Comparison

Noir vs Sci

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Noir

Automatically applies a custom dark mode to every website visited in Safari. Enjoy a comfortable browsing experience at night with tailored styles and customizable themes. Integrates seamlessly with system features and prioritizes user privacy.

Highlights
  • Automatic dark mode for all websites
  • Custom dark styles per website
  • Over 20 built-in themes
  • Create custom themes
  • Per-website customization
  • System feature integration
  • Privacy-focused design
Features
Read full description

Noir is a Safari extension that automatically adds a dark mode to every website you visit. It makes browsing the web at night so much better. With Noir, you won’t be blinded by bright websites ever again. And the results look great too. Noir generates a custom dark style for each website you visit, based on the colors that are used on a page. You won’t even notice this happening in the background – that’s how fast it is – but you’ll certainly appreciate the end result: a beautiful dark mode tailored for each website, where contrast is preserved and highlights still pop. And with over 20 built-in themes and the ability to create your own, you can customize the results exactly the way you want. Noir works with any website you visit in Safari, automatically. By default, Noir is linked to your device’s Dark Mode, so websites will only go dark when you want them to. But you can easily customize this to your liking, even per website. Only want to use Noir on just a few specific websites? Sure thing! Disable Noir on some websites? No problem! Built from the ground up for iOS and iPadOS, the app feels right at home on your device. It supports the brand new Safari web extension feature, which means there’s no need to manually activate it every time you load a new page. The app also tightly integrates with system features such as Shortcuts, Control Center, Focus Filters, and Widgets to fully integrate Noir in all your workflows. And your settings are automatically synced to all your devices using iCloud. And just as importantly, Noir takes your privacy seriously: it doesn’t collect any of your browsing data. Period. Noir is made by an indie iOS developer. It does not include any subscriptions or ads. Buy Noir once, use it forever. Notes: • Found a website where Noir’s dark mode doesn’t look just right? Let me know by reporting it. The app will be frequently updated to address issues that are reported. Privacy Policy: • The Noir extension requires access to the websites you visit to analyze the existing style of the page and to override it with Noir's dark style. • Noir never collects your browsing data. The only data Noir ‘collects’ are your settings, and those will never leave your device or iCloud account. • You can read Noir’s full Privacy Policy at https://getnoir.app/privacypolicy

About

Sci

Customize your home screen with unique sci-fi themed widgets. Display various information like clocks, calendars, system stats, and fitness data with extensive styling options. Create multiple widgets in different sizes with personalized layouts, backgrounds, fonts, and colors.

Highlights
  • Customizable sci-fi widget styles
  • Display clocks, calendars, system info
  • Show fitness data (steps, distance)
  • Multiple widget sizes (Large, Medium, Small)
  • Personalize layout, background, fonts, colors
  • Use custom background images
Features
Read full description

Add some Sci-Fi to your Home Screen.  This widget making tool is for displaying many types of information with great styling customization. You can display multiple widgets, all with their own unique style and info in Large, Medium, and Small widget sizes You can change the layout, background, fonts and colors, and even use your own images. *Offline contains the pre-made template backgrounds, but the background selection section needs internet to download from online. DISPLAYABLE INFORMATION: • Digital clock • Analog clock (some with second hand to show a little animation) • Calendar • Date/Day • System info (battery, brightness, memory, storage) • Countdown/Days since • Step count - Distance - Floors • Display contacts (just opens this widget app) These are generic sci-fi styles to to keep the coolness of how designers imagined future interfaces past and present on low and high budgets, but actual display real information instead of meaningless gobbledygook. * Please do not ask in reviews or by mail to include any trademarked names, logos, images or other properties. NSTEnterprises respects copyrights and will not include them.

Screenshots

Noir4 screens
Sci4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Noir at 4.6 against Sci's 4.0. Noir also leads on review sentiment (81% vs 56%) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 3 months). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Noir costs $2.99 and Sci $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Noir holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Noir has 1.4K ratings behind it against 48, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 81% of Noir's written reviews are positive against 56% of Sci's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Noir ships an update every 3 weeks, Sci every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Noir versus Sci: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNoirSci
Price$2.99 — better$3.99
Rating4.6 (1.4K ratings) — better4.0 (48 ratings)
Positive reviews81.0% of reviews — better55.6% of reviews
Number of ratings1.4K — better48
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#2 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size20 MB186 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJeffrey KuikenNSTE, LLC

Customer experience

Noir

All ratings1,358 ratings
Positive88.5%
Neutral3.1%
Negative8.4%
Written reviews890 reviews
Positive81.0%
Neutral7.6%
Negative11.3%

Sci

All ratings46 ratings
Positive71.7%
Neutral8.7%
Negative19.6%
Written reviews36 reviews
Positive55.6%
Neutral13.9%
Negative30.6%

User reviews

Noir

From 1.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Works flawlessly
  • 👍 Customizable themes
  • 🔒 Respects user privacy
  • 💡 Frequent updates
  • 👍 Seamless integration with Safari

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional website compatibility issues
  • 🐛 Glitchy behavior on some websites
  • 🐛 Bright flashes when switching tabs or loading pages

Sci

From 48 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great Star Trek theme
  • 👍 Highly customizable widgets
  • 👍 Good for sci-fi fans
  • 👍 Developer responsive to issues
  • 👍 Can complete LCARS look

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Doesn't work on iPhone 14
  • 🐛 Widgets not recognized
  • 🐛 Limited templates
  • 🐛 Crashes frequently
  • 🐛 Layout not showing correctly

Bugs and requests

Noir

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Websites crashing or repeatedly reloading
  • Images appearing in negative colors
  • Compatibility issues with iOS 17

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to blacklist/whitelist specific websites
  • Automatic dark mode scheduling based on sunset/sunrise
  • Option to customize text/link colors
  • Keyboard shortcut to toggle Noir on/off

Sci

Reported bugs

19 issues
  • Empty box shown
  • Unable to add widgets to lock screen
  • Widgets not recognized
  • Directions are vague
  • Step-by-step directions disappear
Show 14 more
  • App crashes
  • Widgets are not flexible
  • Old layout not possible after update
  • Fonts not showing up same as in app
  • Layout not showing up same as in app
  • Preview differs from actual widget
  • Stuck in build a clock settings
  • Does not apply changes
  • Not available in app store for iPhone SE 2022
  • Clock is slow to refresh
  • Widget does not update to military time
  • No options to save clock design
  • Does not work on Lock Screen
  • Doesn't let you save it

Requested features

12 requests
  • More customization for widget backgrounds
  • Option to make rectangle widgets bigger on iPad
  • More options for Home and Lock Screen
  • Add more templates
  • Improve flexibility of templates
Show 7 more
  • Add military time option
  • Provide clear instructions for use
  • Add more customization options
  • Make app available for iPhone SE 2022
  • Add more themes
  • Improve widget refresh rate
  • Make app work on Lock Screen

In-app purchases

None

Noir

No in-app purchases

None

Sci

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Noir free?
Noir costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sci free?
Sci costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Noir or Sci?
Noir is rated higher. Noir averages 4.6 out of 5 from 1.4K ratings, while Sci averages 4.0 from 48 ratings.
Do Noir or Sci have ads?
Neither Noir nor Sci shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Noir or Sci?
Noir ships an update every 3 weeks, and Sci every 3 months. Most recently, Noir was updated on November 3, 2026 and Sci on October 30, 2026.

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