Comparison

Polaroid vs Frames

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

Head to head
About

Polaroid

This app enhances your analog photography experience by connecting to Polaroid cameras, offering advanced shooting modes, and providing a high-resolution scanner for your physical prints. You can also print photos from your phone onto Polaroid film and curate a digital gallery of your memories.

Highlights
  • Connect and control Polaroid cameras
  • Advanced shooting modes (Portrait, Double Exposure)
  • High-resolution Polaroid scanner
  • Print phone photos to Polaroid film
  • Create photo grids and collages
  • Digital scrapbook for memories
Features
Read full description

Unlock the full creative power of Polaroid — the film, the camera and the community. GET INSPIRED Join photography challenges and capture beautiful imperfection to win prizes and expand your knowledge with Polaroid cameras and photography. CONNECT YOUR CAMERA Link your Now+, OneStep+, I-2 or Flip to unlock additional features like: - Portrait Mode - Double Exposure - Self Timer - Aperture Priority - Tripod Mode - Light Painting - Manual Mode HIGH-RES POLAROID SCANNER Use our in-built scanner to scan, store and share high quality digital copies of your Polaroid pictures. Works for i-Type, 600, SX-70, and Spectra film. PRINT POLAROID PICTURES Load photos from your phone into the Polaroid app and place it on top of the Lab and your favorite memories will be printed as beautifully imperfect Polaroid pictures. Or create grids and collages of two, three, four, six or nine frames to share with others. CURATE YOUR GALLERY Once scanned, create your own digital scrapbook of your favorite memories.

About

Frames

Create stunning photo collages, Polaroid frames, and seamless Instagram carousels with a powerful editor. Offers aesthetic templates, AI background removal, and professional export tools to make your photos stand out. Start free and upgrade for unlimited access.

Highlights
  • Polaroid frames
  • Instagram carousel creation
  • Aesthetic collage templates
  • AI background removal
  • Transparent background export
  • Full layout customization
  • Stickers, fonts, and overlays
Features
Read full description

Create aesthetic collages, film-inspired frames, and scrollable stories in seconds. Design your signature style with powerful templates, seamless layouts, and effortless editing, all in one place. Frames is a complete photo collage maker and storytelling studio, blending aesthetic design, deep customization, and professional export tools to help your photos stand out. WHY CREATORS CHOOSE FRAMES Style Kits Save your colors, fonts, and logo once, then bring your look to any design in a tap. Pull a palette straight from your own photos. Film-Inspired Frames Modern, vintage, analog, minimal, and retro. Every frame is fully customizable. Seamless Carousels Build swipeable carousel posts and long scrolling designs that flow perfectly across your feed. Transparent Background Export Export frames with no background for professional-level edits and layering. Aesthetic Collage Templates Minimal, scrapbook, vintage, and film-inspired layouts. New designs added regularly. One-Tap Background Removal Lift your subject out of any photo instantly, with no manual tracing. Full Layout Customization Adjust spacing, ratios, borders, colors, textures, shadows, and more with precision. Stickers, Fonts, and Overlays A curated creative library that grows with every release. Story and Highlight Covers Polished story and highlight cover templates, ready to use. Your Designs, Organized Everything you export is saved automatically. Search, favorite, and group your work into collections. PERFECT FOR - Creators and influencers - Aesthetic photo editors - Scrapbook and collage artists - Content creators and designers - Anyone who wants beautiful, professional-looking photos Start free, no account required. Upgrade to Frames Pro anytime to unlock every template and frame, watermark-free exports, premium fonts and accent themes, up to five Style Kits, and an ad-free app. Create your next scroll-stopping collage with Frames. SUBSCRIPTION Frames Pro is available as an auto-renewing subscription: - Frames Pro Monthly, $6.99 per month - Frames Pro Yearly, $39.99 per year (about $3.33 per month) Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current period, at the price of the plan you chose. You can manage your subscription and turn off auto-renew at any time in Settings, your name, Subscriptions. Any unused portion of a free trial, where one is offered, is forfeited when you buy a subscription. Terms of Use (EULA): https://bilalnawaz.com/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://bilalnawaz.com/privacy.html Got feedback? We would love to hear from you at frames@viorastudio.com

