Comparison

Microscope Resolution vs Thorlabs Toolkit

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

Head to head
About

Microscope Resolution

Calculate microscope objective lens resolution and brightness. Match lenses to your imaging system and check sampling frequency. Save, share, and access calculation equations.

Highlights
  • Calculate lateral and axial resolution
  • Calculate objective brightness
  • Match objective to acquisition system
  • Check Nyquist sampling frequency
  • Save and restore objective data
  • Share objective data
  • Display calculation equations
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Characterize your microscope objective lenses, see how well matched they are to your microscope's image acquisition system. The App supports both transmitted light objectives and fluorescence objectives. Input the magnification, immersion medium (air, oil, glycerol or silicone oil), NA (numerical aperture), condenser NA and wavelength of light (lambda), to calculate the lateral resolution, axial resolution and brightness of the objective. Characterize your acquisition system (camera pixel size, camera binning and additional magnification) to check if you're sampling at Nyquist frequency. Each of your objectives can be saved and easily restored, and shared with other microscopists via e-mail, MMS, Linked-In or even Facebook. The equations used for the calculations can be displayed. The sources of equations are referenced in the "Information" section. * Theoretical Resolution is calculated according Ernst Abbe's famous equation (Abbe 1873) * Actual Resolution is calculated according to ‘The Rayleigh Criterion’ * Axial Resolution of fluorescence objectives is calculated according to Inoue's chapter in Jim Pawley's “Handbook of Biological Confocal Microscopy” (3rd edition 2006) * Camera pixel size can be loaded from the list of cameras, if your camera is not in the list, you can enter it manually. * Select the "share" feature to share all output to e-mail, MMS or Linked-In * It doesn't matter if your microscope was made by Zeiss, Evos, Leica, Olympus, Nikon, Motic, or Meiji Techno, the principles are identical and you will find the app useful. * The list of cameras in the Camera dialog includes those made by Andor, Hamamatsu, Photometrics, PCO, QImaging, Leica, Lumenera, Olympus, Nikon, Motic and Zeiss.

About

Thorlabs Toolkit

Features
Read full description

Get convenient access to photonics calculators, equations, and other information and resources when you download this free app! This application is being continually updated to offer new types of resources, as well as to expand existing categories, so be sure to check for updates. The current version of the app includes a collection of calculators that engineers and technicians at Thorlabs Lens Systems and elsewhere have used on the floor for over 15 years. Each calculator page includes the equations used in the calculations, as well as usage notes and information about assumptions included in the equations. Additional resources include brief summaries of ray tracing, lens theory, Snell’s Law, manufacturing tolerances, and evaluation of system resolution using the modulation transfer function (MTF). History Thorlabs Toolkit builds on the excellent foundation provided by the JML Optical Calculator. When JML Optical joined Thorlabs’ family as Thorlabs Lens Systems, it provided a wonderful opportunity to expand the app to share knowledge collected from across all of Thorlabs.

Screenshots

Microscope Resolution4 screens
Thorlabs Toolkit4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Thorlabs Toolkit at Free against Microscope Resolution's $1.99. Thorlabs Toolkit also leads on ads (none vs shown). Microscope Resolution's advantage is chart position (#190 vs unranked). On update cadence, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

Thorlabs Toolkit is free to download; Microscope Resolution costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Microscope Resolution ships an update every 3 months, Thorlabs Toolkit every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Microscope Resolution versus Thorlabs Toolkit: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMicroscope ResolutionThorlabs Toolkit
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating3.7 (6 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings6 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 4 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
Best chart rank#190 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.013.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB30 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAndrew BarlowThorlabs, Inc.

In-app purchases

None

Microscope Resolution

No in-app purchases

None

Thorlabs Toolkit

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Microscope Resolution free?
Microscope Resolution costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Thorlabs Toolkit free?
Thorlabs Toolkit is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Microscope Resolution or Thorlabs Toolkit have ads?
Microscope Resolution shows ads; Thorlabs Toolkit does not.
Which is updated more often, Microscope Resolution or Thorlabs Toolkit?
Microscope Resolution ships an update every 3 months, and Thorlabs Toolkit every 4 months. Most recently, Microscope Resolution was updated on November 2, 2026 and Thorlabs Toolkit on November 8, 2026.

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