# Promega Colony Counter

> Mobile app for estimating and refining bacterial colony counts from plate photographs. (iPhone/iPad app by Promega Corporation.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/promega-colony-counter/id620431249 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Promega Corporation](https://appshunter.io/developer/307546952)
- Category: Utilities, Productivity
- Price: Free
- Rating: 2.87/5 from 15 App Store ratings · 15 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 9.0 · 27 MB
- Languages: English
- Released: 2013-03-30
- Data updated: 2026-06-03
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/promega-colony-counter/id620431249/reviews.md

## What is Promega Colony Counter?

Is the tedium of squinting over agar plates counting bacterial colonies getting to you? Take the plates out of the lab! No, not literally. Snap a picture with your phone and you can make counting an out-of-lab experience. The Colony Counter app gives you a count estimate you can then manually refine. Save single plates or sets for later comparison. Happy Counting!

The fine print: Our app was tested with JM109 High Efficiency Competent Cells grown up in 50ml LB Medium; other plate and colony combos weren’t tested. In other words, white on yellow; that’s it.

## Key features

- Photograph agar plates
- Estimate colony counts
- Manually refine counts
- Save plates for comparison
- Out-of-lab counting

## Recent user reviews (10 of 15)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/promega-colony-counter/id620431249/reviews.md

### 3/5 — Doesn’t work on modern phones with macro photo capabilities

*2025-02-27, version 1.5*

This worked on my 7 year old super old iPhoneX but doesn’t work on my new one because the only camera this app can control has a minimum focus distance that is too far away to capture a 10cm dish, and the app is not able to use the macro photo lens for whatever reason.

### 1/5 — Doesn’t really work

*2025-01-06, version 1.5*

Will add random colonies and ignore very obvious colonies

### 3/5 — Great app buuut.

*2021-12-10*

Great app but it keeps crashing and now has my plates hostage :(

### 2/5 — Eh, not the best

*2021-05-31, version 1.5*

I liked the ability to manually add missed colonies, but it can’t handle writing on the plates and the counts seemed to be off much more than CFU.Ai.

### 1/5 — bad

*2020-03-16*

very innacurate

### 5/5 — Really good for 40-400 colonies

*2018-01-10, version 1.5*

With +/- 2-3% after zooming in to edit, using S. cerevisiae 40-400 colonies,per microbiology 101,  on 10 cm Petri dish.

### 5/5 — Very Good

*2016-06-25, version 1.3.1*

Create app but don't think the results are very accurate 😊

### 5/5 — VERY GOOD

*2016-03-11, version 1.2*

help me a lot...^^

### 3/5 — Helpful, but frequently misses colonies

*2016-03-09, version 1.2*

This is a very helpful app but unfortunately it frequently miscounts colonies or counts colonies where there are none. The app is makes it easy to go in by hand and edit the count however if you are working with a plate that has tons and tons of colonies there's no way you could manually find all the colonies that were miscounted by hand. And this app is only good for 10 cm dishes. So helpful for very basic tasks, but not quite all the way there yet.

### 1/5 — Does not even work

*2015-09-15, version 1.2*

It literally did not select a single colony

## Frequently asked questions about Promega Colony Counter

### What is Promega Colony Counter used for?

Promega Colony Counter is a mobile application designed to help users estimate and manually refine the count of bacterial colonies on agar plates by using photographs taken with a smartphone.

### How accurate is Promega Colony Counter?

The app provides an estimated count and allows for manual refinement. It was tested with specific cell types (JM109 High Efficiency Competent Cells) and growth media, suggesting its accuracy may vary with different plate and colony types, particularly those that are white on yellow.

### Can I save my colony counts with Promega Colony Counter?

Yes, you can save individual plates or sets of plates within the app. This feature allows for later comparison of colony counts over time or under different experimental conditions.

### What devices does Promega Colony Counter support?

Promega Colony Counter is available for iPhone and iPad devices. It is not specified if it supports Android devices.

### How often is Promega Colony Counter updated?

The app was last updated on October 3, 2016, to version 1.5. This indicates infrequent updates, which users should consider when evaluating its current relevance and feature set.

### What is the age rating for Promega Colony Counter?

Promega Colony Counter has an age rating of 4+. This rating is generally for content deemed suitable for all ages, though parental guidance is always recommended for younger users.

### Does Promega Colony Counter have ads?

No, Promega Colony Counter does not contain advertisements. The app is free to download and use without any ad interruptions.

### What is the user rating for Promega Colony Counter?

Promega Colony Counter has an average rating of 2.9 stars based on 15 user ratings. This suggests a mixed user reception, with some users finding it useful and others experiencing limitations.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.5 — 2016-10-03

This app has been updated by Apple to display the Apple Watch app icon.

Update to support iOS 10; bugfixes related to deleting individual or multiple plates from a set.

### 1.4 — 2016-07-12

Adds the ability to export multiple plate images at the same time.

### 1.3.1 — 2016-04-11

Fixes a bug that caused a crash while taking photos.

### 1.3 — 2016-04-05

We've added a couple of new features based on your feedback:

* Image Export
Export an image of a marked plate using the iOS Share Sheet Menu.

* Image Import
Import an image of a plate from your photo library instead of taking a picture with the app.

### 1.2 — 2015-06-04

Updated user interface, iOS 8 support.

## More apps by Promega Corporation

- [Promega Protocols](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/promega-protocols/id947048912)
- [Promega Biomath Calculators](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/promega-biomath-calculators/id987501449)
- [Restriction Enzyme Tool](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/restriction-enzyme-tool/id1000803979)

All apps by Promega Corporation: https://appshunter.io/developer/307546952

## Related topics

[cfu counter](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/cfu-counter)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-03.*
