Comparison

AuraHDR Camera vs MergeHDR

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

Head to head
About

AuraHDR Camera

This app enhances mobile photography with advanced HDR and focus stacking capabilities. It allows users to capture detailed images in challenging lighting, achieve edge-to-edge sharpness for close-ups, and shoot in high resolutions like 48MP ProRAW. Tutorials are available to help master its professional-grade features.

Highlights
  • RAW HDR bracketing
  • 100-shot Focus Bracketing
  • 48MP ProRAW shooting
  • Moon Shooting Mode
  • Long exposure capabilities
  • Built-in HDR editing sliders
  • Low Light preset
Features
Read full description

AuraHDR Camera gives iPhone photographers advanced tools for capturing scenes that ordinary camera apps struggle with. Create detailed HDR images with up to 16-stop RAW exposure bracketing, achieve edge-to-edge sharpness with focus bracketing and automatic focus stacking, and shoot in Bayer RAW or Apple ProRAW—all from one powerful camera app. WHAT MAKES AURAHDR DIFFERENT? ADVANCED HDR CAMERA AuraHDR’s proprietary AuraEngine tone mapping recovers detail in challenging lighting conditions. Each scene is analyzed automatically, while built-in tone controls let you fine-tune the result. For darker scenes, the Low Light preset helps produce cleaner photographs with improved detail. 1. 16-STOP EXPOSURE BRACKETING Capture RAW or JPEG exposure brackets across a range of up to 16 stops for merging in your preferred HDR software. • Capture up to seven bracketed exposures. • Customize the number of exposures and interval between them. • High Quality Low Light mode uses a lower ISO for cleaner brackets. • Supports Bayer RAW and Apple ProRAW on compatible iPhones. 2. RAW FOCUS BRACKETING Capture tack-sharp close-ups and landscapes with greater depth of field. • Choose automatic or manual focus bracketing. • Capture up to 100 bracketed images. • Adjust the focus interval for different subjects. • Capture in RAW or JPEG. • Use the draggable magnifier and real-time focus peaking to identify areas of sharp focus. In Auto mode, select the nearest focus point and let AuraHDR capture the sequence. In Manual mode, tap different areas of the frame to choose each focus position. Import the frames into apps such as Affinity Photo or Luminar Neo to create images with edge-to-edge sharpness. 3. AUTOMATIC FOCUS STACKING CAMERA Automatic Focus Stacking combines bracketed images inside AuraHDR and saves the completed result—no external stacking software required. • Ideal for macro, product, and food photography. • Select the nearest focus point and press the shutter. • Both the bracketed sequence and focus-stacked image are saved. • Designed for use with the iPhone’s main camera. 4. BAYER RAW AND APPLE PRORAW CAPTURE Choose the RAW format that best suits your workflow. • Capture minimally processed Bayer RAW files for maximum editing flexibility. • Use Apple ProRAW for RAW flexibility with Apple’s computational processing. • Capture Apple ProRAW at up to 48MP on supported Pro iPhones. • Available formats and resolution depend on your iPhone model. 5. LONG EXPOSURE AND FRAME STACKING Create smooth long exposures of flowing water, moving lights, and other moving subjects directly inside AuraHDR. Frame Stacking captures a sequence of individual images for processing in compatible software. Blend them to simulate longer exposures or average them to reduce noise in static low-light scenes. 6. ADDITIONAL CAPABILITIES Moon Mode captures four exposures to help photograph visible lunar detail. A tripod is recommended for focus stacking, long exposures, frame stacking, and High Quality Low Light capture. Visit the AuraHDR YouTube channel for tutorials covering HDR merging, focus stacking, frame stacking, and other features.

About

MergeHDR

Automatically finds and merges exposure-bracketed photos from your library. Offers manual control over alignment, deghosting, and tone-mapping for professional HDR results. All processing happens on your device for privacy and offline use.

