Kanalo vs iPlayTV

Both apps respect you: no ads, no account, no nagging. iPlayTV asks for the money first and then leaves you alone; Kanalo lets you watch everything for free and asks for a purchase only for the features that go beyond the screen in your hand. If you prefer a single up-front purchase and have used iPlayTV on your Apple TV for years, iPlayTV. If you want a modern iPhone, iPad and Apple TV player and the option to try it first, Kanalo.

Side by side, based on the App Store versions available at the time of writing.

iPlayTV is a one-time purchase. You cannot try it before paying, but once you have, that is it — no subscription, and Family Sharing covers the rest of the household through the App Store.

Kanalo is free to download and free to use. Pro adds Picture in Picture, AirPlay, Chromecast, offline downloads, unlimited playlist refreshes and Family Sharing for €0.99 a month, €9.99 a year or €39.99 once. The lifetime option is the closest equivalent to iPlayTV's model: pay once, done. The difference is that with Kanalo you know the app works with your provider before you spend anything.

Kanalo has no account system. Your M3U URL or Xtream host, username and password are stored only on your iPhone or iPad. There are no analytics SDKs and no third-party trackers. Delete the app and the credentials go with it.

iPlayTV also keeps playlists on the device, has no account and, being a paid app, carries no ad SDK. On privacy the two are equals.

Kanalo ships a real iPad layout: a sidebar for groups and favourites, a large live preview and a landscape player with an up-next dock. On Apple TV it is a native tvOS app built for the Siri Remote — live TV, the guide, movies, series and favourites — and your playlists come over from the iPhone by scanning a QR code. Native iOS Picture in Picture works for live TV, movies and series, AirPlay sends the stream to any AirPlay receiver, Chromecast beams it to a compatible TV on the same Wi-Fi network, and 'Play on Apple TV' starts something on the paired Apple TV straight from your iPhone PRO .

iPlayTV supports Picture in Picture and AirPlay, but not Chromecast, and its iPad version is an adapted phone layout rather than a separate design. Its Apple TV app has been around for years and is the reason many people bought it in the first place.

iPlayTV wins if you refuse subscriptions on principle and do not want to pay Kanalo's lifetime price — a single small purchase gets you everything iPlayTV offers, forever. Its tvOS app is also more mature: Kanalo's Apple TV app arrived in September 2026.

Kanalo is independent and not affiliated with the other apps mentioned here. Feature notes reflect the versions available on the App Store at the time of writing (September 2026) and can change with updates — check the current listing before you decide.