Mantis Laser Academy vs Range Drills
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.
Range Drills
This app offers tools for shooters to enhance their skills, precision, and safety. It helps users refine technique, develop safe firearm handling, monitor progress, and achieve shooting objectives. Suitable for both novice and experienced marksmen.
- Skill improvement tools
- Precision enhancement
- Safety habit building
- Performance tracking
- Goal achievement support
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Range Drills is a powerful training app designed to help shooters improve their skills, precision, and safety. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced marksman, Range Drills provides simple, effective tools to refine your technique, build safe firearm-handling habits, track your performance, and achieve your shooting goals. Train smarter. Shoot better. Hit your mark. Terms of Use: https://rangedrills.io/terms-of-service Privacy Policy: https://rangedrills.io/privacy-policy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Range Drills at 100% against Mantis Laser Academy's 69%. Range Drills also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Mantis Laser Academy's advantage is ratings volume (4.1K vs 3) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). 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
Both are free to download. Mantis Laser Academy sells 15 one-off in-app purchases and Range Drills sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Range Drills holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mantis Laser Academy has 4.1K ratings behind it against 3, 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 100% of Range Drills's.
Mantis Laser Academy ships an update every 3 weeks, Range Drills every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Mantis Laser Academy | Range Drills |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (4.1K ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 69.2% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 4.1K — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 284 MB | 59 MB |
| Age rating | +4 | 17+ |
| Developer | Mantis Tech LLC | IDODEV.IO LLC |
Customer experience
Mantis Laser Academy
Range Drills
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
Range Drills
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
Range Drills
- Range Drills Monthly Premium7 Days trial$9.991 Month
- Range Drills Annual Premium7 Days trial$100.001 Year
Questions
Is Mantis Laser Academy free?
Is Range Drills free?
Which has better reviews, Mantis Laser Academy or Range Drills?
Do Mantis Laser Academy or Range Drills have ads?
Which is updated more often, Mantis Laser Academy or Range Drills?
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