Comparison

TimeLapse vs iMotion

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

Head to head
About

TimeLapse

Create and edit professional time-lapse videos on your mobile device. Capture sequences with flexible camera settings, including 4K video and RAW photos, and refine your footage with frame-level editing and powerful filters.

Highlights
  • Flexible time-lapse camera setup
  • 4K video and RAW photo capture
  • Smart Exposure for flicker-free results
  • Frame-level sequence editor
  • Virtual pan and zoom
  • Powerful filter stack
  • Tilt shift effect
Features
Read full description

• One of the "coolest, best and most useful photo apps for the iPhone" David Pogue, NY Times, April 27, 2011 • "A must buy for any iPhone owning image sequence fan" - Dr. Andrew Hudson-Smith, Digital Urban • "Neat! ... TimeLapse is fun." - Dave Caolo, TUAW (The Unofficial Apple Weblog) TimeLapse is the professional choice for creating and editing great time-lapse sequences on your iDevice. TimeLapse is the complete time-lapse workflow on the go. ======================== FEATURES Best in class time-lapse camera: • Flexible and easy to setup - define your capture session any way you like • Record 4K video (or HD) • Record RAW photos (or JPEG) • Smart Exposure ensures no time lapse flicker • Works with Motrr Galileo robotic motion control to create amazing pan and tilt time-lapse movies - find out more about Galileo at www.motrr.com Dedicated HD time-lapse sequence editor: • Frame level editing • Powerful framing capabilities for easy virtual pan and zoom • Powerful filter stack - saturation, brightness, contrast, exposure adjust, gamma adjust, vibrance, white point and more • Tilt shift • Deflicker to ensure a pristine final result ======================== TIME-LAPSE PHOTOGRAPHY Time-lapse photography is a movie making technique that creates the illusion of time progressing more quickly - of time sped up. Common examples of time lapse movies are movies of clouds zipping across the sky, growing plants, blooming flowers, rotting fruit, etc. ======================== NEWS AND SUPPORT For updates, news and help for TimeLapse follow us on Twitter @xysternet Help TimeLapse improve! Many of TimeLapse's features are the result of thoughtful user feedback. Visit http://xyster.net/tlapse to share your ideas, post your videos or just say hi. If you love TimeLapse, don't forget to leave a review.

About

iMotion

Create captivating time-lapse and stop-motion videos with ease. This app offers multiple capture modes, professional rendering quality, and full camera control to help you animate your world and share your creations.

Highlights
  • Time-Lapse & Stop-Motion creation
  • Multiple capture modes (time-lapse, manual, mic trigger, library import)
  • 4K UHD, 1080p, 720p export options
  • Full camera control (focus, exposure, white balance)
  • Export videos, photos, and GIFs
  • Frame-by-frame animation preview
Features
Read full description

Bring Your Photos to Life with iMotion! iMotion makes it easy to create stunning time-lapse and stop-motion videos in just a few minutes. From creative storytelling to learning, memories, and social content, iMotion gives you everything you need to animate the world around you. Key features: - Time-Lapse & Stop-Motion: ****Create smooth, high-quality animations without technical complexity - Multiple Capture Modes: Choose the perfect way to create: time-lapse, manual capture, microphone trigger, library import - Professional Rendering Quality: Capture and export your creations in 4K UHD, 1080p, or 720p HD for high quality results - Full Camera Control: Adjust focus, exposure, and white balance manually to maintain full control over every frame - Easy Sharing: Export videos, photos, and animated GIFs directly to your Photo Library or share on social networks How It Works: 1. Capture photos or import frames using your preferred mode 2. Arrange and preview your animation with frame-by-frame precision 3. Customize settings and refine your result 4. Export and share your story in seconds Download iMotion and bring your time-lapse and stop-motion ideas to life. Subscribe to access to premium app features; subscription details are the following: - Length: weekly, yearly - Your payment will be charged to your iTunes Account as soon as you confirm your purchase - You can manage your subscriptions and turn off auto-renewal from your Account Settings after the purchase - Your subscription will renew automatically, unless you turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the end of the current period - The cost of renewal will be charged to your account in the 24 hours prior to the end of the current period - When canceling a subscription, your subscription will stay active until the end of the period. Auto-renewal will be disabled, but the current subscription will not be refunded - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when purchasing a subscription Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

