LaserHIT vs Mantis Laser Academy
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
LaserHIT
This app enhances dry-fire laser training for shooters of all levels. It offers realistic ballistics simulation, precise shot measurement, and high-speed hit detection. Practice with handguns or rifles at extended ranges, with results displayed in various units.
- Realistic DOPE-based ballistics simulation
- Extended long-range practice (up to 1 mile)
- Results in real units (inch, cm, MOA, MIL)
- Sub 0.1 MOA instrumental precision
- High-speed hit registration (600 RPM)
- Screen mirroring for real-time viewing
- Offline functionality
Read full descriptionHide full description
BRING YOUR RANGE PRACTICE HOME. Use your own handgun or rifle for laser-based dry firing. Work with the sights, scope, ballistic data, and shooting setup you already know. LaserHIT turns your available indoor space into a dry-fire range with realistic sounds and a customizable Virtual Spotter. See or hear results specific to the Drill you choose. YOUR SHOT. IN REAL NUMBERS. See where every hit lands immediately in inches, centimeters, MOA, or MIL. Measure groups in inches, centimeters, TMOA, SMOA, MIL, or MRAD. Match the units to your optic and the way you already work at the range. Split and elapsed time are measured to 0.1 second. KNOW HOW SHARP YOU CAN BE. Want to see a 0.052-inch difference on your target at 100 yards? Want to know you can place three shots at 5 yards in under one second? And not just once. Do it consistently. Repeat it. Know what you and your firearm can deliver. SCORE BY THE RULES YOU PRACTICE. In competition, a hit is not simply a hit. Where it lands, decimal values, X-counts, penalties, and time can determine the result. LaserHIT applies the scoring method appropriate to the selected Drill at the moment of impact. Results can include decimal or whole-number scoring, X-counts, Zone scores, Hit Factor, Final Time with penalties, and other competition-specific results. Prefer placement instead of score? See or hear each hit as a correction or location. With multiple targets and recreated distances, each result stays connected to the target and distance actually hit. THE ROOM STAYS. DISTANCE CHANGES. The LaserHIT App can recreate distances from 1 yard to 1 mile, depending on your firearm, optic, accessories, target, and available indoor distance. The principle is geometry: a proportionally scaled target recreates the angular dimensions of a full-size target at another distance. A 25-yard practice does not require 25 yards of room. A 500-yard target does not require a 500-yard range. With the appropriate setup, even 1 mile can be recreated indoors. YOUR POSITION COMES FIRST. Prone. Sitting. Kneeling. Supported. Standing. Four Positional Targets™ are matched to different rifle heights. Establish your position first, then place the appropriate target at your natural line of aim instead of changing your body to fit a fixed indoor target. No wind. No bullet drop. Work with your rifle, scope, position, support, sight picture, and trigger. BRING YOUR BALLISTIC DATA INSIDE. Import custom ballistic data from supported sources, including Hornady® and GeoBallistics®, or connect a compatible Kestrel® 5700 Series device. Select your ballistic profile in Kestrel and connect it to the LaserHIT App. During the Stage, LaserHIT generates a random crosswind up to 10 mph. Kestrel updates the DOPE for the current wind, providing the firing solution to dial or hold. CONFIRM THE RANGE. THEN FIRE. A selected distance does not always mean your recreated setup is exactly at that distance. Before ballistic practice begins, LaserHIT verifies the recreated distance actually present. For example, if your 500-yard setup verifies at 487 yards, ballistic calculations use 487 yards. Drop and time of flight are calculated for the confirmed range, because every yard can matter to the firing solution. YOUR SPOTTER. ON YOUR WRIST. With supported Drills, Apple Watch displays wind direction and speed, hit location, score, and available Stage information while your iPhone or iPad remains at the target. YOUR PRACTICE STAYS YOURS. Core practice works offline. No LaserHIT account is required. Firearm profiles, ballistic data, and practice records stay locally on your device. Some Drills and advanced features require LaserHIT Pro Access or specific LaserHIT equipment.
Mantis Laser Academy
This app provides a smart dry-fire laser training system using your smartphone's camera to detect hits, score shots, and time your performance. Enhance your marksmanship and speed with various drills, including competitive dueling modes, all from the convenience of your home.
