Comparison

Stop Motion Studio vs Alight Motion

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

Head to head
About

Stop Motion Studio

Easily create stop motion animations and films with powerful editing tools. Capture every frame with manual camera controls, add sound and effects, and share your creations in high definition. Suitable for beginners and experienced animators alike.

Highlights
  • Onion skinning and animation guides
  • Frame-by-frame editing
  • Manual camera controls
  • Voiceover and sound effects
  • Green screen effects
  • 4K export
  • Remote camera control
Features
Read full description

Join 25 million creators making stop motion animation with ease. Stop Motion Studio is the Apple-featured app for creating stunning stop motion films. Enjoy powerful creative tools with no ads, no tracking, and no subscriptions. Stop Motion Studio is the easiest and most powerful stop motion animation maker for iPhone and iPad. Create beautiful animated films with LEGO, clay, drawings, or everyday objects — no experience required. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned animator, Stop Motion Studio gives you everything you need to turn your ideas into motion. Loved by Millions Worldwide * Over 25 million creators and counting * Rated 4.7 stars with more than 65,000 reviews * Featured in Apple’s “Life on iPad” TV commercial “Stop Motion Studio makes it easy to create your own stop-motion movies.” – The Washington Post “Brings out the LEGO moviemaking geek in all of us.” – TechNewsWorld Create and Edit with Precision * Onion skinning and animation guides for perfect alignment * Interactive timeline and frame-by-frame editing * Copy, paste, cut, and insert frames with ease * Rotoscoping: draw over videos for unique effects * Built-in drawing tools, text cards, and speech bubbles * Erase unwanted objects and add facial expressions or layers * Merge frames to simulate motion blur or speed effects Capture Every Frame * Full manual camera controls: focus, exposure, ISO, and white balance * Timelapse capture mode for automatic shooting * Use your Apple Watch or another device as a remote camera Add Sound and Style * Record voiceovers and narration directly in the app * Add sound effects, background music, or import from your library * Use filters, fades, and transitions for cinematic results * Green screen effects let you place characters anywhere Share Your Masterpiece * Export your films in 4K or 1080p HD * Share directly to YouTube, TikTok, or save as a GIF or iMessage sticker * Transfer projects via AirDrop, iCloud, or Dropbox * Start on iPhone and finish on Mac — your work stays in sync Learn and Improve * Step-by-step tutorials and creative tips included * Built-in manual for quick guidance and inspiration Yours to Create No ads. No tracking. No subscriptions. Your data stays private and your creativity stays yours. Download Stop Motion Studio today. Join millions of creators and bring your imagination to life — one frame at a time. * Some features require in-app purchases. All features are already included in the Pro version.

About

Alight Motion

Create professional animations, motion graphics, and visual effects on your mobile device. This app offers advanced tools for video editing, compositing, and animation with support for multiple layers, vector graphics, and keyframe animation.

Highlights
  • Multiple layers of graphics, video, and audio
  • Vector and bitmap editing
  • 160+ visual effect building blocks
  • Keyframe animation for all settings
  • Camera controls with pan, zoom, and focus blur
  • Grouping and masking
  • Customizable animation easing
Features
Read full description

Be part of the movement! Alight Motion is the first professional motion design app for your smartphone for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, bringing you professional-quality animation, motion graphics, visual effects, video editing, video compositing, and more! • Multiple layers of graphics, video, and audio • Vector and bitmap support (edit vector graphics right on your phone!) • 160+ basic effect building blocks that can be combined to create sophisticated visual effects • Keyframe animation available for all settings • Link parent and child layers and rig character joints • Cameras that pan, zoom, and support focus blur and fog • Grouping and Masking • Color Adjustment • Animation easing for more fluid motion: Pick from presets or build your own timing curves • Bookmarks for ease of editing • Velocity-based motion blur • Export MP4 video, GIF animation, PNG sequences, and stills • Share project packages with others • Solid color and gradient fill effects • Border, shadow, and stroke effects • Custom font support • Copy and paste entire layers or just their style • Save your favorite elements for easy re-use in future projects Alight Motion is free to use with basic features and a watermark on videos you create. There are several paid membership options in the app to remove the watermark and access a regularly updated library of premium effects and features. These subscription membership options are charged when you select to purchase them, and renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours prior to the beginning of the next subscription period. After purchasing, subscriptions can be managed in your Apple ID settings. You can find more information about subscriptions at https://alightcreative.com/support Terms of Service: alightcreative.com/tos Privacy Policy: alightcreative.com/privacy

