Alternatives to YouTube

Best YouTube Alternatives in 2026: 10 Apps Like YouTube

By App Store Tracker Editorial · Updated — App Store ratings fetched to

The short version

YouTube streams videos across every topic with recommendations, subscriptions, and creator tools. The closest matches here are YouTube's own apps: Music for songs, Kids for a safe child feed, Studio for creators, and TV for live channels. Vimeo is the strongest independent video platform. Several smaller picks are companion tools for ad-free viewing or analytics. Your choice depends on whether you want music, kid-safe content, creator tools, or an ad-free experience.

Ranked by App Store rating
10 alternatives
Live App Store data
No paid placements
YouTube app icon

The app you searched for

YouTube

Google

Videos, Music and Live Streams

4.7(49.7M)
Free · IAP
Get YouTube on App StoreSee full YouTube data →

People look for YouTube alternatives when the UI changes frustrate, recommendations slip, ads pile up, or they want a focused experience like music or kid-safe video. YouTube reviewers flag exactly these: a worse algorithm, missing notifications, and iPad bugs. Every pick below shares part of YouTube's core: streaming video, music, or live TV, or tools for creators. Most are Google's own YouTube apps, the rest are independent platforms and companion utilities. We ranked these by embedding similarity to YouTube's watch-and-discover model, then weighed live App Store ratings and review counts so the busier, better-reviewed apps surface first. Ratings shift often, so treat the order as a starting point.

YouTube alternatives compared

AppRatingPrice
YouTube Kids4.7 (2.7M)Free
Vimeo4.5 (11.8K)Free · IAP
DailyTube : Videos, Music4.5 (8.4K)Free · IAP
Music TV - Video Play & Stream4.4 (6.2K)Free
Music : Simple Music Streaming4.2 (1.7K)Free · IAP
9Tube: Music and Video4.7 (415)Free · IAP
FyTube - YouTube Without Ads4.0 (302)—
Smart Tube BDP3.8 (92)Free
TopTube - Trending Videos3.7 (41)Free
Ai & Cinema: Creators Live5.0 (1)Free

US App Store ratings, prices from Apple. See the latest US top free Photo & Video chart.

10 alternatives to YouTube

  1. 1YouTube Kids icon

    #1YouTube Kids

    Google LLC

    4.7(2.7M)
    Free
    90% similar
    Get on App Store

    Why it's similar

    YouTube Kids is Google's child-safe version of YouTube, sharing the same video library filtered for kids and parental controls. Both stream videos with recommendations, and Kids lets parents personalize what content their children can explore. It carries about 2.7 million ratings.

    How it differs

    YouTube Kids limits content to kid-appropriate videos with parental oversight rather than YouTube's open all-ages feed, so it serves families specifically. At 4.65 stars it rates near YouTube. It complements YouTube for children rather than replacing the main app for adults.

    See full data on YouTube Kids →Apps like YouTube Kids →
  2. 2Vimeo icon

    #2Vimeo

    Vimeo.com, Inc.

    4.5(11.8K)
    Free · IAP
    88% similar
    Get on App Store

    Why it's similar

    Vimeo streams ad-free videos in up to 4K with top creators, plus upload, live stream, and video tools, the strongest independent video platform here. Both let you watch and share videos and follow creators, with Vimeo emphasizing ad-free quality and creator collaboration.

    How it differs

    Vimeo focuses on high-quality, ad-free video and professional creators rather than YouTube's massive all-topics library and recommendation feed. At 4.46 stars across about 11,700 ratings, it is far smaller. It is a quality-focused video rival rather than a YouTube-scale platform.

    See full data on Vimeo →
  3. 3DailyTube : Videos, Music icon

    #3DailyTube : Videos, Music

    Leonie Becker

    4.5(8.4K)
    Free · IAP
    87% similar
    Get on App Store

    Why it's similar

    DailyTube : Videos, Music matches YouTube on core function and category fit. Embedding similarity score: 87%.

    How it differs

    Distinguishes on monetization (free download with in-app purchases) and editorial focus. Rated 4.5 stars across 8.4K reviews.

    See full data on DailyTube : Videos, Music →
  4. 4Music TV - Video Play & Stream icon

    #4Music TV - Video Play & Stream

    Caramba App Development

    4.4(6.2K)
    Free
    88% similar
    Get on App Store

    Why it's similar

    Music TV scans your music library and plays the matching YouTube videos, letting you build playlists from your songs or YouTube directly, sharing YouTube's stream-video core. Both let you watch music videos and queue up content for entertainment.

    How it differs

    Music TV centers on turning your music library into YouTube video playlists rather than YouTube's all-topics feed and creator tools. At 4.43 stars across about 6,200 ratings, it is far smaller. It is a music-video player built on YouTube rather than a full YouTube alternative.

    See full data on Music TV - Video Play & Stream →
  5. 5Music : Simple Music Streaming icon

    #5Music : Simple Music Streaming

    Aktis Inc

    4.2(1.7K)
    Free · IAP
    87% similar
    Get on App Store

    Why it's similar

    Music : Simple Music Streaming matches YouTube on core function and category fit. Embedding similarity score: 87%.