Highlights
  • Automatic exposure bracket detection
  • Manual alignment and deghosting
  • Adjustable tone-mapping styles
  • Per-exposure layer control
  • On-device processing
  • Export to HEIC
  • Universal Purchase
Features
Read full description

Your camera already shot the brackets. MergeHDR finds them. Point a camera at a sunset and a single exposure cannot hold it — either the sky burns out or the foreground falls to black. That is what auto exposure bracketing is for. The catch is what happens next: those 3, 5 or 7 frames sit in your library unmerged, because hunting them down and combining them by hand is a chore. MergeHDR does the hunting. It watches your photo library for exposure-bracket sets — frames shot seconds apart at stepped EVs — and flags every one it finds, reading the EXIF your camera already wrote. No manual sorting. No missed brackets. REVIEW BEFORE YOU COMMIT Every merge is yours to shape: • Alignment corrects the small shifts between handheld frames — no tripod required • Four deghosting levels handle moving subjects, rippling water and windblown leaves • Tone-mapping styles set the look, and you can switch after the merge without reprocessing the set • Per-exposure layers with opacity control, so you can see exactly what each frame contributed SEE THE MATH The merge report shows the exposure ladder, how many stops of headroom you recovered and how much of the frame was blown out before the merge — alongside the camera, lens, ISO and focal length read straight from the file. EXPORT Save the full-quality HDR result, or compress it straight to HEIC on the way out using the same on-device pipeline as our other app, RAWtoHEIC — far smaller files, same detail. Results land back in your library beside the originals, with capture date and location carried over. YOUR ORIGINALS STAY YOURS Nothing is deleted behind your back. If you choose to clear out the source brackets after a merge, they move to Recently Deleted with the usual 30-day safety net. EVERYTHING RUNS ON YOUR DEVICE No cloud. No account. No uploads. Detection, alignment, deghosting and tone-mapping all run locally on your iPhone, iPad or Mac. It works on a plane with no signal, and there is no server to breach because there is no server involved. The App Store privacy label reads what it should: Data Not Collected. WORKS WITH Bracket sets from any camera that writes standard EXIF exposure values — Canon, Sony, Nikon and Fujifilm RAW, plus iPhone ProRAW and JPEG. ONE PURCHASE, EVERY DEVICE MergeHDR is a Universal Purchase. Buy once and it unlocks on iPhone, iPad and Mac, with Family Sharing. FREE TO TRY Merge and preview as much as you like. Saving is free for your first 10 exports, up to 5 a day. After that, MergeHDR Pro unlocks unlimited saves. MERGEHDR PRO • Lifetime — $19.99, one-time purchase • Yearly — $9.99 per year, auto-renewing Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. A yearly subscription renews automatically unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period; your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours of the end of that period. Manage or cancel a subscription in your Apple Account settings after purchase. The lifetime option does not renew. Terms of Use: https://mergehdr.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://mergehdr.app/privacy

Screenshots

AuraHDR Camera4 screens
MergeHDR4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: AuraHDR Camera at 2.1 against MergeHDR's 1.0. AuraHDR Camera also leads on ratings volume (8 vs 1). MergeHDR's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 months) and device support (3 vs 1). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. AuraHDR Camera sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and MergeHDR sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

AuraHDR Camera holds the better App Store score, 2.1 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: AuraHDR Camera has 8 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AuraHDR Camera ships an update every 2 months, MergeHDR every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
AuraHDR Camera versus MergeHDR: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAuraHDR CameraMergeHDR
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.1 (8 ratings) — better1.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews17.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings8 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS26.018.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size45 MB9 MB
Age rating4++4
DeveloperAppJudSandro Gumz

Customer experience

AuraHDR Camera

All ratings8 ratings
Positive12.5%
Neutral37.5%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive17.6%
Neutral29.4%
Negative52.9%

MergeHDR

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

AuraHDR Camera

One-time1
  • Unlock Features$24.99
2 purchases

MergeHDR

Subscriptions1
  • MergeHDR Pro (Yearly)$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • MergeHDR Pro (Lifetime)$19.99

Questions

Is AuraHDR Camera free?
AuraHDR Camera is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is MergeHDR free?
MergeHDR is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, AuraHDR Camera or MergeHDR?
AuraHDR Camera is rated higher. AuraHDR Camera averages 2.1 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while MergeHDR averages 1.0 from 1 ratings.
Do AuraHDR Camera or MergeHDR have ads?
Neither AuraHDR Camera nor MergeHDR shows ads.
Which is updated more often, AuraHDR Camera or MergeHDR?
AuraHDR Camera ships an update every 2 months, and MergeHDR every 5 days. Most recently, AuraHDR Camera was updated on October 24, 2026 and MergeHDR on October 29, 2026.

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