Comparison

DragonFly Companion vs AR Lightning

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

Head to head
About

DragonFly Companion

This app provides mobile access to a virtual camera plugin for 3D environments. It allows users to view and interact with scenes, test ideas, and record camera motion for virtual production. It enhances the virtual cinematography workflow by offering ARKit tracking and a portable viewport.

Highlights
  • Mobile virtual camera viewport
  • ARKit tracking for spatial volume
  • Iterate and block animation
  • Virtual location scouting
  • Visualize 3D assets
  • Record camera motion
Features
Read full description

DragonFly Companion works alongside Glassbox’s DragonFly virtual camera plugin for Unreal Engine and Maya to put the power of virtual cinematography into the hands of users via any compatible Apple device. At Glassbox, we have created DragonFly, a virtual camera plugin that gives you the power to view your computer-generated environments, character performances, and scenes, just as if you were doing a live-action shoot, but virtually. DragonFly Companion gives users fast and simple access to be used for virtual cinematography and virtual production, meaning users have the mobility and accessibility to test out scenes before committing, iterate different ideas, jump into Virtual Reality, and much more! - Provides a mobile and accessible virtual camera viewport and HUD - Turns any space into a volume by delivering ARKit tracking data - Lets users iterate faster, block animation, and do virtual location scouts anywhere - Visualize props, sets, buildings, and any work being done by the virtual art department - Record camera motion and other tasks related to virtual production DragonFly Companion must be connected to the DragonFly plugin for your Engine or DCC of choice. You can try and buy DragonFly from the Glassbox website.

About

AR Lightning

Create realistic lightning effects from your fingertips using augmented reality. Control the direction and intensity of the lightning in real-time by changing your hand pose. Save your creations as videos or photos and share them.

Highlights
  • AR hand pose recognition
  • Real-time lightning control
  • Customizable ray color and power
  • Save as video or photo
  • Share to social media
  • Select photos from camera roll
Features
Read full description

●This app recognizes the pose of the hand captured by the AR camera and emits a flashy force lightning ray from the finger. ●Apple's human body image recognition technology is used to recognize hand pose images. ●By changing the pose of the hand, you can freely control the direction and on / off of the light beam in real time. In Star Wars, Sith's Dark Sidious and Count Dooku were fighting the Jedi Knights with this Force Lightning as a weapon. The rays of light emitted from the fingers in the camera are amazing just by looking at them. You can enjoy this Force Lightning effect on the AR screen that is displayed in real time. You can also save the powerful image in a video or photo or share it on SNS. You can even select a photo stored in your camera roll and save it to a video or photo. Let's enjoy the feeling of Star Wars. [Image Selection] - AR camera - Camera shooting: Photograph - Camera roll: Photo [Settings] - Selection of light emitting fingers (common to both hands) - Ray color setting (RGBA slider) - Background brightness - Ray power - Sound effect switch - Video length (5-30 seconds) - Save resolution [output] - Save to camera roll: videos, photos - Video / Photo Sharing: AirDrop, LINE, Facebook, Dropbox, Instagram, ...

Screenshots

DragonFly Companion3 screens
AR Lightning4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: DragonFly Companion at Free against AR Lightning's $1.99. DragonFly Companion also leads on rating (5.0 vs 2.3). AR Lightning's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months). On ratings volume, 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

DragonFly Companion is free to download; AR Lightning costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

DragonFly Companion holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6 and 3 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

DragonFly Companion ships an update every 3 months, AR Lightning weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
DragonFly Companion versus AR Lightning: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDragonFly CompanionAR Lightning
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating5.0 (6 ratings) — better2.3 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews—0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings6 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.413.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size111 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGlassbox Inc.Masanori Katsuta

Customer experience

DragonFly Companion

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

AR Lightning

All ratings3 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

None

DragonFly Companion

No in-app purchases

None

AR Lightning

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is DragonFly Companion free?
DragonFly Companion is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is AR Lightning free?
AR Lightning costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, DragonFly Companion or AR Lightning?
DragonFly Companion is rated higher. DragonFly Companion averages 5.0 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while AR Lightning averages 2.3 from 3 ratings.
Do DragonFly Companion or AR Lightning have ads?
Neither DragonFly Companion nor AR Lightning shows ads.
Which is updated more often, DragonFly Companion or AR Lightning?
DragonFly Companion ships an update every 3 months, and AR Lightning weekly. Most recently, DragonFly Companion was updated on November 2, 2026 and AR Lightning on November 3, 2026.

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