    How it differs

    Distinguishes on monetization (free download with in-app purchases) and editorial focus. Rated 4.2 stars across 1.7K reviews.

    See full data on Music : Simple Music Streaming →
  6. 69Tube: Music and Video icon

    #69Tube: Music and Video

    Nguyen Tien Duoc

    4.7(415)
    Free · IAP
    87% similar
    Get on App Store

    Why it's similar

    9Tube: Music and Video matches YouTube on core function and category fit. Embedding similarity score: 87%.

    How it differs

    Distinguishes on monetization (free download with in-app purchases) and editorial focus. Rated 4.7 stars across 415 reviews.

    See full data on 9Tube: Music and Video →
  7. 7FyTube - YouTube Without Ads icon

    #7FyTube - YouTube Without Ads

    Daniel PerlerA

    4.0(302)
    89% similar
    Get on App Store

    Why it's similar

    FyTube plays any YouTube video ad-free in real time, with picture-in-picture, background play, sleep timer, repeat, and history, sharing YouTube's watch-videos core. It taps YouTube's catalog while adding the no-ads experience reviewers want.

    How it differs

    FyTube is an unofficial third-party player, not Google's app, so it relies on YouTube's content without its account, comments, or creator tools. Its rating data is unavailable here. It strips ads from YouTube viewing rather than offering its own video platform.

    See full data on FyTube - YouTube Without Ads →
  8. 8Smart Tube BDP icon

    #8Smart Tube BDP

    New look entertainment doo

    3.8(92)
    Free
    87% similar
    Get on App Store

    Why it's similar

    Smart Tube BDP matches YouTube on core function and category fit. Embedding similarity score: 87%.

    How it differs

    Distinguishes on monetization (fully free) and editorial focus. Rated 3.8 stars across 92 reviews.

    See full data on Smart Tube BDP →
  9. 9TopTube - Trending Videos icon

    #9TopTube - Trending Videos

    Nguyen Khai

    3.7(41)
    Free
    88% similar
    Get on App Store

    Why it's similar

    TopTube surfaces trending YouTube videos, music, and news so you can see what the world is watching, sharing YouTube's discover-and-watch core. Both let you find popular videos and music, with TopTube curating the hottest content across YouTube.

    How it differs

    TopTube is a third-party trend-discovery app built on YouTube content, not Google's app, so it lacks YouTube's account, subscriptions, and creator tools. At 3.66 stars across just 41 ratings, it is tiny and unproven. It surfaces YouTube trends rather than offering a full platform.

    See full data on TopTube - Trending Videos →
  10. 10Ai & Cinema: Creators Live icon

    #10Ai & Cinema: Creators Live

    MitchellTech Inc.

    5.0(1)
    Free
    87% similar
    Get on App Store

    Why it's similar

    Ai & Cinema: Creators Live matches YouTube on core function and category fit. Embedding similarity score: 87%.

    How it differs

    Distinguishes on monetization (fully free) and editorial focus. Rated 5.0 stars across 1 reviews.

    See full data on Ai & Cinema: Creators Live →

See how YouTube and these apps ranked on past days with the free App Store rank history tool.

How we ranked these 10 alternatives

Embedding similarity

Every app in our database carries a dense vector embedding derived from its title, subtitle, full description, and category metadata. To find apps similar to YouTube, we compute cosine distance against every other app and keep the closest 30. The similarity score shown on each pick is 1 - distance/2 clamped to [0,1] — 100% means the embedding spaces are identical, 0% means orthogonal.

Ranking

Apps from YouTube's own developer are left out. The 10 most similar of the rest are ordered by App Store rating times the logarithm of their rating count, so a 4.8-star app with 100,000 ratings ranks above a 4.5-star app with 200 ratings.

Data dates

The similar-app list was computed on May 25, 2026. Ratings are the latest US App Store fetch for each app, taken between October 31, 2026 and November 6, 2026. Prices and update dates come from Apple when the page is built.

What we don't do

No paid placements. No affiliate links. No sponsored picks. Read our full methodology.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best alternative to YouTube?+
YouTube Kids by Google LLC has the strongest App Store rating of the 10 apps here: 4.7 stars from 2,699,551 US ratings on November 5, 2026.
Which app is most like YouTube?+
YouTube Kids is the closest match: its App Store listing is 90% similar to YouTube's by text embedding.
Are there free YouTube alternatives?+
Yes. 9 of the 10 apps are free to download on the App Store: YouTube Kids, Vimeo, DailyTube : Videos, Music, Music TV - Video Play & Stream, Music : Simple Music Streaming, 9Tube: Music and Video, Smart Tube BDP, TopTube - Trending Videos, Ai & Cinema: Creators Live.

Keep exploring app alternatives

More popular iPhone apps with their own lists of similar apps from other developers, ordered by App Store rating.