Comparison

Hipstamatic® Analog Camera vs Backblur

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

Head to head
About

Hipstamatic® Analog Camera

This app simulates shooting with a vintage analog film camera, applying effects like lenses and films before you take the photo. Explore over a thousand unique analog combinations and connect with a community of photographers without algorithms or ads.

Highlights
  • Analog film camera simulation
  • Pre-shoot effect application
  • 1000+ lens and film combinations
  • Chronological community feed
  • No ads or algorithms
  • Photo challenges and stamps
Features
Read full description

Your iPhone takes perfect photos. Hipstamatic® doesn't. That's the point. Hipstamatic is not a photo editor. It's a camera... the original analog film camera for iPhone, made since 2009. —— SHOOT FIRST. EDIT NEVER. Pick a lens. Pick a film. Shoot. Hipstamatic® applies the analog look before you press the shutter — exactly the way a real film camera works. No editing. No tweaking. No second-guessing. The photo is finished the moment you take it. —— 200+ LENSES. 200+ FILMS. EVERY ONE A REAL CAMERA. Over 1,000 analog combinations across TinType, Instant, Classic Toy and more. Each one gives you grain, color shifts, light leaks and vignettes you can't fake and can't replicate anywhere else. None of them perfect. All of them honest. Don't want to choose? Shuffle, and let the camera surprise you. —— NO ADS. NO TRACKING. NO ALGORITHM. EVER. Hipstamatic® runs on members, not advertisers. No VC funding. No data harvesting. No feed deciding what you should look at. When you join, you're keeping an independent camera alive… One that's been here since before Instagram existed. —— A SMALL, QUIET ROOM. If you want it, there's a community of people who shoot the way you do. Chronological. No algorithm. No brand accounts. No promoted posts. No follower math. Just photographs people actually meant to make. And it's opt-in — if you only ever want a private camera, that's the whole app too. —— FREE TO START. MORE LOOKS WITH MEMBERSHIP. The camera is free. Join the Hipstamatic® Camera Club to open the whole shelf. Every lens, every film, every camera we've made in 15+ years and go as deep as you want to go. Your first month is on us. —— P.S. Hipstamatic was Apple's very first App of the Year (2010). We just never stopped pointing the camera at something.

About

Backblur

Features
Read full description

Backblur turns any photo into a beautiful background. Pick a photo. Slide until it feels right. Set it as your wallpaper, and watch your icons finally pop. Four sliders. That's the whole app. Blur: Softens the photo into the distance. Brightness: Lightens or darkens the photo itself, like exposure. Tint: Lays a colored wash over the photo. Black dims, white softens, colors tint. Saturation: How vivid the colors stay. Zero is black and white. No filters to scroll, no AI to wait on. What you see while you slide is pixel-for-pixel what gets saved. Hold to preview shows your background behind home screen and lock screen icons, or the Mac desktop, before you commit. Your recent creations wait on the welcome screen, so you can pick up where you left off. On iPhone and iPad, save it to Photos, then set it as your wallpaper from there. On the Mac, Backblur sets it as your wallpaper directly, on one display or all of them, and can export a JPEG. The editor is free, and so are your first two exports, so you can see the result on your own screen before you spend anything. After that, $4.99 unlocks unlimited saves and wallpapers, once, on every iPhone, iPad, and Mac signed into your Apple Account. It works with Family Sharing, and it never renews. No account. No ads. No tracking. Everything happens on your device; the app never touches the network. Made with care in Wisconsin by Graf Technology, LLC.

Screenshots

Hipstamatic® Analog Camera4 screens
Backblur4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Backblur at every 3 days against Hipstamatic® Analog Camera's monthly. Backblur also leads on device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Hipstamatic® Analog Camera sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month and Backblur sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hipstamatic® Analog Camera ships an update monthly, Backblur every 3 days. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Hipstamatic® Analog Camera versus Backblur: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHipstamatic® Analog CameraBackblur
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (2.8K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews39.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings2.8K — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS18.618.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size184 MB2 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperHipstamatic, LLCGraf Technology, LLC

Bugs and requests

Hipstamatic® Analog Camera

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Inability to save custom camera presets
  • Inconsistent behavior when editing photos
  • Syncing issues with photo library and cloud storage

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to import photos from camera roll
  • Option to change aspect ratio beyond square format
  • Restore previous purchases and customizations
  • Improved search and organization for lenses/films

Backblur

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Hipstamatic® Analog Camera

Subscriptions3
  • Hipstamatic Camera Club$7.991 Month
  • Hipstamatic Camera Club3 Months trial$19.996 Months
  • Hipstamatic Camera Club1 Month trial$29.991 Year
1 purchases

Backblur

One-time1
  • Unlock Backblur$4.99

Questions

Is Hipstamatic® Analog Camera free?
Hipstamatic® Analog Camera is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Backblur free?
Backblur is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Hipstamatic® Analog Camera or Backblur have ads?
Neither Hipstamatic® Analog Camera nor Backblur shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hipstamatic® Analog Camera or Backblur?
Hipstamatic® Analog Camera ships an update monthly, and Backblur every 3 days. Most recently, Hipstamatic® Analog Camera was updated on October 29, 2026 and Backblur on October 29, 2026.

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