Comparison

Fractals vs Microscope App

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

Head to head
About

Fractals

Explore intricate mathematical patterns with interactive fractal generation. Manipulate Mandelbrot and Julia sets in real-time, customize equations, and save your creations. Ideal for artistic exploration, educational purposes, or simply a meditative visual experience.

Highlights
  • Real-time fractal manipulation
  • Mandelbrot and Julia set exploration
  • Customizable fractal equations
  • Save fractals to photos
  • Create fractals album
  • Intuitive multi-touch controls
Features
Read full description

Move and pinch and fractals in real-time! Explore Mandelbrot and Julia sets on your iPhone and iPad. Select multiple fractal equations and enter your own values for Julia sets. Save fractals to your photos to share with friends and collect them in your fractals album. Fractals by Jochya "Shear aesthetic power opens a new art venue and opportunity to surpass all previous styles of ornamentation. The revelation of self- similarity across orders of magnitude is wonderfully illustrated here: the possibility of incorporating non-fractal elements remains an exciting potential giving a new perspective on perspective." Fun by EriQuintero "Very fun app for creating fractals pictures on iPhone." Exciting, beautiful, meditative by amusante "I am a color junkie. I am a math junkie. I am a pattern junkie. This app is perfection for me. The graphics are wonderful and the pattern flows are beautifully done. I could and often do, veg out on this when I'm problem-solving. Seems to trigger all the right neurons." Fractals totally worth it for schools by avsig "Awesome app, and an excellent way for secondary teachers to inspire and motivate students to explore and understand post-calculus topics!!!" Great starter for understanding Fractals by kami-1 "I really appreciate this work. Certainly worth the price tag. Hope it grows with more possibilities and options." lilgrey by Excellent ! "With so many color possibilities and very fast I have saved hundreds of beautiful pics." epic by LSperring "I've almost been waiting my whole I-pad experience to find a fractal app!" I've almost been waiting my whole I-pad experience to find a fractal app!? it by Willis936 "Render times are shorter than any other one I've used, does not go to infinity but you can spend 10 minutes trying to get there. Depth and technical options are much great. Buy this app!" Awesome! by Jesusfreak147 "I absolutely LOVE fractals! It's amazing that math equations do all of this!" Wow! by daralatho "This is an amazing App. It uses the iPad's multi-touch interface very intuitively. It's the best of the Fractal Apps I've found. I could spend hours playing and creating. The ability to save and quickly share makes it very fun." Worth it by COB Masters "This app is absolutely amazing. It has intuative controls and runs smoothly." Update is perfect! by Emppu66 "Thank you for working out so many kinks! Zoom is so much better and detail is improved! I love fractals and the improvements made this the perfect fractal app!" The Thumbprint Of God by Earl C Grey "That was the term Arthur C Clark used when referring to The 'M' Set, insomuch that one can see all kinds of various natural forms in this simple equation. Perhaps it's the formula used by nature herself when creating coral reefs, seahorses, elephants, ferns, and the plethora of familiar organic shapes revealed in a Mandelbrot zoom. This app is fantastic! The colors: Vibrant. The zooms go into infinity. None of the 'crashes' one experiences in some of the lesser fractal generators out there. I LOVE it! My favorite iPad app so-far."

About

Microscope App

Features
Read full description

Use your iPhone with a compatible microscope eyepiece adapter to view, align, photograph, and record what your microscope sees. Microscope App provides a clean live camera view designed for imaging through a physical microscope. Get clear setup guidance for your iPhone model, align the rear 1× Main camera with the eyepiece, and start viewing. VIEW AND ALIGN • Clean live view through your microscope • Guidance for positioning the iPhone’s 1× Main camera • Minimal center marker for precise alignment • Zoom and tap to focus CAPTURE PHOTOS AND VIDEO • Take native photos and record video through the eyepiece • Save captures to a dedicated Microscope album in Photos • Preview and share using familiar iPhone tools PRECISION CONTROLS WITH PRO • Fine-tune focus and exposure • Adjust color temperature and tint on supported cameras • Customize the center marker’s visibility, color, and opacity • Choose additional supported photo resolutions and video quality profiles PRIVATE BY DESIGN • No ads • No account • No analytics SDK or tracking • Microscope App never uploads camera frames or captures • Saved media follows your Photos and Apple sync settings WHAT YOU NEED A physical microscope and compatible iPhone eyepiece adapter are required. Microscope App uses the iPhone’s built-in rear 1× Main camera. It does not connect to Wi-Fi or USB microscopes. Use Microscope App for specimens, classroom demonstrations, electronics inspection, gems, collectibles, and hobby imaging. Microscope App is an observation and imaging utility. It is not a medical diagnostic or calibrated measurement tool. Free includes live viewing, zoom, tap to focus, photo and video capture, and a fixed center marker. Pro is available as a monthly subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase. Both options unlock the same Pro features. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://sahilsatralkar.com/apps/microscope/privacy

Screenshots

Fractals4 screens
Microscope App4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Microscope App at Free against Fractals's $2.99. Microscope App also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 11 months). Fractals's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and device support (3 vs 1). On ads 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

Microscope App is free to download; Fractals costs $2.99 up front. Microscope App sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Fractals asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Fractals ships an update every 11 months, Microscope App weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Fractals versus Microscope App: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFractalsMicroscope App
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (75 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews64.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings75 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 11 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS11.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB18 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPomegranate Apps LLCPriya Satralkar

Bugs and requests

Fractals

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App crashes on startup (iPhone 7+)
  • App does not open
  • Laggy performance
  • App does not install on older devices
  • Zooming too much causes app to stop working

Requested features

10 requests
  • More fractal types/models
  • Ability to input custom equations
  • More color control (color numbers, more options)
  • Increase/decrease number of colors
  • Higher resolution saved images
Show 5 more
  • Use PNG instead of JPG for saving
  • Fill black color with palette color
  • Dark mode
  • Better graphics quality
  • Save images without menu/watermark

Microscope App

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Fractals

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Microscope App

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly Pro$1.991 Month
One-time1
  • Lifetime Pro$9.99

Questions

Is Fractals free?
Fractals costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Microscope App free?
Microscope App is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Fractals or Microscope App have ads?
Neither Fractals nor Microscope App shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Fractals or Microscope App?
Fractals ships an update every 11 months, and Microscope App weekly. Most recently, Fractals was updated on October 12, 2026 and Microscope App on October 6, 2026.

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