Comparison

phyphox vs Cultmax

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

phyphox

Unlock your phone's sensors for scientific exploration. Conduct pre-built experiments or create your own using accelerometers, magnetometers, and more. Analyze and export data in various formats for further study.

Highlights
  • Pre-defined experiments
  • Data export (CSV, TSV, Excel)
  • Web-based remote control
  • Custom experiment editor
  • Access to phone sensors
  • Advanced analysis functions
Features
Read full description

Did you know that you are carrying a 3D magnetometer? That you can use your phone as a pendulum to measure earth's local gravitational acceleration? That you can turn your phone into a sonar? phyphox gives you access to the sensors of your phone either directly or through ready-to-play experiments which analyze your data and let you export raw data along with the results for further analysis. You can even define your own experiments on phyphox.org and share them with colleagues, students and friends. Selected Features: • A selection of pre-defined experiments. Just press play to start. • Export your data to a range of widely used formats • Remote-control your experiment through a web interface from any PC on the same network as your phone. No need to install anything on those PCs - all you need is a modern web browser. • Define your own experiments by selecting sensor inputs, defining analysis steps and creating views as an interface using our web-editor (http://phyphox.org/editor). The analysis consists of just adding two values or using advanced methods like Fourier transforms and crosscorrelation. We offer a whole toolbox of analysis functions. Sensors supported: • Accelerometer • Magnetometer • Gyroscope • Pressure • Microphone • Proximity • GPS • Camera • LiDAR/ToF *some sensors are not present on every phone. Export formats • CSV (Comma separated values) • TSV (Tab-separated values) • Excel (if you need other formats, please let us know) This app has been developed at the 2nd Institute of Physics A at the RWTH Aachen University.

About

Cultmax

This app gamifies exam preparation for specific university entrance exams. It transforms past questions into interactive levels with progress tracking, leaderboards, and visual aids. Users can compete with friends and receive instant feedback to boost their learning and motivation.

Highlights
  • Interactive levels from past exams
  • Gamified learning with points and progression
  • Real-time leaderboards and friend challenges
  • Visual aids for memorization
  • Instant feedback after questions
  • Friend profiles and motivation features
Features
Read full description

Cultmax – Prenez l’avantage sur les autres candidats : Pendant que les autres candidats perdent des heures à imprimer, résoudre et corriger leurs sessions, vous avancez plus vite et plus intelligemment avec Cultmax. Chaque entraînement est optimisé pour vous faire gagner du temps, améliorer votre mémoire grâce à des images de rappel uniques, et transformer votre préparation en une expérience simple, rapide et efficace. Ne perdez plus jamais de temps à vous demander quoi étudier : La culture peut sembler vaste et confuse, sans méthode claire ni direction. Cultmax vous guide étape par étape vers les questions les plus importantes et les plus susceptibles de tomber au concours USJ. Chaque session est optimisée pour que vous ne travailliez que sur ce qui compte vraiment, afin de transformer chaque minute en avantage réel au classement. Résultat : Moins de temps perdu Plus de rétention Plus de vitesse Meilleure performance au concours Cultmax vous donne un seul objectif : Réussir plus vite que les autres candidats.

Screenshots

phyphox4 screens
Cultmax4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Cultmax at every 9 days against phyphox's every 3 months. Cultmax also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 79%) and rating (4.9 vs 4.6). phyphox's advantage is monetization model (free vs freemium) and ratings volume (276 vs 11). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Cultmax holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: phyphox has 276 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 79% of phyphox's written reviews are positive against 100% of Cultmax's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

phyphox ships an update every 3 months, Cultmax every 9 days. Both last shipped on October 17, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
phyphox versus Cultmax: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterphyphoxCultmax
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (276 ratings)4.9 (11 ratings) — better
Positive reviews78.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings276 — better11
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB188 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRWTH Aachen UniversityJoseph Bou Samra

Customer experience

phyphox

All ratings276 ratings
Positive89.5%
Neutral4.0%
Negative6.5%
Written reviews267 reviews
Positive78.7%
Neutral3.4%
Negative18.0%

Cultmax

All ratings11 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

phyphox

Reported bugs

21 issues
  • App crashes on older devices
  • Barometer not working on iOS 17.4
  • Network error: Generic error
  • Sound measurement curve disappears
  • App crashes frequently
Show 16 more
  • Cannot be opened on iPhone 6
  • Light sensor not implemented
  • Recording stops when phone is locked or app is minimized
  • Green lines on screen and faded to black after using barometer sensor
  • WLAN not working after using the app
  • Pressure no longer displayed on iOS 17.5
  • Barometer not working on iOS 17.4
  • Latest version cannot be opened on iPhone 6
  • Sound chronometer reset button not working
  • iPad destroyed after update
  • App displays Russian language by default
  • Experiments not working on iPhone 7
  • Magnetometer not working after update on iPhone 5s
  • GPS shows 0 satellites with 6m accuracy
  • App claims iPhone 11 is comparable to a low-cost tablet
  • App crashes every time

Requested features

33 requests
  • Add infrasound detector
  • More units of measurement (G-force, PSI, feet)
  • NFC/RFID support
  • In-app bug report feature
  • Allow other sensors via USB-C
Show 28 more
  • Ability to plug in external sensors
  • Slo-mo recording with timestamps
  • Add attitude sensor (roll, pitch, yaw)
  • Integration with Apple Shortcuts
  • Ability to record audio/dB simultaneously with other sensors
  • Adjustable sampling frequency for all sensors
  • Dark mode option
  • Experiment editor integrated into the app
  • More documentation for the editor
  • Ability to form averages
  • Support for older iPhones (iPhone 6)
  • Add GPS satellite count display
  • Add speedometer functionality
  • Add Lux measurement using light sensor/camera
  • Ability to play recorded audio
  • Limit input for sound analyzers (dB/Hz range)
  • Wi-Fi and RF module access for EMF analysis
  • iWatch integration
  • Improve audio generator capability
  • Allow background/screen locked recording
  • Add light sensor functionality
  • Change units of measurement
  • Add more precise measurements for static cases
  • Add FFT and spectral generation for accelerometer
  • Support for older devices
  • Improve UI/UX for new users
  • Add support for more languages
  • Add a donate option

Cultmax

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

phyphox

No in-app purchases

None

Cultmax

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is phyphox free?
phyphox is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Cultmax free?
Cultmax is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, phyphox or Cultmax?
Cultmax is rated higher. phyphox averages 4.6 out of 5 from 276 ratings, while Cultmax averages 4.9 from 11 ratings.
Do phyphox or Cultmax have ads?
Neither phyphox nor Cultmax shows ads.
Which is updated more often, phyphox or Cultmax?
phyphox ships an update every 3 months, and Cultmax every 9 days. Most recently, phyphox was updated on October 17, 2026 and Cultmax on October 17, 2026.

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