Comparison
Sidstuga vs IPTV Smarters
An honest comparison of two Android IPTV players. As of v1.1.44 / 2026-05.
Quick verdict
IPTV Smarters is the free, hugely widespread player — many providers even ship their own re-branded copy of it. Sidstuga is the newer, paid option (€0.99/month or €7.99/year) built around a modern interface, no ads, and a stable place on the Google Play Store.
Pick IPTV Smarters if you want a free player and don't mind a dated interface. Pick Sidstuga if you want a modern, ad-free experience on Android TV and a player that stays available on Google Play.
At-a-glance comparison
| Feature | Sidstuga | IPTV Smarters |
|---|---|---|
| Price | €0.99/mo or €7.99/yr | Free |
| Interface | Modern Material 3, redesigned for 2026 | Functional but several years old |
| Ads | Never | Present in several builds |
| Analytics / trackers | Firebase Crashlytics + Analytics only — no ad trackers | Bundles common analytics / ad SDKs |
| Google Play availability | On Google Play | Repeatedly removed & re-listed; often sideloaded |
| Account / sign-up | None required | None required |
| Xtream Codes support | Yes | Yes |
| M3U / M3U8 support | Yes (URL or file) | Yes |
| EPG / programme guide | Yes, integrated, persistent cache | Yes |
| Programme reminders | Yes (exact-time alarms) | Limited |
| Catch-up / archive | Yes (where provider supports) | Yes (where provider supports) |
| Multi-screen / multi-view | Single playback only | Yes (multi-screen view) |
| Sleep timer | Yes (15 min – 3 h) | Yes |
| Picture-in-Picture | Yes (mobile) | Yes |
| Parental control | Yes, individual channel lock | Yes, by category |
| Languages | 8 (EN, PT-PT, PT-BR, ES, FR, IT, DE, AR) | Many |
| Phone + tablet + TV | All from one app, single subscription | All |
| Startup performance | Optimised for low-cost Android TV hardware | Standard Android TV startup |
Why pick Sidstuga
- Modern interface. Built on Jetpack Compose + Material 3 and redesigned for 2026 — not a player that looks like it was last styled years ago.
- No ads, ever. Several IPTV Smarters builds carry ads; Sidstuga never does.
- Stays on Google Play. IPTV Smarters has been pulled and re-listed on the Play Store several times; many users end up sideloading it. Sidstuga is built to remain a normal Play Store install with automatic updates.
- Per-channel parental lock. Lock individual channels, not just whole categories.
- EPG persistent cache. The second cold-start is instant — no waiting for the guide to rebuild.
- Exact-time reminders. Mark a programme and get a notification at the precise minute it starts.
- End-to-end encrypted Cloud Sync. Sync favourites, history and settings across all devices — AES-256-GCM encrypted on device before upload. The server holds opaque ciphertext. TiviMate/Smarters use plaintext server-side sync.
Why pick IPTV Smarters
- It's free. No subscription at all.
- Multi-screen view. Watch several channels at once — Sidstuga does single playback only.
- Ubiquitous. Many providers ship a re-branded copy, so the layout is already familiar to a lot of users.
- More languages. Sidstuga ships 8.
Built by an IPTV user, for IPTV users
Sidstuga is built by a long-time IPTV user frustrated with bloated players, intrusive ads and interfaces that never get a redesign. Every decision goes through one filter: "would this annoy me if I were just trying to watch TV?". If the answer is yes, the feature doesn't ship.
Transparent disclaimer
This comparison is written by the Sidstuga developer. We've tried to be fair: IPTV Smarters is a capable, widely trusted player and for many people "free" is the deciding factor. If it fits you better, use it.
Both apps are media players. Neither includes, recommends, indexes nor distributes IPTV streams or channel lists. The user supplies their own credentials or playlist for a service they are independently authorised to use.
TiviMate, IPTV Smarters and OTT Navigator are trademarks of their respective owners. Sidstuga is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any of them. Their names are used here solely for identification and descriptive comparison.