# Star Stacker vs Lightning Camera

The clearest difference is price: Lightning Camera at Free against Star Stacker's $3.99. Lightning Camera also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 months). Star Stacker's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and chart position (#70 vs unranked). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Lightning Camera is free to download; Star Stacker costs $3.99 up front. Lightning Camera sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Star Stacker asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for Star Stacker against 4.3 for Lightning Camera. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 95 and 38 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 56% of Star Stacker's written reviews are positive against 50% of Lightning Camera's.

Star Stacker ships an update every 6 months, Lightning Camera every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Star Stacker | Lightning Camera |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $3.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.3 (95 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/star-stacker/id1549693927/reviews) | [4.3 (38 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lightning-camera-thundercatch/id6736884627/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **95** | 38 |
| Positive reviews | **56.3% of reviews** | 50.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | **Every 2 weeks** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#70** | — |
| Size | 4 MB | 30 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **15.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [michael webb](https://appshunter.io/developer/622398499) | [Sezer Iltekin](https://appshunter.io/developer/1658372419) |

## What reviewers say

### Star Stacker

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/star-stacker/id1549693927)

**Currently charting:** #70 Top Paid · Photo & Video (US App Store)

Create stunning star trail images and time-lapse videos from sequences of night sky photos. Offers various effects like full trails, faded trails, shooting stars, and warp mode. Supports importing photos from your device's gallery.

**Highlights:** Create star trail images, Generate time-lapse videos, Full trails effect, Faded trails effect, Shooting star effect, Warp mode effect, Import photos from gallery

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- ✨ Great results
- 🚀 Fast processing
- 💡 Versatile for different uses
- 👨‍🏫 Useful for teaching

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes
- 💸 Not worth the money
- 🤔 Unintuitive interface
- 🤷‍♂️ Lack of documentation
- 🐌 Slow stacking speed

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes when starting stack
- App crashes when attempting to stack
- App crashes during stacking process
- App crashes when rendering video
- Cannot load photos

**Requested features**

- Option to export live photos
- Help info for stacking options
- Manual stacking option
- Advanced editing software
- Automatic alignment function


### Lightning Camera

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lightning-camera-thundercatch/id6736884627)

This app automatically captures photos of lightning strikes as they happen. Simply open the application and let it detect and photograph lightning for you. It's designed for easy use by anyone interested in weather phenomena.

**Highlights:** Auto lightning detection, Automatic photo capture, Easy to use interface, No photography skills required, Weather fan tool

**Features:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ThunderCatch PRO Weekly | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| ThunderCatch PRO Annual | $12.99 | per year |
| ThunderCatch PRO Yearly | $12.99 | per year |
| ThunderCatch PRO Lifetime DC | $19.99 | one-time |
| ThunderCatch Pro Lifetime | $49.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Star Stacker free?

Star Stacker costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Lightning Camera free?

Lightning Camera is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Star Stacker or Lightning Camera?

Star Stacker and Lightning Camera are both rated 4.3 out of 5 on the App Store, from 95 and 38 ratings respectively.

### Do Star Stacker or Lightning Camera have ads?

Neither Star Stacker nor Lightning Camera shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Star Stacker or Lightning Camera?

Star Stacker ships an update every 6 months, and Lightning Camera every 2 weeks. Most recently, Star Stacker was updated on October 16, 2026 and Lightning Camera on October 11, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*