A Swiftfin alternative for everything else you own.
Swiftfin is Jellyfin-only on purpose. Spectati is for the Plex server, the IPTV playlist and the NAS too.
- Jellyfin
- Plex
- Emby
- M3U & Xtream
- SMB shares
- Direct play
- Dolby Vision
- Apple TV, iPhone, iPad & Mac
Two clients, two different jobs.
Swiftfin wins the rows that follow from being the Jellyfin project's own free, open-source client. Spectati wins the rows about every source that is not Jellyfin. Which set matters is a question about your setup, not about the apps.
| Capability | Spectati | Swiftfin |
|---|---|---|
| Jellyfin libraries | Yes | Yes |
| Native on Apple TV, iPhone and iPad | Yes | Yes |
| Native Mac app | Yes | No |
| Open source | No | Yes |
| Free, with no paid tier at all | No | Yes |
| Plex servers, alongside Jellyfin | Yes | No |
| Emby servers | Yes, in beta | No |
| IPTV: M3U, Xtream and an XMLTV guide | Yes | No |
| SMB file shares, with no media server | Yes, in beta | No |
| Duplicates across servers merged into one entry | Yes | No |
| Watch state synced across your own devices | With a subscription | Through Jellyfin itself |
Written by Spectati and checked against Swiftfin's published capabilities in August 2026. Spectati is not affiliated with the Jellyfin project or Swiftfin; both change, so check theirs before you decide.
Every source you have, on one set of shelves.
Spectati signs into your Jellyfin servers and your Plex and Emby servers at the same time, takes M3U and Xtream playlists beside them, and reads plain SMB shares with no media server at all. What comes out is one library, and when the same title exists in two places, one entry rather than two.
- Jellyfin, Plex and Emby connected at once
- IPTV playlists with a full XMLTV program guide
- SMB shares read straight from the files, artwork filled in from TVDB
- Duplicates merged, played from the source you put first
- One search across movies, shows, episodes and live channels
Your Jellyfin server never has to transcode.
High-bitrate 4K remuxes direct-play from Jellyfin with no server transcode. Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10 and HLG go to the display. Dolby Atmos in Dolby Digital Plus reaches the receiver untouched, TrueHD and DTS play as 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus, and TrueHD Atmos and DTS:X keep their height channels on AirPods, HomePods and Atmos receivers. With Match Content on, tvOS switches dynamic range and frame rate before the title starts.
- Direct play at full bitrate, with your server CPU idle
- Hardware decoding first, software fallback for what refuses
- PGS, ASS and teletext subtitles, with delay and styling controls
- Skip intro, chapters, playback speed and per-title track memory
- Native tvOS focus engine, Top Shelf and Siri Remote scrubbing
Press play before you connect anything.
A new install is not an empty shelf asking for a server address. Four films are already on Home, and they play in seconds with no account, no playlist and no card. It is the real player on your own television, not a demo mode.
- Four Blender open movies, ready the moment you open the app
- Singularity is served in HDR10, so you see what full quality buys
- Nothing to sign up for and nothing that expires
- Connect Plex, Jellyfin or a playlist whenever you feel like it
- Singularity2026 · 6 min · HDR10
- Charge2022 · 4 min · 1440p
- Sprite Fright2021 · 10 min · 1080p
- Big Buck Bunny2008 · 10 min · 720p
Blender open movies, licensed CC BY. Spectati streams them to a fresh install so there is something to watch before you connect anything.
Free to use. Pay only for full quality.
No trial clock, and your Jellyfin server does not have to move anywhere. The free tier direct-plays your 4K remuxes with no transcoding, in SDR. HDR and surround sound are what a subscription adds.
Free
No account neededInstall it and press play. There is no trial clock and no card.
- Plex, Jellyfin, IPTV and SMB file shares, plus Emby, WebDAV and SFTP in beta
- Up to 2 sources running at once
- Direct play of high-bitrate 4K remuxes, no transcoding
- Live TV with a full XMLTV program guide
- Favorites, hiding, renaming and sorting, channel by channel
- Parental PIN, age-rating limits and per-provider locks
Full quality
OptionalOr $2.99/month, or $99.99 once and never again
- HDR and surround sound
- More than 2 sources at once
- Offline downloads
- IPTV catch-up and on-demand
- Bulk channel tools and program reminders
- iCloud sync across your devices
- Automatic subtitles
- SIMKL and Trakt watch-history sync
- App icons and accent colors
- Automatic intro skipping
- Up to four live channels at once with Multiview
Bought inside the app, whenever you decide you want it. Apple handles it via In-App Purchase, with Family Sharing. Both subscriptions start with a 7-day free trial. Manage or cancel anytime from your Apple ID.
- Unlimited devices
- All providers
- tvOS, iOS, iPadOS and macOS
- Family Sharing
- Cancel anytime
Client questions, answered.
Weighing the two up and still unsure? Get in touch.
Is Spectati a Swiftfin alternative?
Both are native Apple clients for a Jellyfin server, aimed at different setups. Swiftfin is the Jellyfin project’s own client: open source, entirely free, and deliberately about Jellyfin and nothing else. If one Jellyfin server is your whole library, stay with Swiftfin. Spectati is worth looking at when your setup is more than one thing, a Jellyfin server plus a Plex server, an IPTV subscription, or a NAS full of loose files, because it folds all of them into one library.
Is Swiftfin free and open source?
Yes. Swiftfin is developed by the Jellyfin project and is free and open source, with no paid tier. Spectati is free to use but is not open source, and it sells an optional subscription for full quality and a handful of other features. If free and open source is the point for you, use Swiftfin.
Can Spectati connect to Plex and Jellyfin at the same time?
Yes, along with Emby servers, IPTV playlists and SMB file shares. Every source lands in one library with one search and one Continue Watching row, and when the same film sits on two servers Spectati merges it into a single entry and plays it from the source you put first.
Does Spectati direct-play 4K Dolby Vision from Jellyfin?
Yes. High-bitrate 4K remuxes play straight from your Jellyfin server with no transcoding, so the server stays idle. Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10 and HLG go to your display. Dolby Atmos in Dolby Digital Plus reaches the receiver untouched, TrueHD and DTS play as 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus, and TrueHD Atmos and DTS:X keep their height channels on AirPods, HomePods and Atmos receivers. On the free tier the file still direct-plays with no server transcode. It renders in SDR, and HDR and surround are what a subscription adds.
What does Spectati cost?
Nothing to install, and nothing to play what you already own. Free connects up to 2 sources at once and plays your library with no ads and no trial clock. Full quality plus unlimited sources, offline downloads, IPTV catch-up, iCloud sync and automatic subtitles is $22.99 a year, $2.99 a month, or $99.99 once, through the App Store.
Keep Swiftfin installed. Try this on the same server.
Spectati is free on Apple TV, iPhone, iPad and Mac. Sign into the same Jellyfin server, add whatever else you run, and keep both apps while you decide which one you open.
Also on Apple TV, iPad and Mac
Requires tvOS, iOS, iPadOS or macOS 26