Screenshots

Stop Motion Studio4 screens
Alight Motion4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Stop Motion Studio at none against Alight Motion's shown. Stop Motion Studio also leads on review sentiment (79% vs 62%). Alight Motion's advantage is iOS requirement (14.4 vs 16.6). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. Stop Motion Studio sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Alight Motion sells 14 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Stop Motion Studio holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 78K and 78K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 79% of Stop Motion Studio's written reviews are positive against 62% of Alight Motion's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Stop Motion Studio ships an update every 2 weeks, Alight Motion fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 15, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Stop Motion Studio versus Alight Motion: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStop Motion StudioAlight Motion
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (78K ratings) — better4.4 (78K ratings)
Positive reviews79.3% of reviews — better61.8% of reviews
Number of ratings78K — better78K
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#179#74 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS16.614.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size179 MB191 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCATEATER, LLCBending Spoons Apps ApS

Customer experience

Stop Motion Studio

All ratings78,202 ratings
Positive91.6%
Neutral3.7%
Negative4.7%
Written reviews2,085 reviews
Positive79.3%
Neutral8.2%
Negative12.5%

Alight Motion

All ratings77,569 ratings
Positive85.0%
Neutral5.3%
Negative9.7%
Written reviews6,735 reviews
Positive61.8%
Neutral14.6%
Negative23.6%

User reviews

Stop Motion Studio

From 78K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great for stop motion
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 👍 Allows for creative expression
  • 👍 Good for beginners
  • 👍 Helpful tutorials

Room to improve

  • 💰 Many features locked behind paywall
  • 🐛 Glitches and bugs
  • 🔋 Battery draining
  • 🔍 Limited free features
  • 🔍 Restricted editing options without premium

Alight Motion

From 78K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great for editing and animating
  • 👍 Lots of features and effects
  • 💡 Ability to watch ads to unlock premium features

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and lag issues
  • 🔒 Watermark issues and premium features locked behind paywall
  • 🔋 App performance issues, especially on older devices

Bugs and requests

Stop Motion Studio

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Camera shaking/blurry issues
  • Sound not working properly
  • Frames skipping or lagging
  • Inability to restore deleted projects
  • Inconsistent performance across devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • More free features and effects
  • Improved erasing and editing tools
  • Ability to import photos and videos
  • More sound effects and audio options
  • Easier way to add text and titles

Alight Motion

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashing when trying to export videos
  • Inability to add text or photos/videos
  • Grouping issues causing projects to become unusable

Requested features

3 requests
  • Add speed graphs and time remapping
  • Improve stability and reduce crashes
  • Allow more customization of watermark

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Stop Motion Studio

One-time1
  • All Features Forever$5.99
14 purchases

Alight Motion

Subscriptions14
  • Weekly Subscription7 Days trial$0.997 Days
  • Weekly Subscription$0.997 Days
  • Weekly Subscription7 Days trial$1.997 Days
Show 11 more
  • Weekly Subscription3 Days trial2 variants$4.997 Days
  • Weekly with 2 weeks offer 0.997 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Weekly Subscription2 variants$4.997 Days
  • Weekly Subscription7 Days trial2 variants$4.997 Days
  • Weekly Subscription with Free Trial7 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Monthly Subscription$6.991 Month
  • Weekly Cloud Subscription3 Days trial$7.997 Days
  • Weekly Cloud Subscription7 Days trial$7.997 Days
  • Alight Motion with Free Trial7 Days trial$7.997 Days
  • Weekly Cloud Subscription$7.997 Days
  • Annual Subscription$28.991 Year

Questions

Is Stop Motion Studio free?
Stop Motion Studio is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Alight Motion free?
Alight Motion is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Stop Motion Studio or Alight Motion?
Stop Motion Studio is rated higher. Stop Motion Studio averages 4.6 out of 5 from 78K ratings, while Alight Motion averages 4.4 from 78K ratings.
Do Stop Motion Studio or Alight Motion have ads?
Alight Motion shows ads; Stop Motion Studio does not.
Which is updated more often, Stop Motion Studio or Alight Motion?
Stop Motion Studio ships an update every 2 weeks, and Alight Motion fortnightly. Most recently, Stop Motion Studio was updated on October 15, 2026 and Alight Motion on October 15, 2026.
Which is more popular, Stop Motion Studio or Alight Motion?
Stop Motion Studio currently peaks at #179 in the App Store charts, and Alight Motion at #74. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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