TimeLapse2 screens
iMotion4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: iMotion at 4.5 against TimeLapse's 2.3. iMotion also leads on ratings volume (2.8K vs 18) and review sentiment (73% vs 58%). TimeLapse's advantage is monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription) and ads (none vs shown). On price, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. TimeLapse sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and iMotion sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

iMotion holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: iMotion has 2.8K ratings behind it against 18, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 58% of TimeLapse's written reviews are positive against 73% of iMotion's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TimeLapse ships an update every 3 weeks, iMotion every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
TimeLapse versus iMotion: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTimeLapseiMotion
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.3 (18 ratings)4.5 (2.8K ratings) — better
Positive reviews58.5% of reviews72.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings182.8K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.3 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB146 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerxyster.net LLCSKETCHES SRL

Customer experience

TimeLapse

All ratings18 ratings
Positive27.8%
Neutral11.1%
Negative61.1%
Written reviews359 reviews
Positive58.5%
Neutral9.5%
Negative32.0%

iMotion

All ratings2,819 ratings
Positive86.7%
Neutral5.0%
Negative8.3%
Written reviews1,195 reviews
Positive72.7%
Neutral8.5%
Negative18.7%

User reviews

TimeLapse

From 18 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 User-friendly interface and easy to learn
  • 🎥 High-quality video output and sharp images
  • ⚙️ Extensive customization settings and controls
  • 🔒 Focus and exposure lock features
  • 🎵 Ability to add music to videos

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezing
  • ❌ Video playback fails or won't open
  • 💾 Projects don't save properly
  • 📚 Lack of clear instructions and documentation
  • 💰 Misleading free/paid model with hidden paywalls

iMotion

From 2.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Simple and intuitive interface
  • 🎨 Great for stop motion and animation
  • 🎥 Helpful features like onion skin and remote control
  • ⭐️ Useful for school projects and hobbies

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Many features locked behind paywall
  • 🐛 Bugs with frame order and black images
  • 🔍 Limited camera controls and zooming
  • 🔀 Issues with resuming projects and maintaining frame order
  • 🔇 No audio/voiceover support

Bugs and requests

TimeLapse

Reported bugs

14 issues
  • App crashes during video creation and editing
  • Video files become corrupted or unplayable
  • Projects fail to save or load
  • Green screen output instead of recorded video
  • Black video output despite successful recording
Show 9 more
  • Grainy/poor quality video despite 720p claims
  • Photo library access denied errors
  • App freezes when taking photos
  • Crashes with front camera usage
  • Crashes on specific iOS versions (4.3.3, iOS 7, iOS 9)
  • Video playback crashes immediately upon opening
  • Motrr integration causes immediate crashes
  • Low battery warning interrupts recording
  • Video stops recording prematurely despite settings

Requested features

11 requests
  • Better user manual and in-app instructions
  • Longer final video length in free version
  • Automatic exposure adjustment for changing light
  • Pause/resume recording functionality
  • Timestamp/date overlay on videos
Show 6 more
  • Background app operation capability
  • Auto-lock screen disable within app
  • 4K video export support
  • Ability to disable auto-lock during recording
  • Sort library by most recent first
  • Screen recording speed adjustment

iMotion

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Frames get scrambled when resuming projects
  • Frequent app crashes, especially with longer animations
  • Imported photos sometimes display as black
  • Issues with exporting and saving completed videos

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to import entire photo albums
  • Implement portrait mode and aspect ratio options
  • Allow adding sound effects and background music
  • Improve frame management and reordering capabilities
  • Provide more advanced editing tools and effects

In-app purchases

3 purchases

TimeLapse

One-time3
  • TimeLapse Recording Unlimited$1.99
  • TimeLapse Editing Unlimited$3.99
  • TimeLapse Unlimited$4.99
5 purchases

iMotion

Subscriptions4
  • Weekly premium7 Days trial$2.997 Days
  • Weekly premium$2.997 Days
  • Yearly premium7 Days trial$29.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Yearly premium$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • iMotion Full Version$5.99

Questions

Is TimeLapse free?
TimeLapse is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is iMotion free?
iMotion is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, TimeLapse or iMotion?
iMotion is rated higher. TimeLapse averages 2.3 out of 5 from 18 ratings, while iMotion averages 4.5 from 2.8K ratings.
Do TimeLapse or iMotion have ads?
iMotion shows ads; TimeLapse does not.
Which is updated more often, TimeLapse or iMotion?
TimeLapse ships an update every 3 weeks, and iMotion every 2 months. Most recently, TimeLapse was updated on September 20, 2026 and iMotion on October 17, 2026.

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