Comparison
Sidstuga vs TiviMate
Transparent comparison of two Android IPTV players. As of v1.1.63 / 2026-05.
Quick verdict
TiviMate is the established option with deeper features, freemium pricing, and years of refinement. Sidstuga is the newer, lightweight player aimed at users who want a clean, ad-free experience on a low-cost subscription (€0.99/month or €7.99/year), with an emphasis on privacy and parity between phone and Android TV.
Pick TiviMate if you want every advanced feature today and don't mind a yearly subscription for the premium ones. Pick Sidstuga if you value zero ads, no account and a minimal, privacy-respecting footprint, from €0.99/month.
At-a-glance comparison
| Feature | Sidstuga | TiviMate |
|---|---|---|
| Price | €0.99/mo or €7.99/yr | Free + premium subscription |
| Ads | Never | None on the app itself |
| Analytics / trackers | Firebase Crashlytics + Analytics only — no ad trackers | Uses common analytics / crash reporting services |
| Account / sign-up | None required | Google account for sync (optional) |
| Xtream Codes support | Yes | Yes |
| M3U / M3U8 support | Yes (URL or file) | Yes |
| EPG / programme guide | Yes, integrated, persistent cache | Yes, mature |
| Programme reminders | Yes (exact-time alarms) | Yes |
| Catch-up / archive | Yes (where provider supports) | Yes (premium) |
| DVR / recording | Yes (TV + mobile, manual & scheduled recording) | Yes (premium) |
| Sleep timer | Yes (15 min – 3 h) | Yes |
| Picture-in-Picture | Yes (mobile) | Yes |
| Parental control (per-channel) | Yes, individual channel lock | Yes (premium, by category) |
| Multi-source / multi-playlist | Yes | Yes |
| Languages | 8 (EN, PT-PT, PT-BR, ES, FR, IT, DE, AR) | 20+ |
| Phone + tablet + TV | All from one app, single subscription | All |
| Startup performance | Optimised for very fast startup on Android TV hardware | Standard Android TV startup |
Why pick Sidstuga
- Typically cheaper than TiviMate Premium. €7.99/year, or €0.99/month if you prefer monthly. Cancel anytime.
- Privacy by design. No ads, no account, no advertising trackers. Your playlists, credentials and watch history never leave your device — only anonymous crash and usage diagnostics go to Firebase.
- Per-channel parental lock. Block individual channels, not just whole categories.
- EPG persistent cache. Second cold-start is instant — no waiting for the guide.
- Xtream-specific error messages. "Subscription expired (HTTP 401)" instead of generic "took too long".
- Aspect ratio cycle in the player. Tap once to crop letterbox bars from older 4:3 channels.
- Open onboarding. Pick your language, paste credentials, watch. No account, no upsells, no review nag.
- 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 TiviMate
- Multi-screen / multi-view. TiviMate has a 4-grid live view; Sidstuga has single playback only.
- 20+ languages. Sidstuga ships 8.
- Years of mature features. Custom EPG sources, advanced playlist editing, more granular settings.
Lightweight by design
- Native Kotlin app. Built directly on Android Jetpack Compose + Media3, no cross-platform shell.
- No ad SDKs. Nothing to load, nothing to track, nothing to disclose to Play Console.
- Minimal SDK footprint. Firebase (crash + usage diagnostics) is the only third-party SDK — no remote config, no push messaging, no ad networks.
- No content tracking. Aside from anonymous Firebase diagnostics, network traffic is only between you and your IPTV provider.
- Optimised for low-end Android TV devices. Hardware decoding, memoised state, lazy EPG batching tuned for the budget Realtek / Amlogic boxes most TV users actually own.
Built by an IPTV user, for IPTV users
Sidstuga is built by a long-time IPTV user frustrated with bloated players, intrusive ads and yearly subscriptions for features that should be table stakes. Every design 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: TiviMate is a well-built app with a deserved reputation. The right choice depends on your needs. If TiviMate fits you better, use TiviMate.
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.