Short answer: TiviMate Premium unlocks the features that make it worth using — multiple playlists, recording, catch-up, multi-view, and proper channel groups — and it's cheap: roughly $6 a year, or a one-off lifetime licence usually quoted between $20 and $27, covering up to five devices on one account. You buy it through the TiviMate Companion app on an Android phone, not on the TV itself, which is the step that confuses everyone. It runs on Android TV and Fire TV only, and it has no multi-user profiles — if several people share the TV and you need separate parental controls, that's its real limitation.
At a glance
TiviMate Premium
| Annual | Around $6 a year |
| Lifetime | Usually $20–27, cheaper on sale |
| Devices | Up to 5 on one account |
| Buy via | Companion app on Android phone |
| Runs on | Android TV and Fire TV only |
What Premium actually unlocks
The free version handles one playlist with a basic guide, which is enough to test your service but not to live with. Premium adds:
- Multiple playlists — useful if you have two services, or a provider plus a free channel list.
- Recording, to internal storage, USB or network storage.
- Catch-up, where your provider supports it — rewinding live TV on compatible channels.
- Multi-view, several channels on screen at once. The feature people buy it for during sport.
- Channel groups and reordering, which is what makes a list of hundreds usable.
- Scheduled recordings from the programme guide.
The channel organisation is the underrated one. On a large playlist, being able to build a group of the twenty channels you actually watch changes the app from unusable to pleasant.
What it costs
Reported figures vary because the developer runs sales and prices differ by region. The consistent picture:
Annual: around $6 a year. Cheap enough that most people take it without much thought.
Lifetime: generally quoted between $20 and $27, with Black Friday discounts historically dropping it near $20.
The arithmetic is simple — if you expect to use it for four years or more, lifetime wins. Given how cheap the annual is, neither choice is a mistake.
Check the current price inside the Companion app rather than trusting any article, including this one; it's the only authoritative source.
How to buy it
This is the part that catches people out: you can't buy Premium on your TV. Purchases go through the TiviMate Companion app.
- Install TiviMate Companion from Google Play on an Android phone or tablet.
- Create an account with an email address and a password.
- Choose annual or lifetime and pay through Google Play.
- Open TiviMate on your TV and sign in with the same account. Premium features unlock immediately.
If you have no Android device, the usual workaround is an Android emulator on a computer to run the Companion app once. Payment goes through Google Play either way.
Five devices, one account
One purchase covers up to five devices — so a Firestick in the living room, an Android box in the bedroom and a tablet all run on the same licence. That's a genuine advantage over players licensed per device, such as Smart IPTV, which charges per TV.
If you hit the limit, the Companion app lets you sign old devices out. Replacing a TV or a stick therefore costs nothing, unlike MAC-based licences.
Is it worth it?
Yes, if you use a playlist-based service on Android TV or Fire TV, watch enough live TV to care about the guide, or want recording and multi-view. At roughly $6 a year, it's the cheapest meaningful upgrade in this whole area.
No, if your service ships its own app — you don't need a player at all — or if you're on Roku, Apple TV, Samsung or LG, where TiviMate doesn't run. Which player suits your device.
One sequencing point: test the free version with your playlist first. If the streams are unreliable, Premium won't help. A player improves navigation, not the stream.
What it doesn't do
No multi-user profiles. Everyone shares the same channel list and settings, so you can't give children a restricted profile. If that matters, hidden groups behind a PIN plus device-level controls are the workaround, or use a player with profiles.
Android TV and Fire TV only. No Roku, no Apple TV, no Samsung or LG, and it isn't designed for phones — the Companion app is a management tool, not a viewer.
No channels. Worth repeating: it's an empty player, and your subscription is a separate purchase from a separate company.
Recording depends on your provider. Catch-up only works where the service supports it.
"Lifetime keys" and cracked versions
Search for TiviMate Premium and you'll find sites selling "lifetime keys", modified APKs with Premium pre-unlocked, and resellers bundling it with a channel subscription.
There are no keys. Premium is an account unlocked through Google Play, so anything sold as a key is either a shared account that will stop working, or nothing at all.
Modified APKs are worse: unsigned software with network access and your IPTV credentials, installed on a device that stays on your home network permanently — to avoid about $6 a year. And a reseller bundling the app with channels is mixing two separate purchases, which makes both harder to judge. Choose the service on its own merits.
Frequently asked questions
How much is TiviMate Premium? Around $6 a year, or roughly $20–27 for a lifetime licence. Check the Companion app for the current price.
How do I buy it? Through the TiviMate Companion app on an Android phone, paid via Google Play — not on the TV.
How many devices does it cover? Up to five on one account.
Does it work on Firestick? Yes. Android TV and Fire TV are the supported platforms.
Can I use it on Roku or Apple TV? No.
Does Premium include channels? No. It unlocks player features; channels come from your provider.
Prices are as reported by independent sources in 2026 and vary with sales and region. The current price shown in the TiviMate Companion app is the authoritative figure.