Comparison

Paint With Light vs Light Paint

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

Head to head
About

Paint With Light

Features
Read full description

Do you have a camera? Do you want to do something different? Do you want to do something fun? Then light painting is the thing for you!   Light painting is a photographic technique of moving a light source (your phone) while taking a long-exposure photograph (with a separate camera). You can either illuminate a subject or space, or point the light in the app at the camera in order to "draw". And you can do all of this with your phone and your camera! Use your iPhone to paint beautiful images with light! Expand your creative vision! PLEASE NOTE - In order to be able to light paint you will need...  - your iPhone - a SEPARATE camera with the possibility of long exposure time - a dark room - a tripod or a stable surface to put your camera onto Have fun! PURCHASING TERMS Lifelong: $4.99 Paint With Light is available as a one-time purchase. Prices are for US customers and are subject to change without notice. Pricing in other countries may vary and actual charges may be converted to your local currency depending on the country of residence.

About

Light Paint

Create stunning light art and timelapses with professional camera controls and real-time previews. Capture city lights, fire spinning, star trails, and more with intuitive tools and creative effects.

Highlights
  • Manual camera controls (ISO, shutter, focus)
  • Live light trail preview
  • Advanced frame blending
  • Timelapse and video creation
  • Multiple light painting profiles
  • Real-time color grading
Features
Read full description

Paint with light. Watch it happen. Turn a flashlight, LED wand, or light whip into glowing trails. Light Paint's real-time camera shows your painting as you make it, so you can shape the effect while capturing photos, videos, or timelapses on iPhone and iPad. Pick a camera profile, dim the lights, and start moving. PAINT SOLO OR DIRECT A PERFORMANCE Start with a simple light and a phone on a tripod. Use the front camera to see yourself while you paint, or the rear camera to film friends, dancers, and performers. Watch the trails build live, adjust the look, and capture your creation. PUT THE CAMERA UNDER YOUR CONTROL Fine-tune exposure, trail length, frame blending, color, and effects. Use camera profiles or save your own setup. Updated for iOS 27, with Camera Control button integration on supported iPhones and aperture controls for iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. PERFORM TO YOUR SOUNDTRACK Explore 500+ royalty-free tracks in the integrated music library. Choose a song, play it while you record, and include the music in your saved video. Connect a Bluetooth speaker to bring the soundtrack to your performance. Use the same library to mix music into edited videos or generate performances in Studio. TAKE YOUR LIGHT PAINTING TO THE BIG SCREEN Send your live light painting to a TV, backyard projector, or external monitor through a compatible USB-C HDMI connection. Your audience sees the painting while you keep the camera controls on your device. Build a connected setup with a compatible USB-C hub and Power Delivery: power your iPhone or iPad, output to an external screen, use a USB-C microphone for audio input, and connect external storage. Save recordings and projects to a supported external drive to free up device space and take your work with you. BUILD AND EXPLORE IN STUDIO Step into a full light-painting camera simulation studio. Build scenes, position cameras and performers, choose lights, and experiment with trails and effects. Rehearse a real performance or create a complete video inside Studio. Generate performances from tracks in the music library. Bring real movement into your scenes with motion capture, combine performers, and develop your own choreography. Build a show, refine the camera view, and export an immersive performance video. EDIT THE WHOLE SHOW Bring your footage into the video editor, trim and arrange clips, and mix in music. Create vertical 9:16 videos or widescreen 16:9 projects, with 4K and 1080p export options. With Pro, the Blender plugin turns ordinary video into light trails. Create a fresh look from footage you already have. KEEP YOUR CREATIONS TOGETHER Browse photos and videos in the media gallery, revisit recordings, and continue working on saved video projects. Customize your home screen with color themes and keep favorite camera setups ready for your next session. CONTROL IT FROM YOUR WRIST OR WITH YOUR VOICE Use Apple Watch to preview the camera, capture photos, start and stop recording, and adjust supported settings. Use Siri for camera actions and Now Playing for music playback controls. CREATE WITH THE COMMUNITY Share photos, videos, camera profiles, Studio scenes, and performances with other Light Paint users. Discover ideas, try shared setups, and build on what other creators are making. Start with one light. See what you can create. Some features require Pro or a Production license. Camera controls, export options, motion capture, and external connections depend on your device and compatible accessories. EULA: https://shutterspeedapps.com/lightpainted/tos/ Privacy: https://shutterspeedapps.com/lightpainted/privacy/ AI Usage Policy: https://shutterspeedapps.com/lightpainted/aiusage?lang=en

Screenshots

Paint With Light4 screens
Light Paint4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Light Paint at none against Paint With Light's 1. Light Paint also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs fortnightly). On price, ads, 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

Both are free to download. Paint With Light sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Light Paint asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Paint With Light ships an update fortnightly, Light Paint every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Paint With Light versus Light Paint: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPaint With LightLight Paint
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—6 — better
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS18.618.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size182 MB133 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPeter GrutterShutter Speed Apps, LLC

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Paint With Light

One-time1
  • Full Unlock$4.99
None

Light Paint

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Paint With Light free?
Paint With Light is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Light Paint free?
Light Paint is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Paint With Light or Light Paint have ads?
Neither Paint With Light nor Light Paint shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Paint With Light or Light Paint?
Paint With Light ships an update fortnightly, and Light Paint every 5 days. Most recently, Paint With Light was updated on October 8, 2026 and Light Paint on October 11, 2026.

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