- Automatic hit detection
- Automatic scoring
- Shot timing
- Marksmanship drills
- Speed drills
- Dueling drills
- Save training history
Read full descriptionHide full description
TRAIN SMARTER: Mantis Laser Academy is a dry-fire laser training system, built around smart targets that support automatic hit detection, scoring, and shot time in the Laser Academy app from data provided by the camera on your smartphone. TRAIN AT HOME: Mantis Laser Academy enables you to set up a dry fire laser range that is powerful, safe, convenient, and very inexpensive. Laser Academy drills are built to enhance your shooting performance, in both marksmanship and speed. Test your skills against your friends using dueling drills that allow you to shoot side by side. KEY FEATURES: - Automatic target detection - Automatic shot detection - Automatic scoring - Marksmanship, speed, and reaction time drills - Shooter-to-shooter dueling drills - Save to history GETTING STARTED: Once you have your gear, you are ready to train. Before getting started check the training area and all firearms for safety. Ensure any firearms are unloaded and remove live ammunition from the training area. - Place the smart targets in the desired location. Avoid areas where glare from lights and windows may the affect detection of shots on the targets. - Place your smartphone on the tripod and point the rear camera at the target(s) you have placed. - If you are using a laser cartridge, load the laser cartridge into the chamber of your firearm. - Launch the Mantis Laser Academy app on your phone, select a drill, and proceed to train. DRILLS and SMART TARGETS: The Mantis Laser Academy app has a variety of drills focused on different aspects of shooting. Some drills require specific smart targets. Other drills work with any smart target. Several drills support multiple targets and allow local competition between shooters. Smart targets are automatically detected and scored by Mantis Laser Academy. Using smart targets provides the most enjoyable and valuable training experience. The Control Target allows you to Start, Stop, Clear, and Close in the app by shooting specific regions on the Control Target. Mantis Laser Academy has a selection of free drills and a selection of drills that can be purchased or unlocked. You can purchase a single drill or Full Access in the app. Our mission is to help every shooter improve their accuracy and confidence. Mantis Laser Academy is the latest innovation in our next-level shooting systems designed to help you achieve a higher level of proficiency. Train smarter, train better, train with Mantis.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Mantis Laser Academy at 4.7 against LaserHIT's 4.3. Mantis Laser Academy also leads on ratings volume (4.1K vs 262) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 5 weeks). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. LaserHIT sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Mantis Laser Academy sells 15 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Mantis Laser Academy holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mantis Laser Academy has 4.1K ratings behind it against 262, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 60% of LaserHIT's written reviews are positive against 69% of Mantis Laser Academy's.
LaserHIT ships an update every 5 weeks, Mantis Laser Academy every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | LaserHIT | Mantis Laser Academy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (262 ratings) | 4.7 (4.1K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 59.7% of reviews | 69.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 262 | 4.1K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 64 MB | 284 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | +4 |
| Developer | LaserHIT LLC | Mantis Tech LLC |
Customer experience
LaserHIT
Mantis Laser Academy
User reviews
LaserHIT
From 262 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great training tool
- 🚀 Accurate practice
- 👍 Easy setup
- 👍 Fun to use
- 💡 Saves ammo costs
Room to improve
- 💰 High monthly subscription cost
- 💰 More features behind paywall
- 🐛 Cannot minimize or close program
- 🐛 Tricky phone setup
- 🐛 Lighting can be an issue
Mantis Laser Academy
From 4.1K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great training tool
- 🚀 Improves marksmanship skills
- 💡 Makes dry fire practice enjoyable
- 🚀 Saves money on ammunition
- 👍 Provides helpful feedback and scoring
Room to improve
- 🐛 Inconsistent target detection and shot recognition
- 🐛 Lighting sensitivity issues
- 🐛 App crashes and bugs
- 🐛 Calibration process is clunky
- 🐛 Audio issues with tutorials and sound effects
