Infuse

Paid media player for Apple TV, iPhone, iPad and Mac with strong network share and cloud library streaming

As of 1 September 2026, Infuse has a free plan and paid plans start at $1.99/month. A media player from Firecore built for playing a personal video library across Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, Mac and Vision Pro, with particular strength browsing and streaming from network shares, NAS devices and cloud storage. Softwr lists it under Entertainment. Infuse is made by Firecore, available on Mac, iOS, tvOS.

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Overview

What Infuse does

Infuse plays a wide range of video formats and automatically fetches metadata, artwork and subtitles for a personal library, then presents it in a browsable interface similar to a streaming service. Its particular strength is connecting to network shares over SMB, NFS and WebDAV, plus cloud storage services, and streaming directly without needing files copied onto the device first. The distinguishing fact against IINA and mpv is platform reach and monetisation. Infuse runs on Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision Pro from one purchase or subscription, whereas IINA is Mac only and mpv has no dedicated Apple TV build at all. Infuse Pro is sold as a monthly subscription around 1.99 US dollars a month, a yearly subscription, or a lifetime one-time purchase around 149.99 US dollars depending on region and App Store, with all future major version updates included in whichever option is chosen. Buyers are users with a personal media library on a NAS or cloud drive who want it browsable on the living room Apple TV the way a streaming service is browsable, alongside their phone and Mac. The trade-off is cost, since IINA does the same core local playback job on a Mac for free, and Infuse commercial value is really the Apple TV and network streaming experience rather than raw playback quality.

What people use it for

Someone with a NAS full of ripped or downloaded video who wants it browsable on Apple TV like a streaming service
A household that wants one media library accessible from the living room television, phones and a Mac
A user who wants automatic artwork and metadata for a personal library rather than plain file names
Someone already invested in the Apple TV ecosystem who wants better playback than the built in Apple TV app supports

Where it falls short

Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Infuse.

It costs money in every form, subscription or lifetime, where IINA performs equivalent local Mac playback for free.
Full functionality depends on the Pro tier, so the free version alone is limited enough that most serious users end up paying.
It has no Android or Windows app, so it does not help a household with non-Apple television or phone hardware.
Streaming quality from a network share depends heavily on local network speed and NAS performance, which is outside the app control and can cause buffering.
Regional pricing and promotional lifetime pricing has varied over time, so the exact lifetime cost is worth checking on the App Store before buying.

Cross-shopped

What people choose instead of Infuse

Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.

Infusevs
IINA
IINA: If you only need Mac playback and want a free, open source option with no Apple TV app
Infusevs
mpv
mpv: If you want a minimal command line player with no GUI and no cost at all
Infusevs
Deluge
Deluge: If your need is downloading media rather than playing it back

Pricing

What Infuse costs

Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.

Infuse (free)

Free

Basic local file playback
Limited compared to Pro
No network share or cloud streaming

Infuse Pro Monthly

$1.99 /mo

Full network share and cloud streaming
Metadata and artwork fetching
All future updates included while subscribed

Infuse Pro Lifetime

$149.99 /one-time

One-time purchase, no recurring fee
All future major version updates included
Regional pricing varies by App Store

Capabilities

Features

Apple TV app
A television-optimised browsing interface for a personal media library
Network share streaming
Direct playback from SMB, NFS and WebDAV shares without copying files first
Cloud storage support
Streams from supported cloud storage providers without local downloads
Automatic metadata and artwork
Fetches poster art, descriptions and details for library items automatically
Subtitle and audio track handling
Wide format support including external subtitle files
Cross-platform library
One library accessible from Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, Mac and Vision Pro

Answered, with sources

Questions people ask

Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.

Is Infuse free?

A limited free version exists, but network share and cloud streaming, the main reason people choose Infuse, requires Infuse Pro, sold as a subscription or lifetime purchase.

Does Infuse work on Apple TV?

Yes, it has a dedicated Apple TV app with a television-optimised browsing interface, which IINA does not offer at all.

Is there a one-time payment option?

Yes, a lifetime purchase is available alongside monthly and yearly subscriptions, currently around 149.99 US dollars depending on region.

Keep looking

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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Infuse, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.

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