPad build to the Mac. Lume is native on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV.
- No ads in the free tier: IPTVX's free tier interrupts with pop-ups rather than ad banners. iPlayTV has no free tier at all — the app is paid.
- Unlimited streaming on the free tier: Snappier stops playback after 240 seconds, so its free tier is a trial rather than a tier.
- One purchase covers every Apple device: IPTVX licenses iOS and Apple TV separately. iMPlayer's premium covers roughly two devices, with further devices sold at about $7 each.
- Free when you build it from source: Lume is the only player in this comparison whose source you can read. Compile it yourself and every Pro feature is unlocked, at no cost, forever.
Prices are US App Store prices in USD and change over time; check the store before you buy. Tell us if anything here is out of date.
Try Lume before you decide.
The free tier has no ads, no watermark and no timer. Pro is $9.99 once, and free forever if you build it yourself.