Bugs and requests
LaserHIT
Reported bugs
45 issues- Cannot minimize or close the program
- Update ruined the app
- Settings distance from gun site doesn't make sense
- App no longer allows use of own target
- App gets hung up trying to find reload mark
Show 40 moreShow fewer
- Latest update ruined the app
- New 'Target confirmation' is junk
- App always gets stuck on 'phone is moving'
- Latest update ruined accuracy
- Android version is running ahead of iOS version
- Top Score feature records 0 points for every shot
- Camera randomly zooms in and out
- Loses targets or randomly registers hits
- App hangs up or closes from time to time on iPhone
- Takes too long to set up a session
- Too many redundant things to select
- Purchased module doesn't work
- App doesn't work with iPad
- Purchased on Android but can't use on iPad
- Not a true iPad app
- Charged wrong price for in-app purchase
- Double counts rounds due to lighting
- App crashes randomly
- Mechanism to 'save' session score cards is laughable
- Setup for each 'mode' is tedious and error-prone
- Shipping incorrect target sizes
- App is slow
- Safety check boxes are too small
- Legal disclaimer every time app is opened
- Tutorial videos are silent films
- Targets aren't the right proportions
- App won't work on iPhone 8 or 8 Plus
- Cannot get past calibration
- Printed free target doesn't align
- Doesn't work on iPad
- Purchased module only works with specific targets
- Red spots are problematic
- App does not register fast consecutive shots
- Won't let me buy in app purchases
- No sound
- Camera noise like taking a screenshot, but doesn't save
- Doesn't show LaserHIT accessing photos
- Screenshot button is too small
- Reload area is too sensitive
- App hangs up or closes from time to time
Requested features
45 requests- More features included with base purchase
- Ability to minimize or close the program
- Save history instead of screenshots
- Android version to match iOS
- Ability to use own targets
Show 40 moreShow fewer
- Fix settings distance issue
- Fix app getting hung up on reload mark
- Roll back to previous version
- Fix target confirmation
- Fix 'phone is moving' bug
- Fix accuracy after update
- Allow use of own targets
- Fix iPad compatibility
- Save stats within the app
- See shooting improvement over time
- Dry fire log
- Add shoot numbering option
- Changeable sound effects
- New modules/challenges
- Better target proportions
- Add dialogue to tutorial videos
- Option to save after every round
- Make Quick Draw work with USPS targets
- Optional steel gong sounds
- Allow multiple targeting regions with different sounds
- Official SR target with automatic scoring
- Fix app crashing
- Improve UI/UX
- Improve score card saving mechanism
- Simplify setup for modes
- Add more free training modes
- Improve tutorial videos
- Fix iPad app compatibility
- Make purchased modules work with standard targets
- Improve lighting sensitivity
- Fix fast consecutive shot registration
- Allow in-app purchases
- Provide contact information for support
- Add sound effects
- Fix screenshot saving
- Make screenshot button larger
- Add option to save screenshots after each round
- Add official SR target
- Add steel gong sounds
- Allow multiple targeting regions
Mantis Laser Academy
Reported bugs
5 issues- App crashes during Pistol Marksmanship course
- Inability to add firearms and view history
- Calibration tool obstructs view of crosshairs
- Tripod instability causes false readings
- Sound not working unless headphones are connected
Requested features
5 requests- Add ability to customize drills and courses
- Integrate with Mantis X app for more comprehensive training
- Implement daily shot count tracking
- Allow manual entry of firearm settings
- Add more training modes and game-like features
In-app purchases
LaserHIT
- FREE TARGET PRACTICEFree
- BLACK STEEL PRACTICEFree
- 1 Day Pro Access$0.99
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- TOP SCORE PRACTICE$9.99
- QUICK HIT PRACTICE$9.99
- 30 Days Pro Access$19.99
Mantis Laser Academy
- Open Shooting - Multi-target$4.99
- Duel - Five Shot$4.99
- Shot From Guard/Low Ready$4.99
Show 12 moreShow fewer
- Bullseye - 10 Shot$4.99
- Compressed Surprise Break$4.99
- Holster Draw - Par Timed$4.99
- Holster Draw$4.99
- Multiple Shots and Targets$4.99
- Close Contact from Holster$4.99
- Hunt$4.99
- Duel - Hunt$4.99
- Emergency Reload$4.99
- 01 Darts$4.99
- Duel - High Score$4.99
- Lifetime Membership$49.99
Questions
Is LaserHIT free?
Is Mantis Laser Academy free?
Which has better reviews, LaserHIT or Mantis Laser Academy?
Do LaserHIT or Mantis Laser Academy have ads?
Which is updated more often, LaserHIT or Mantis Laser Academy?
Other comparisons















