CleanCut vs VidAngel
VidAngel filters inside its own app and player; CleanCut filters inside the streaming apps already on your Apple TV. VidAngel covers violence and nudity as well as language; CleanCut covers language only. Which one fits depends on which of those two sentences matters more to your household.*
Side by side
| CleanCut | VidAngel | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free on YouTube and Plex; Plus $2.99/month; Pro $5.99/month | $9.99/month direct, or $11.99/month through the Apple TV app. Yearly is $99.99 direct and $119.99 through Apple or Google Play; the third-party app-store prices took effect January 1, 2026. |
| Where you watch | In the streaming app on your Apple TV, with your own subscription and remote. An iPhone or iPad app pairs with the box over Wi-Fi, reads what the TV reports as playing, matches subtitles to it, and mutes the TV at each flagged line. | You sign in to your streaming accounts inside VidAngel, then watch through VidAngel's own app and player, where editor-tagged scenes are muted or skipped per your settings. |
| What it filters | Language, from subtitles, with an editable word list; sponsor segments on YouTube. Not violence or nudity. | Per-title, per-scene filters for language, nudity, sex, violence, and more, tagged by VidAngel's editors. |
| Services | Prime Video, Hulu, Peacock, Paramount+, Apple TV+, Crunchyroll, Tubi, AMC+, Disney+, YouTube, Plex. Any app that uses the Apple TV's built-in player. Not Netflix or Max, which use their own. | Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV+, Paramount+, Peacock. VidAngel's agreements with Disney, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox, and Warner Bros. following its 2020 settlement mean it does not filter their content, which rules out Disney+, Hulu, and Max. |
| Devices | Apple TV, driven from an iPhone or iPad on the same Wi-Fi. | iOS, Android, Apple TV, Fire TV, Android TV, Chromecast, and web. |
| Coverage model | Any title with a subtitle file, matched automatically | Titles its editors have filed or tagged |
| Account | None; subscribe through the App Store | VidAngel account |
Which streaming services
| Service | CleanCut | VidAngel |
|---|---|---|
| Netflix | No | Yes |
| Prime Video | Yes | Yes |
| Disney+ | Yes | No |
| Hulu | Yes | No |
| Max | No | No |
| Apple TV+ | Yes | Yes |
| Paramount+ | Yes | Yes |
| Peacock | Yes | Yes |
| YouTube | Yes | No |
| Plex | Yes | No |
Why people look for a VidAngel alternative
VidAngel has a native Apple TV app, so this one is not about the device — it is about the player. You sign in to your streaming accounts inside VidAngel and the film plays there, in VidAngel's window, rather than in the Prime Video or Paramount+ app already on the box. That works, and it costs you the app you were already paying for, its continue-watching row, and its remote.
The other complaint is coverage. VidAngel's agreements with Disney, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox, and Warner Bros. following its 2020 settlement mean it does not filter their content, which rules out Disney+, Hulu, and Max. And a title is only filtered once VidAngel’s editors have done it, so a new release can wait.
What VidAngel does well
- The best-known brand in the category, with granular per-scene control.
- Filters violence and nudity, not just language.
- Has a native Apple TV app of its own.
Where it falls short
- You watch inside VidAngel's player, not the streaming app you already use.
- Does not filter Disney, Fox, or Warner content: no Disney+, no Hulu, no Max.
- Only titles its editors have tagged are covered.
- The most expensive option here, with no free tier, and dearer again if you subscribe through the Apple TV app.
What CleanCut does instead
You stay in your own app
Press play in Prime Video, Hulu, or Peacock on the Apple TV, with the remote. CleanCut mutes the TV from your phone. Nothing is cast, re-encoded, or signed into a second player.
Every title with subtitles, not a curated list
CleanCut works from the subtitle file for what's playing, so a new release is covered the day subtitles exist for it, not when an editor gets to it.
Free on YouTube and Plex
Both are filtered in full at no charge, including SponsorBlock segment skipping on YouTube. The subscription apps need Plus, from $2.99 a month.
Language only
It reads dialogue, so it filters what's said. It does not detect violence or nudity. If that's what you need filtered, this is the honest place to say CleanCut isn't it.
Who should stay with VidAngel
Households that want violence and nudity filtered on Netflix, Prime Video, or Paramount+, and are happy to watch through a separate player.
Who should switch to CleanCut
Households whose problem is the language, who watch on an Apple TV, and who want to keep the apps and subscriptions they already have. Especially anyone whose watching is Hulu, Peacock, Prime Video, or Paramount+, or who has a Plex library, and anyone who would rather try it free on YouTube or Plex than start a subscription blind.
Switching
There is nothing to migrate. Install CleanCut on an iPhone or iPad, pair it with the Apple TV using the code on screen, set the word list, and press play in the streaming app. Your VidAngel subscription and your streaming subscriptions are untouched; if you keep VidAngel for visual filtering on some services, the two never interfere.
Common questions
Is CleanCut a good VidAngel alternative?
Both filter language; the difference is where. CleanCut mutes it inside the streaming apps already on your Apple TV — you press play in Prime Video or Hulu and watch there, with your own subscription and remote. VidAngel filters inside its own app and player, so the film plays there instead of in the app on the box. For violence or nudity it is the other way round: VidAngel filters those and CleanCut does not. VidAngel covers Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV+, Paramount+, Peacock; CleanCut covers any app that uses the Apple TV's built-in player, which excludes Netflix and Max.
How much does CleanCut cost compared with VidAngel?
VidAngel is $9.99/month direct, or $11.99/month through the Apple TV app. Yearly is $99.99 direct and $119.99 through Apple or Google Play; the third-party app-store prices took effect January 1, 2026. CleanCut is free on YouTube and Plex, $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year for Plus, and $5.99 a month or $59.99 a year for Pro, through the App Store.
Can I use CleanCut and VidAngel together?
Yes. They don't interact. VidAngel plays content through its own player or a browser; CleanCut only acts on what the Apple TV reports from its built-in player. Households that want visual filtering on some services and language filtering inside their Apple TV apps can run both.
The full comparison covers every option side by side, including the free browser extensions.
* VidAngel price and coverage as of September 18, 2026.