Mantis Laser Academy vs iTarget Cube
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Mantis Laser Academy
This app provides a smart dry-fire laser training system using your smartphone's camera to detect hits, score shots, and time your performance. Enhance your marksmanship and speed with various drills, including competitive dueling modes, all from the convenience of your home.
- Automatic hit detection
- Automatic scoring
- Shot timing
- Marksmanship drills
- Speed drills
- Dueling drills
- Save training history
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TRAIN SMARTER: Mantis Laser Academy is a dry-fire laser training system, built around smart targets that support automatic hit detection, scoring, and shot time in the Laser Academy app from data provided by the camera on your smartphone. TRAIN AT HOME: Mantis Laser Academy enables you to set up a dry fire laser range that is powerful, safe, convenient, and very inexpensive. Laser Academy drills are built to enhance your shooting performance, in both marksmanship and speed. Test your skills against your friends using dueling drills that allow you to shoot side by side. KEY FEATURES: - Automatic target detection - Automatic shot detection - Automatic scoring - Marksmanship, speed, and reaction time drills - Shooter-to-shooter dueling drills - Save to history GETTING STARTED: Once you have your gear, you are ready to train. Before getting started check the training area and all firearms for safety. Ensure any firearms are unloaded and remove live ammunition from the training area. - Place the smart targets in the desired location. Avoid areas where glare from lights and windows may the affect detection of shots on the targets. - Place your smartphone on the tripod and point the rear camera at the target(s) you have placed. - If you are using a laser cartridge, load the laser cartridge into the chamber of your firearm. - Launch the Mantis Laser Academy app on your phone, select a drill, and proceed to train. DRILLS and SMART TARGETS: The Mantis Laser Academy app has a variety of drills focused on different aspects of shooting. Some drills require specific smart targets. Other drills work with any smart target. Several drills support multiple targets and allow local competition between shooters. Smart targets are automatically detected and scored by Mantis Laser Academy. Using smart targets provides the most enjoyable and valuable training experience. The Control Target allows you to Start, Stop, Clear, and Close in the app by shooting specific regions on the Control Target. Mantis Laser Academy has a selection of free drills and a selection of drills that can be purchased or unlocked. You can purchase a single drill or Full Access in the app. Our mission is to help every shooter improve their accuracy and confidence. Mantis Laser Academy is the latest innovation in our next-level shooting systems designed to help you achieve a higher level of proficiency. Train smarter, train better, train with Mantis.
iTarget Cube
Enhance your firearm training with a laser bullet and your actual gun. Connect multiple devices for complex scenarios. Used by law enforcement and military.
- Dry fire training with laser bullet
- Use with actual firearm
- Connect multiple iTarget Cubes
- Create unlimited training scenarios
- Used by police, competitive shooters, military
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The iTarget Cube app is the control interface for using our iTarget Cube products. Practice dry fire training with a laser bullet and your actual firearm. Multiple iTarget Cubes can be connected to the app, creating virtually unlimited training scenarios. iTarget products are used by police forces, competitive shooters and US military personnel. The iTarget Cube is available at www.iTargetCube.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Mantis Laser Academy at 69% against iTarget Cube's 22%. Mantis Laser Academy also leads on rating (4.7 vs 2.7) and ratings volume (4.1K vs 14). iTarget Cube's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 15) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15). On price, ads 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
Both are free to download. Mantis Laser Academy sells 15 one-off in-app purchases. iTarget Cube asks for nothing beyond the download.
Mantis Laser Academy holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mantis Laser Academy has 4.1K ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 69% of Mantis Laser Academy's written reviews are positive against 22% of iTarget Cube's.
Mantis Laser Academy ships an update every 3 weeks, iTarget Cube every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and August 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Mantis Laser Academy | iTarget Cube |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (4.1K ratings) — better | 2.7 (14 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 69.4% of reviews — better | 22.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4.1K — better | 14 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 284 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | +4 | 12+ |
| Developer | Mantis Tech LLC | Train Smart Inc. |
Customer experience
Mantis Laser Academy
iTarget Cube
Bugs and requests
Mantis Laser Academy
Reported bugs
5 issues- App crashes during Pistol Marksmanship course
- Inability to add firearms and view history
- Calibration tool obstructs view of crosshairs
- Tripod instability causes false readings
- Sound not working unless headphones are connected
Requested features
5 requests- Add ability to customize drills and courses
- Integrate with Mantis X app for more comprehensive training
- Implement daily shot count tracking
- Allow manual entry of firearm settings
- Add more training modes and game-like features
iTarget Cube
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Mantis Laser Academy
- Open Shooting - Multi-target$4.99
- Duel - Five Shot$4.99
- Shot From Guard/Low Ready$4.99
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- Bullseye - 10 Shot$4.99
- Compressed Surprise Break$4.99
- Holster Draw - Par Timed$4.99
- Holster Draw$4.99
- Multiple Shots and Targets$4.99
- Close Contact from Holster$4.99
- Hunt$4.99
- Duel - Hunt$4.99
- Emergency Reload$4.99
- 01 Darts$4.99
- Duel - High Score$4.99
- Lifetime Membership$49.99
iTarget Cube
No in-app purchases








