BitCam vs Owncasts
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
BitCam
Capture photos with a unique one-bit camera, producing images with only black and white pixels. Experience a retro interface with mechanical sounds and experiment with different pixel resolutions and an 8-color mode. Save your creations as clean PNG files for printing or digital projects.
- One-bit camera (black and white pixels)
- Retro interface with mechanical sounds
- Multiple pixel resolutions
- 8-color mode option
- Clean PNG output
- Atkinson dithering method
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A blast from the past! Capture your photos with a unique 1-bit camera: only pure black and pure white pixels, no grayscale! BitCam's interface is delightfully old school, featuring chunky buttons and mechanical sounds the likes of which haven't graced your screen in over 40 years. In Camera mode, three different pixel resolutions let you experiment, and an 8-color mode brings you a little closer to the current day while preserving the distinct aesthetic. Or jump over to the editor to dither any photo from your library and experiment with resolutely modern colors & gradients. Clean, high resolution PNG output means you can print those files, use them in digital collages, or other art projects. You can also now run BitCam natively on your iPad, and your Mac! And on Mac, you can install a system extension to use BitCam in any app that uses the camera: Zoom, FaceTime, Google Meet, WebEx, Photo Booth, etc. The camera mode is entirely free and unlimited. The editor mode offers a 3 day trial, after which it requires a one-time in-app purchase for full access, on all of your account's devices.
Owncasts
Discover and watch independent live streams from various sources. Receive instant notifications when your favorite streamers go live, ensuring you never miss an update. This app aggregates content from Owncast-powered platforms.
- Watch independent live streams
- Get notified when streamers go live
- Aggregate Owncast-powered content
- On-the-go viewing
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Add your favorite Owncast-powered live streams to watch on the go. Get notified when streamers go live so you'll never miss out. If you're an Owncast streamer, you can stream to your personal instance directly from this app!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: BitCam at 73% against Owncasts's 0%. BitCam also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.9) and ratings volume (92 vs 7). Owncasts's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. BitCam sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Owncasts asks for nothing beyond the download.
BitCam holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BitCam has 92 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of BitCam's written reviews are positive against 0% of Owncasts's.
BitCam ships an update every 2 weeks, Owncasts weekly. Both last shipped on September 22, 2026.
| Parameter | BitCam | Owncasts |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (92 ratings) — better | 3.9 (7 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 73.2% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 92 — better | 7 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Héliographe, Inc | Gabe Kangas |
Customer experience
BitCam
Owncasts
Bugs and requests
BitCam
Reported bugs
3 issues- Color graphics not working
- Doesn't recognize camera access
- Saves photos in incorrect orientation
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to import/edit existing photos
- Video recording function
- Option to adjust brightness/exposure
- Ability to mute sounds
- Inverted mode
Owncasts
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
BitCam
- Full BitCam2 variants$9.99
Owncasts
No in-app purchases
