Comparison

ClockFire vs Pad Frame

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

Head to head
About

ClockFire

Transform your device into a dynamic digital photo frame with realistic fire, smoke, or plasma clock effects. Customize transitions, zoom, and photo display order for a personalized viewing experience. Add atmospheric touches like snow or rain for an enhanced mood.

Highlights
  • Realistic fire, smoke, or plasma clock effects
  • 20 transition effects
  • Customizable transition duration and type
  • Zoom effect on photos
  • Random or ordered photo display
  • Optional snow or rain overlays
Features
Read full description

Turn your iPad, iPhone, Mac, or Apple TV into a living digital photo frame, with the time written in real fire. A beautiful desk, bedside, and night clock over your favorite photos, with cinematic transitions, Live Scenes, and atmospheres. ClockFire first lit up screens in 2010. ClockFire 2 is a complete rebirth: rebuilt from scratch with Metal and rendered in real time on iPad, iPhone, Mac, and Apple TV. YOUR PHOTOS, BEAUTIFULLY FRAMED • Show albums, Favorites, and On This Day memories from your photo library, or import your own photos • Start right away with more than 40 stunning sample photos • Smart framing keeps faces and subjects in view • Slow, cinematic Ken Burns pan and zoom • Two portrait photos side by side on landscape screens • Discreet captions with the date and place A CLOCK MADE OF FIRE • Real-time flames, embers, and heat haze • More effects to match your mood: Smoke, Plasma, Neon, Ice, Molten Gold, Liquid Glass, Aurora, Hologram, and Minimal • Several clock styles, from 7-segment to rounded, thin, and serif • Your favorite colors, plus the date • Local weather, with temperature and conditions • Time and date formats that follow your region settings CINEMATIC TRANSITIONS • The 20 ClockFire classics, reimagined in 3D: flips, page turn, tiles, waves, ripple, twirl… • Spectacular new ones: burning paper, page curl, glass shatter, cube, dust, ink, water drop… LIVE SCENES Animated paintings rendered in real time between your photos: a cozy fireplace, northern lights, an ocean sunset, a misty forest with fireflies, an underwater lagoon, a koi pond, a black hole, a nebula, a spiral galaxy, a lava lamp, synthwave, and more. CHRISTMAS AND HALLOWEEN Three big Christmas scenes that come alive all December: • Santa’s Run: the elves’ village at the North Pole, a magic box to open on each day of Advent and, on the night of the 24th, the sleigh following midnight around the Earth, all the way to your home • Christmas Village: skaters on the frozen lake, a steam train and bells at midnight • Christmas Hamlet: a fairy tale in the woods, twinkling fir trees and a bonfire And for Halloween: fog, storms and ghosts. Try each big scene in full for an hour. YOUR MUSIC Tens of thousands of radio stations from around the world, your own songs or your Apple Music playlists, in place of the scenes’ sounds. The song playing shows under the clock. ATMOSPHERES Snow, rain, rain on glass, fireflies, cherry blossoms, autumn leaves, embers, shooting stars, mist, bubbles, and light rays. Choose Seasons to follow the time of year, or Live Weather to bring the sky outside onto your frame: when it rains outside, it rains on your photos. MADE FOR DAY AND NIGHT • Night mode dims the frame, keeps only the clock, or turns the screen off on a schedule • HDR glow on XDR displays • Keeps the screen awake, like a screensaver for your desk, nightstand, or kitchen • Tap for controls, swipe for the next or previous photo, drag and pinch the clock, double-tap for settings • Menus and keyboard shortcuts on Mac, full remote support on Apple TV FREE, WITH AN OPTIONAL ONE-TIME UPGRADE ClockFire is free to download and includes unlimited photos, the Fire and Minimal clocks, 10 transitions, 2 Live Scenes, snow and rain, and night mode. ClockFire Pro is a one-time purchase, with no subscription. It unlocks every clock effect and color, all transitions, all Live Scenes, all atmospheres, local weather on the clock, your music files and Internet Radio. Not sure yet? Preview any Pro feature live for 30 seconds. Weather data provided by Apple Weather.

About

Pad Frame

Features
Read full description

Old iPad. New Life. Pad Frame transforms any iPad into a beautiful digital photo frame. Instead of leaving your old tablet in a drawer, turn it into a stunning display for family memories, travel photos, favorite moments, and everyday inspiration. Simply plug it in, choose your photos, and let Pad Frame keep your memories alive all day, every day. FEATURES • Beautiful slideshow experience Display your photos with elegant transitions, including Fade, Slide, and cinematic Ken Burns effects. • Dynamic clock and weather Show time, date, and real-time weather information alongside your photos. • Fully customizable Adjust photo duration, slideshow speed, and shuffle settings to create your perfect display. • Works offline Your photos stay on your device. No cloud connection required. • Optimized for older iPads Give your unused iPad a second life instead of letting it collect dust. • Nordic-inspired design Clean, minimal, and distraction-free interface designed to blend naturally into any home. Perfect for: • Family photos • Travel memories • Children's milestones • Living rooms • Bedrooms • Offices • Digital photo displays Old iPad. New Life. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

ClockFire4 screens
Pad Frame3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Pad Frame at every 10 days against ClockFire's every 3 months. Pad Frame also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.0). On price, ads, 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. ClockFire sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Pad Frame sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ClockFire ships an update every 3 months, Pad Frame every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
ClockFire versus Pad Frame: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterClockFirePad Frame
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews41.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS26.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size33 MB35 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperEric DegrangeYuhai Lin

In-app purchases

1 purchases

ClockFire

One-time1
  • ClockFire Pro$3.99
3 purchases

Pad Frame

Subscriptions2
  • Pad Frame Pro – Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Pad Frame Pro – Yearly7 Days trial$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pad Frame Pro$24.99

Questions

Is ClockFire free?
ClockFire is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pad Frame free?
Pad Frame is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do ClockFire or Pad Frame have ads?
Neither ClockFire nor Pad Frame shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ClockFire or Pad Frame?
ClockFire ships an update every 3 months, and Pad Frame every 10 days. Most recently, ClockFire was updated on November 11, 2026 and Pad Frame on November 5, 2026.

Other comparisons