Screenshots

Polaroid4 screens
Frames4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Polaroid at none against Frames's 10. Polaroid also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (19K vs 404). Frames's advantage is review sentiment (94% vs 61%) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 weeks). On price, rating, 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

Both are free to download. Frames sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Polaroid asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Polaroid against 4.8 for Frames. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Polaroid has 19K ratings behind it against 404, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 61% of Polaroid's written reviews are positive against 94% of Frames's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Polaroid ships an update every 3 weeks, Frames every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Polaroid versus Frames: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPolaroidFrames
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (19K ratings) — better4.8 (404 ratings)
Positive reviews61.0% of reviews93.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings19K — better404
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.016 — better
Further details — not scored
Size215 MB153 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperPolaroidumer nawaz

Customer experience

Polaroid

All ratings19,077 ratings
Positive97.7%
Neutral1.2%
Negative1.1%
Written reviews433 reviews
Positive61.0%
Neutral11.8%
Negative27.3%

Frames

All ratings403 ratings
Positive95.3%
Neutral2.5%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews624 reviews
Positive93.6%
Neutral3.0%
Negative3.4%

User reviews

Polaroid

From 19K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great app features
  • 👍 User-friendly and intuitive
  • 💡 Useful scanning and sharing capabilities
  • 🎨 Enhances analog Polaroid experience
  • 📷 Seamless integration with Polaroid cameras

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
  • 🔋 Issues with photo printing and exposure
  • 💰 Expensive film and accessories
  • 🤔 Limited editing and customization options

Frames

From 404 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Nice
  • 👍 Good app
  • 👍 Useful app
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 👍 Great app

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Glitching/quality issues
  • 🔋 Lots of ads
  • 💰 Paid features/subscription required
  • 🐛 Bugs and crashes
  • 🐛 Incompatibility issues

Bugs and requests

Polaroid

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Compatibility issues with newer iPhone models
  • Printing problems with Polaroid Lab device
  • Unreliable Bluetooth connection with cameras
  • Scanning feature not working consistently

Requested features

4 requests
  • Self-timer option in manual mode
  • Ability to customize AR photo display
  • Quicker access to frequently used settings
  • Improved photo library organization

Frames

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Glitching/lines on carousel
  • Sudden app crashes
  • Freezing on login screen
  • Incompatible with older devices
  • Unexpected charges/subscription issues

Requested features

5 requests
  • More frame options
  • Filters and editing tools
  • Camera integration
  • Ability to save without watermark
  • Dark mode

In-app purchases

None

Polaroid

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

Frames

Subscriptions9
  • Plus: Frames & HD Export$4.991 Month
  • Starter$4.997 Days
  • Starter - Trial$4.997 Days
Show 6 more
  • Access Weekly$5.997 Days
  • Pro Monthly$5.991 Month
  • Pro: Templates & Style Kits$7.991 Month
  • Plus Yearly: Frames & Layouts7 Days trial$19.991 Year
  • Frames Pro$39.991 Year
  • Pro Yearly: Every Template7 Days trial$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • Remove Ads + Pro Features$149.99

Questions

Is Polaroid free?
Polaroid is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Frames free?
Frames is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Polaroid or Frames?
Polaroid is rated higher. Polaroid averages 4.9 out of 5 from 19K ratings, while Frames averages 4.8 from 404 ratings.
Do Polaroid or Frames have ads?
Frames shows ads; Polaroid does not.
Which is updated more often, Polaroid or Frames?
Polaroid ships an update every 3 weeks, and Frames every 2 weeks. Most recently, Polaroid was updated on November 5, 2026 and Frames on November 3, 2026.

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