Banner Basic vs Light up letter box
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Banner Basic
Create custom LED-matrix-style messages and display them on your device. Show text, symbols, dates, times, tweets, and music information with various customization options for speed, appearance, and display settings.
- Customizable LED-matrix display
- Show user-defined messages
- Display date and time
- Show tweet feeds
- Display music information
- Adjustable scroll and blink speeds
- Customizable LED appearance (size, shape, color)
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Banner is an LED-matrix-like display with which you can show custom messages. The following items can be shown: - 5 user-defined messages - 35 types of symbol characters - Date (3 formats) - Time (3 formats) - Bluesky (3 defined feeds based on user's timeline or keyword search) - Music (Artist, Song, Album) The application has the following settings: - Scroll speed - Blink speed - Landscape-only mode - Upside-down display - Mirror display - Double-tap editing - Sleep disable - Character size (3 sizes) - Element (LED) size (3 sizes) - Element (LED) shape (6 shapes) - Element (LED) color (Hue, Saturation) - Element (LED) color randomization Note - Bluesky posts will be updated every minutes or every posts displayed. - "Banner Basic" is a free version with ads; "Banner" and "Banner Extreme" are paid versions with no ad. - "Banner Extreme" has a little bit different from the others on the style and the speed.
Light up letter box
Create your own personalized message board with a classic cinema style. This free app offers unlimited letter and number tiles to craft endless messages. Save your creations as wallpaper or share them with friends.
- Classic cinema style message board
- Personalized endlessly
- Unlimited letter and number tiles
- Save as wallpaper
- Share with friends
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Your own completely free LIGHTBOX! - Classic cinema style message board - Can be personalized endlessly - Unlimited letter and number tiles - Save as wallpaper - Share with friends - Leave to stand in your room
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Light up letter box at 4.7 against Banner Basic's 3.2. Light up letter box also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (811 vs 25). Banner Basic's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On price, update cadence, monetization model and device support 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. Light up letter box sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Banner Basic asks for nothing beyond the download.
Light up letter box holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Light up letter box has 811 ratings behind it against 25, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 56% of Banner Basic's written reviews are positive against 69% of Light up letter box's.
Banner Basic ships an update every 7 months, Light up letter box every 13 months. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Banner Basic | Light up letter box |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.2 (25 ratings) | 4.7 (811 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 56.3% of reviews | 69.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 25 | 811 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months — better | Every 13 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 8.4.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 34 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Masayuki Akamatsu | Indigo Penguin Limited |
Customer experience
Banner Basic
Light up letter box
User reviews
Banner Basic
From 25 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use
- 🤩 Fun and creative
- 🙌 Useful for communicating across a room
- 😊 Great for quick messages
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
- ⏱️ Slow scrolling speed
- 🎨 Limited customization options
- 💤 Drains battery quickly
Light up letter box
From 811 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Fun and enjoyable app
- 🙂 Allows users to create their own content
- 💡 Unique concept for a lightbox app
Room to improve
- 🐛 Bugs and glitches (e.g., app going black, issues with photo orientation)
- ⚠️ Limited features (e.g., lack of color options, emojis, typing functionality)
- 💰 In-app purchases required to unlock features
Bugs and requests
Banner Basic
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crashes on launch
- Distorted text display
- Incompatibility with iOS updates
Requested features
5 requests- Speed control for scrolling
- Color and font customization
- Ability to save/recall preset messages
- Orientation and display options
- Improved performance and stability
Light up letter box
Reported bugs
2 issues- App resets when going off it
- Issues with sharing and unlocking features
Requested features
3 requests- Add keyboard functionality to type messages
- Expand color and emoji options
- Improve photo/image integration and editing tools
In-app purchases
Banner Basic
No in-app purchases
Light up letter box
- Unlock colors$0.99
Questions
Is Banner Basic free?
Is Light up letter box free?
Which has better reviews, Banner Basic or Light up letter box?
Do Banner Basic or Light up letter box have ads?
Which is updated more often, Banner Basic or Light up letter box?
Other comparisons
