ProductionCrate vs Simulon
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ProductionCrate
Easily add superpowers, explosions, and fire effects to your videos in seconds. This mobile VFX studio uses real-time motion tracking and 3D rendering to create immersive special effects without requiring technical knowledge. Access a vast library of assets to enhance your video content.
- 10,000+ video FX
- Real-time motion tracking
- 3D rendering
- No green screen required
- Intuitive timing control
- Access to all current and future special FX
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Add superpowers, explosions and fire VFX to your video instantly. While Hollywood movies take years to produce, ProductionCrate FX is the first mobile VFX studio that allows you to create exciting special effects in seconds. Built with flawless real-time motion tracking and 3D rendering, you have the power to create incredibly immersive video fx without any technical knowledge required. Simply add lightning, magic and spaceship fx into your scene, and hit record! ProductionCrate AR features: 10,000+ video FX 400+ high-quality 3D models Real-time camera tracking for your VFX Record, save and share your videos instantly Real-time foreground keying, no green screen required! Control over effect scale, rotation, brightness and more Intuitive timing control for timing your effects perfectly. Customizable trigger buttons to activate events Support for Front and Back camera Freedom to organize, delete and download new special fx. We've made high-end Hollywood effects accessible even to beginners by creating an effortless intuitive AR editing experience. You're in control of an unprecedented professional library of visual effects assets and are free to position them into augmented reality with the tap of a finger. Any video artist can use this app to compose lasers, dragons and spells with full control over its integration. ProductionCrate is constantly growing the selection of digital effects available for our community of mobile content creators. With this app, you'll have access to all current and future special fx forever. Pro ProductionCrate users will have unlimited access to everything on offer, while Free users can still access an exciting selection of effects. Inspire and stand out from the crowd by using ProductionCrate FX to build high production-value videos for your social media. You'll be able to produce short videos with incredible special effects without hours of additional work - helping you become an efficient video creator. This app will become your secret weapon to gain a competitive edge. Rapidly prototype effects for your film projects and use ProductionCrate FX as a previsualization platform. The vast selection of assets available makes this the perfect environment to plan out complex effects when working on a large project. By taking advantage of ProductionCrate FX's portability, you'll be able to collaborate and communicate ideas on-set, and instantly visualize these with your actors. Use ProductionCrate FX to learn the fundamentals of VFX. 3D tracking, blocking and lighting all become intuitive concepts to users of this app. Try placing a bright orange light source (such as a bulb, LED’s or a laptop screen) in the position of a fire effect, and you'll instantly recognise how practical lighting combined with ProductionCrate FX's digital effects work together to create a realistic image. ProductionCrate FX offers Free access to a limited range of content. Pro Membership unlocks access to the entire range of 10,000+ effects and 3D models. Payment will be charged either weekly, monthly or annually (dependant on selection) to your Apple account after upgrading to a Pro membership. You can cancel your Pro membership at any time. You will retain the features of Pro membership until the end of your current subscription period. Requires iOS 14 iPhone/iPad+ We would love to hear your feedback, ideas and questions. Contact us! Support@ProductionCrate.com TOS: https://www.productioncrate.com/legal/mobile-apps/TERMS.pdf
Simulon
Create studio-quality visual effects by integrating photorealistic 3D elements into live-action footage. This tool offers an end-to-end VFX workflow on iPhone, from capture to render, adapting to all skill levels. Preview 3D assets in-camera as you film and reconstruct environments in 3D for precise compositing.
- End-to-end VFX workflow on iPhone
- In-camera CG preview while filming
- Instant 32-bit HDR lighting
- Reconstruct reality in 3D
- Camera-accurate realism
- Import industry-standard 3D files
- Cloud render farm integration
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Simulon. The camera for your imagination. Bring imagined characters, real objects and your own designs into the world around you. Compose with your camera, capture a lifelike image and turn it into a video by describing what happens next. No 3D or animation experience needed. CREATE FROM AN IDEA Start with words, a photo or your own design. Turn a sketch into a character or take a concept off the page and into a real setting. CLONE REALITY Create from photos of something real, whether it's your pet, a favourite car or a sculpture. Keep its familiar look or imagine something different. Give your pet a new outfit, shrink a car onto your desk or bring a statue to life. MAKE THE WORLD YOUR SET Place your subject in augmented reality. Adjust its size and position, then move around to find your angle. AI rendering brings it into the scene with lifelike lighting, shadows and reflections. DIRECT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT Describe how your subject moves and what happens in the scene to create a video. From a small gesture to an unexpected adventure, you direct the action without animating by hand. Keep your subjects in a personal library and return to them in new locations and new stories. Make something just for fun, develop an idea or create something to share with the world. GET STARTED Try Simulon with starter assets and included free usage. Creating custom assets requires a paid plan. Simulon Plus and Pro offer additional features and monthly usage. Usage limits apply. Shape reality.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Simulon at 4.4 against ProductionCrate's 4.0. Simulon also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs monthly). ProductionCrate's advantage is ratings volume (302 vs 31). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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. ProductionCrate sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month and Simulon sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $15.00 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Simulon holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ProductionCrate has 302 ratings behind it against 31, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 59% of ProductionCrate's written reviews are positive against 67% of Simulon's.
ProductionCrate ships an update monthly, Simulon every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ProductionCrate | Simulon |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (302 ratings) | 4.4 (31 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 58.9% of reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 302 — better | 31 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 19 MB | 65 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | PRODUCTIONCRATE STUDIOS LLC | Simulon |
Customer experience
ProductionCrate
Simulon
Bugs and requests
ProductionCrate
Reported bugs
6 issues- Download limit exceeded error even without downloads
- Free effects are actually paid
- Camera is extremely slow, like 1 frame per minute
- Effects disappear when moved
- Login issues even with paid subscription
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- Can't use videos from camera roll
Requested features
10 requests- More free VFX effects
- Vampire, werewolf, and other monster filters
- Add sound effects
- Allow horizontal orientation
- More free effects, less premium content
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- Add ability to record and then add effects
- Allow editing of already filmed videos
- Add custom sound effects
- Improve cutout and 3D object handling
- Add Kamehameha effect
Simulon
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
ProductionCrate
- Monthly$14.991 Month
- Yearly$49.991 Year
- 1 Download$0.99
- 10 Downloads$6.99
- 50 Downloads$24.99
Simulon
- Lite7 Days trial$15.001 Month
- Plus7 Days trial$24.991 Month
- Core$29.001 Month
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- Pro7 Days trial$55.001 Month
- Lite7 Days trial$143.991 Year
- Studio$200.001 Month
- Plus7 Days trial$239.001 Year
- Pro7 Days trial$529.001 Year
- 10,000 Credits$5.00
- 20,000 Credits$10.00
- 30,000 Credits$15.00
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- 50,000 Credits$25.00
- 80,000 Credits$40.00
- 90,000 Credits$45.00
- 180,000 Credits$90.00
- 200,000 Credits$100.00
Questions
Is ProductionCrate free?
Is Simulon free?
Which has better reviews, ProductionCrate or Simulon?
Do ProductionCrate or Simulon have ads?
Which is updated more often, ProductionCrate or Simulon?
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