Retrograf vs GradeLab
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Retrograf
Transform your photos and videos with authentic '90s analog film and VHS aesthetics. Apply a variety of filters, adjust key visual elements, and add unique overlay effects to achieve a vintage look.
- 24 film style presets
- Light leaks, film scratches, fades
- Vintage color palettes
- Exposure, contrast, temperature adjustments
- Vignette and chromatic aberration
- Customizable overlay effects
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Inspired by analog film cameras and VHS videos from the '90s, Retrograf reproduces retro touches to your photos + videos. ● Filter Presets Light leaks, film scratches, fades and vintage color palettes are the basic elements for transport your photos and videos back to another era. Retrograf offers 24 fantastic film style presets that combine these elements appropriately. ● Adjustment Tools You can alter the exposure, contrast, temperature, tint, and clarity, enhance shadows and highlights, add vignette and chromatic aberration, and much more. ● Overlay Effects You can create your own look by combining the overlays provided. Overlays include light leaks, film scratches and grainy textures.
GradeLab
Transform your photos and videos into cinematic masterpieces with advanced color grading tools. Apply cinematic LUTs, vintage filters, and precise color adjustments. Create dynamic edits with keyframed grading, masks, and transitions.
- Cinematic LUTs & vintage filters
- Professional color grading tools
- Masks and local grading
- Keyframed color grading
- Video and photo editing
- Transitions and film effects
- Professional scopes
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Turn everyday photos and videos into cinematic stories. GradeLab is a color grading editor for iPhone and iPad with LUT filters, vintage looks, professional color tools and video editing, all in one app. Pick a look, dial in its strength, then make it your own. From warm portraits and moody travel clips to soft film tones and retro aesthetics, GradeLab gives you full control over the light, color and atmosphere of every edit — across the whole frame or just one part of it. CINEMATIC LUTS & VINTAGE FILTERS - Browse cinematic LUTs with live previews on your own photos and videos. - Explore signature looks like Warm Cinema, Teal Orange and Soft Film, plus a full collection of film-inspired LUTs. - Adjust look strength for a subtle finish or a bold cinematic style. - Import your own .cube LUT files and use them just like built-in looks. - Save your color grading as presets and apply them to any photo or video for a consistent style. PROFESSIONAL COLOR GRADING - Exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, whites and blacks. - Temperature, tint, saturation and vibrance. - Eight-band HSL to shape individual colors. - Color wheels for shadows, midtones and highlights. - Color Warper: shape colors with Hue/Sat and Chroma/Luma modes. - Master, Red, Green and Blue curves. - Hue, saturation and luminance curves for precise color control. - Fade, sharpening and vignette. - Before and after comparison as you edit. MASKS & LOCAL GRADING - Grade one part of the frame instead of the whole picture. - Ellipse, rectangle, gradient and freehand masks. - Feather the edge, set the strength, or invert a mask to grade everything outside it. - Stack several masks on one clip, each with its own grade. - Track a mask to a moving subject and let it follow through the shot, forward or backward. - Use the same masks on photos. KEYFRAMED COLOR GRADING - Animate the grade itself, so a look builds through a shot or falls away at the end. - Keyframe exposure, contrast, temperature, saturation, HSL, color wheels, vignette, curves, film effects and look strength. - Adjust any keyframe by hand, including motion created by mask tracking. TRANSITIONS - 45 transitions between clips: dissolves, dips, wipes, slides, zooms, blur dissolve, whip pan, film burn, glitch, prism, page turn and more. - Set the duration of every transition on the timeline. FILM EFFECTS - Film grain, bloom, glow and halation for an authentic analog feel. PROFESSIONAL SCOPES - Histogram, waveform, RGB parade and vectorscope for accurate grading. APPLE LOG, HDR & PRORES - Grade Apple Log and Apple Log 2 footage, plus HLG HDR video. - Apple Log 2 from iPhone 17 Pro uses its own wide-gamut transform, never Apple Log's. - Export ProRes 422 and ProRes 422 HQ on compatible devices. - Export in 4K or your source resolution, with custom frame rate and bitrate. EDIT VIDEO & PHOTOS - Trim and split clips, change playback speed, and add titles and audio. - Grade photos with the same color tools you use for video. - Export photos as full-resolution JPEG, HEIC or lossless PNG. - No watermarks on your exports. TEXT, LAYERS & MOTION - Add titles with curated font families or your own imported TTF fonts. - Layer overlays with blend modes. - Mask a layer with an ellipse, rectangle or split line so the track underneath shows through. - Feather or invert a layer mask, and keyframe it into a wipe or reveal. - Animate text, transforms and color grading with keyframes. Whether you're grading a travel vlog, a short film or a single portrait, GradeLab helps you create a look that's unmistakably yours. Feature and format availability depend on your source media and device capabilities. Some features require a subscription or one-time purchase. Privacy Policy: https://ak375456.github.io/gradelab/privacy.html Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ App Terms: https://ak375456.github.io/gradelab/terms.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: GradeLab at 100% against Retrograf's 50%. GradeLab also leads on price (Free vs $2.99) and update cadence (daily vs every 2 weeks). Retrograf's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On ads 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
GradeLab is free to download; Retrograf costs $2.99 up front. GradeLab sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Retrograf asks for nothing beyond the download.
Retrograf ships an update every 2 weeks, GradeLab daily. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Retrograf | GradeLab |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Freemium — better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 43 MB | 202 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Seohyeon Lee | Aftab fazal Qayum |
Customer experience
Retrograf
GradeLab
In-app purchases
Retrograf
No in-app purchases
GradeLab
- Pro Weekly$1.997 Days
- Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
- Pro Yearly$14.991 Year
- Lifetime Pro$14.99









