Short answer: if you have to pick one, Smart IPTV is the safer buy. It costs €5.49 once per TV, it has one long-standing developer site at siptv.eu, and it takes card payment through PayPal. SET IPTV costs more, and the harder problem is that several websites all claim to be its official activation page, many of them pushing crypto payment. The catch with both: they're dated, they're tied to one TV, and Smart IPTV was pulled from Samsung's app store years ago. For most people, a $50 Google TV box beats either.
At a glance
Smart IPTV vs SET IPTV
| Cheaper | Smart IPTV, €5.49 once per TV |
| Clearer publisher | Smart IPTV (siptv.eu) |
| Both tied to | One TV's MAC address |
| Trial | About 7 days for each |
| Better option | A Google TV box with TiviMate |
What these two apps actually are
Smart IPTV and SET IPTV solve the same problem: Samsung and LG TVs have poor built-in options for playing an M3U playlist. Both apps run on the TV, show you a device ID or MAC address, and ask you to go to a website on your phone or computer to upload your playlist and pay an activation fee.
That web-upload model is the defining feature, and the weakness. The app on the TV is a thin shell; the website holds your playlist link. So the question of who runs that website matters more than any feature difference.
Neither app includes channels. Both play a playlist you already have. Smart IPTV's own activation page tells you plainly not to pay unless you already have channels to add. A licensed service with its own TV app won't need either of these. What an M3U playlist is.
Side by side
Prices and details below are those published or widely reported as of September 2026. Because SET IPTV is sold through several sites, its figures vary by site.
| Smart IPTV | SET IPTV | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | €5.49 one-time per TV | Reported around €15.99 lifetime or €7.90 a year per TV; varies by site |
| Trial | 7 days | About 7 days |
| Payment | Card via PayPal, or crypto | Often crypto or Skrill; card on some sites |
| Developer site | siptv.eu, long-established | Several competing "official" sites |
| Playlist upload | Via website, by MAC address | Via website, by MAC address |
| Formats | M3U; guide support is limited | M3U and Xtream Codes, per its sellers |
| Samsung store | Removed around 2020; USB install method from the developer | Varies by model and region |
| LG store | Varies by region and model | Varies by region and model |
| Recording | No | No |
Smart IPTV: cheap, old, identifiable
Smart IPTV has been around for about a decade, and its developer site, siptv.eu, has been the same all that time. That continuity is its biggest advantage. You know where to go, and there's one price: €5.49 per TV, after a 7-day trial, payable by card through PayPal.
The downsides are real. The interface looks its age. Guide support is basic compared with modern players, and there's no recording. Samsung removed it from its app store around 2020; the developer has offered a USB-stick install method for some Samsung models since, but it's fiddly and doesn't work on every TV. On LG, availability depends on your region and model.
So Smart IPTV is a reasonable buy in one situation: it's already on your TV, or visible in your TV's store, and you want the cheapest way to play a playlist without adding hardware. Some reviewers go further and call it effectively abandoned. We wouldn't go that far while activations are still sold, but we wouldn't build a new setup around it either. Other Samsung options.
SET IPTV: the lookalike-site problem
Search for SET IPTV activation and you'll find a string of sites, each presenting itself as the official one, with slightly different prices and terms. Some take card payments; many push USDT, Bitcoin or Skrill. We couldn't establish with confidence which, if any, is run by the app's original developer.
That's the reason we'd rank it second, and it outweighs any feature it might have. When you pay an activation site, you're also handing it your playlist link, which usually contains your provider username and password. If that site isn't the real developer, you've paid a stranger and given them your login.
Crypto-only payment makes this worse. There's no chargeback if the activation never arrives or the site disappears. A legitimate software seller has no need to insist on it.
If you still want SET IPTV, find the app in your TV's own store first, note the exact publisher name, and only pay through a site that publisher links to. If you can't make that link, don't pay. Red flags worth knowing.
The MAC address catch
Both apps license the TV, not you. Activation is bound to the TV's MAC address, the network hardware ID the app shows on screen.
- A second TV means a second fee. Two TVs, two activations.
- A replacement TV means paying again. Nothing transfers.
- Switching between Wi-Fi and Ethernet can show a different MAC on some models. Note which one you activated.
At €5.49, Smart IPTV's per-TV cost barely matters. At €15.99 a TV, SET IPTV's starts to add up quickly in a three-TV house. Compare that with TiviMate Premium, about $11.99 a year for up to five devices. Running one playlist on several TVs.
If you go ahead: doing it safely
If a box isn't an option and you're going to use one of these apps, a few habits remove most of the risk.
- Use the full trial before paying. Both offer about a week. Load your playlist, watch on a busy evening, and check the guide. If it doesn't work well in the trial, paying won't fix it.
- Get to the payment page from the app, not a search engine. The app on your TV usually shows the web address to visit. Type that exact address. Search results for "activation" are full of resellers and lookalikes.
- Pay by card where you can. A card payment, even through PayPal, can be disputed. Crypto and Skrill transfers generally can't.
- Keep your screenshot. Photograph the MAC address and device key the app displays, and keep the payment receipt. If the activation doesn't arrive, that's your evidence.
- Treat the playlist link as a password. An M3U link from a service usually has your username and password in it. Upload it only to the site you've confirmed, and change your provider password if you ever pasted it somewhere you now doubt.
And check the source, not just the player. If whoever sold you the playlist also told you which activation site to use and offered to "activate it for you", that's a reseller bundle, and the channels are rarely licensed. A licensed service offers its own app in the TV's store and doesn't need a third-party activation at all. Licensed and unlicensed, explained.
The option that beats both
Here's our honest recommendation. Unless you already own a working Smart IPTV activation, spend the money on a streaming box instead.
| Route | Upfront cost (Sept 2026) | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Smart IPTV | €5.49 per TV | Basic playback, dated interface |
| SET IPTV | About €8 to €16 per TV | Similar, plus seller uncertainty |
| onn 4K Pro + TiviMate | About $50, plus optional $11.99/yr | Full guide, recording, 5 devices on one Premium |
| Google TV Streamer + TiviMate | $99.99, plus optional $11.99/yr | Faster, Ethernet, long updates |
A Google TV box also gets you the official apps for licensed services, which is often the better answer to "how do I watch this channel" anyway. Which box to buy and options on LG TVs.
Quick answers
Is Smart IPTV or SET IPTV better? Smart IPTV, mainly because it's cheaper and has one identifiable developer site. Neither is as good as a Google TV box running TiviMate.
How much does Smart IPTV cost? €5.49 once per TV after a 7-day trial.
How much does SET IPTV cost? Commonly reported around €15.99 lifetime or €7.90 a year per TV, but prices vary between the sites selling activations.
Is Smart IPTV still on Samsung TVs? It was removed from Samsung's app store around 2020. The developer describes a USB install method for some models.
Do I pay again for a new TV? Yes, with both. Activation is tied to the TV's MAC address.
Is it safe to pay for SET IPTV with crypto? We'd avoid it. There's no way to reverse the payment, and it's hard to confirm which site is official.
Do either include channels? No. Both only play a playlist you already have.
Prices and store availability are as published or reported in September 2026 and differ by country and TV model. We could not verify which SET IPTV activation site is operated by the original developer. Checked September 2026.