Darkroom Clock vs ProLab Film Developer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Darkroom Clock
This app provides a customizable timer for film and photo development, allowing users to create unique development recipes. It features a darkroom-safe mode, a clear display, and a full-screen start/stop button for ease of use. Receive notifications if a timer is running when you leave the app.
- Configurable development recipes
- Darkroom mode for B&W paper
- Clear information display
- Full screen start/stop button
- Running timer notifications
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Darkroom Clock is a flexible darkroom timer app suitable for both film and photo development. Build your own development recipes with separate timers for each stage of your development process. The app includes - fully configurable development recipes. - darkroom mode (safe to use with B&W photographic paper). - clear display with all the information you need. - the whole screen is the start/stop button for the timers - notifications if you leave the app while a timer is still running Also the app is free so there is no reason to not download it.
ProLab Film Developer
Achieve consistent color film development at home with real-time adjustments for temperature and chemistry. This app eliminates guesswork by actively recalculating development times based on changing conditions, ensuring repeatable results without expensive equipment.
- Real-time time compensation
- Chemistry tracking
- Dynamic Time-Temperature Engine
- Push processing support
- Guided workflow
- Supports major C-41 kits
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No sous-vide. No guesswork. Just consistent colour film development. ProLab is a precision colour film development tool with real-time time compensation and chemistry tracking. ProLab Film Developer is the smarter way to develop colour film at home. Most home colour film development goes wrong for two reasons: temperature drift and tired chemicals. Every other app ignores that. ProLab Film Developer doesn’t. It’s the only app that actively adjusts your development time in real time, based on what’s actually happening, not what should be happening. Real-time time and temperature correction Built around a Dynamic Time-Temperature Engine, ProLab continuously recalculates your development time as conditions change. Temperature drops? Time is adjusted. Chemistry weakening? Compensated. No guessing. No assumptions. No expensive setup. No barriers. You don’t need a sous-vide. You don’t need a lab. Just a tank, a thermometer and a bowl. This is consistent, repeatable colour development without the cost or complexity. What makes it different • Real-time time compensation based on live temperature input • Chemistry tracking with exhaustion awareness • Intelligent adjustments based on actual usage, not theory • Built-in push processing for 1 and 2 stops • Clean, guided workflow from start to finish Supports major home C-41 kits, including Cinestill, Bellini, Rollei, Adox, Fuji and more. Built by a photographer, not a developer This was made to solve a real problem in home film processing. If your temperature moves and your timing doesn’t, you’re already off. Get it right. Every time.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Darkroom Clock at Free against ProLab Film Developer's $7.99. Darkroom Clock also leads on ratings volume (84 vs 3) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.1). ProLab Film Developer's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and review sentiment (100% vs 83%). On update cadence, 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
Darkroom Clock is free to download; ProLab Film Developer costs $7.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
ProLab Film Developer holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Darkroom Clock has 84 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 83% of Darkroom Clock's written reviews are positive against 100% of ProLab Film Developer's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 16, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Darkroom Clock | ProLab Film Developer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $7.99 |
| Rating | 4.6 (84 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 83.3% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 84 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 189 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Adam Fowler | James Maher |
Customer experience
Darkroom Clock
ProLab Film Developer
In-app purchases
Darkroom Clock
No in-app purchases
ProLab Film Developer
No in-app purchases
