Prices below are mid-September 2026 snapshots — check live on the retailer before you buy.
Two Freely boxes. Zero aerial. Same “great British telly over broadband” pitch. Different operating systems, different price shapes, different reasons to walk away. If you are choosing between Manhattan Aero and Netgem PLEIO for aerial-free UK TV, this is the device compare. Not an ISP bundle story.
Official Freely buying advice still names these two when your Samsung, LG or Sony set lacks built-in Freely: PLEIO as the Android TV puck with optional cloud gaming, Aero as the TiVo OS compact box. That is the shortlist. Pick on habits, not on launch-day hype.
What both get right
- Freely live and on-demand over Wi-Fi. No dish. No rooftop aerial required.
- Public-service catch-up integrated the Freely way: BBC, ITV, Channel 4, 5 and the wider Freely channel set.
- 4K-ready HDMI streamers for apps that support it.
- Pause live Freely for a short buffer (Freely’s own guidance talks about up to about 15 minutes — check Freely’s current help copy). Not a PVR.
- Neither will magically record Freely. Everyone TV has been clear: Freely as a stream is not a recorder platform.
If you need series link from an aerial or dish, buy a Freeview or Freesat recorder. Pair it later if you must. Do not expect either Freely box to become a Humax in software.
Manhattan Aero: TiVo OS, simple buy-once Freely
Manhattan’s own Freely page positions Aero as broadband Freely plus TiVo OS apps (Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, YouTube and more) and TiVo+ free FAST channels. Specs and FAQ highlights that matter on the sofa:
- Wi-Fi 6 and a wired Ethernet port (handy when the TV corner is a Wi-Fi dead zone).
- HDR10 / HDR10+. No Dolby Vision on Aero.
- Curated apps. No sideloading. That is stability, not a dare — a feature if you want a quiet box, a deal-breaker if you live in the Play Store.
- UK support story and a 2-year warranty pitch from Manhattan.
- Street pricing moves. Manhattan has listed Aero from about £89.99 RRP (mid-Sep 2026 snapshot); retailers may show different tills. Check the till today, not a screenshot from January.
For a deeper Aero software note, see our Manhattan Aero v20 TiVo Channels update. This compare stays at the buy decision.
Choose Aero if: you want Freely + major apps without a subscription rider on the box itself, you like Ethernet as an option, and you do not need Google Play sprawl.
Netgem PLEIO: Android TV puck, Play Store, gaming bundle
Netgem’s PLEIO site still sells the Freely-first story with a different payload:
- Android TV with Google Play apps and Google Assistant voice remote.
- Wi-Fi focused puck (no Ethernet on the classic PLEIO pitch). Tiny form factor.
- Cloud gaming plus a gamepad in the box.
- Headline buy around £99 with 12 months of the PLEIO subscription included, then about £9.99/month if you keep the extras (mid-Sep 2026 snapshots — check Netgem / retailer till today).
- Freely itself stays free. The paid bit is Netgem’s extra channels / cloud gaming stack, not the public Freely tier.
Choose PLEIO if: you want broader app flexibility via Play Store, you will use cloud gaming, and you accept a post-year subscription decision for the Netgem extras.
Head-to-head without the fluff
- Price shape: Aero is closer to buy-once hardware. PLEIO’s attractive day-one kit includes a year of extras that can renew. Check both tills today.
- Apps: TiVo curated list vs Android TV Play Store breadth. Verify the apps you actually pay for on each live product page before you order — do not assume a catalogue gap from old forum posts.
- Network: Aero’s Ethernet can save a mesh argument. PLEIO expects solid Wi-Fi.
- Gaming: PLEIO leans in with pad + cloud games. Aero is not chasing that lane as hard.
- Tinker factor: neither is a wide-open sideload playground. PLEIO is still the more “Android familiar” of the two.
A boring but honest pick rule
Buy Aero when you want Freely plus mainstream apps with a clean one-off hardware bill and a wired escape hatch. Buy PLEIO when Play Store breadth and cloud gaming are part of why you are shopping, and you are fine deciding about the Netgem extras after month twelve. If you are torn because an ISP is waving a branded PLEIO, that is a broadband deal, not this device compare.
- Does your TV already have Freely? → buy nothing.
- Need recording? → Freeview/Freesat PVR, not these.
- Need Ethernet / buy-once / curated apps → Aero (check till today).
- Need Play Store + cloud gaming and OK with ~£9.99/mo after year-1 extras → PLEIO (check till today).
- Open both live retailer pages; verify the apps you actually pay for.
Who should skip both
If your TV already has Freely built in, you do not need a puck. If you need recording, look at Freeview/Freesat PVRs instead. If you want a general Google TV hub without native Freely, a Google TV Streamer sits in a different job description (see GS44). Freely-only hardware solves Freely. It is not every living-room problem.
Setup reality: both need HDMI, a plug, and broadband that can hold a live stream. Freely’s own guidance still talks about roughly 10 Mbps as a practical floor for live internet channels (attribute that to Freely’s help copy; re-check). 4K apps want more headroom. If your Wi-Fi in the TV corner is already theatrical, Aero’s Ethernet port is damage control, not a geek flex.
Aerial-free UK TV is sorted either way. Pay for the OS and the subscription shape you will still like in month thirteen.
Best IPTV boxes to buy
If you wanted Google TV without Freely (Matter hub, Play Store sprawl, Ethernet) rather than Aero/PLEIO, start with the Streamer. The sticks below are budget second-HDMI players only — not Freely replacements, and not Freely-first hardware. Android TV / Google TV shells for official apps; no playlists or channels. Illegal IPTV is illegal. No Fire Stick, no Vega, no Fire OS.
- Google TV Streamer 4K · Amazon US — Google’s own living-room hub when Freely-first Aero/PLEIO is not the job.
- Xiaomi TV Stick 4K (2nd Gen) · Amazon US — budget HDMI stick for licensed apps on a second socket.
- Strong LEAP-AIR (UK listing — no clean US match) — UK-market Google TV stick for stock and remote layout checks.
- Nokia Streaming Box 8010 (UK listing — no clean US match) — compact Android TV box if you prefer a box over a dongle.
- MECOOL KM2 Plus Deluxe · Amazon US — Google TV box when you want a dedicated player behind the sofa.