Comparison

Lighting Designer vs ARRI ECS

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

Head to head
About

Lighting Designer

Create professional overhead lighting plots for film, TV, theater, and events. Quickly illustrate and communicate lighting setups with a vast library of equipment and intuitive tools. Sync your work across all Apple devices.

Highlights
  • Create overhead lighting plots
  • Extensive equipment library (2000+ items)
  • Organize setups into Shows
  • Custom fixture creation with own images
  • Detailed light specifications
  • Floor plan drawing tools
  • Email editable Plots
Features
Read full description

Never draw a lighting setup on a scrap of paper again. Lighting Designer is a quick and intuitive way to create overhead lighting plots for film, theater, television, concerts, and anything else you can light. The wide selection of equipment and simple yet powerful interface makes it easier than ever to illustrate and communicate your lighting setups, from most Apple devices. Your Silicon Mac is powerful and gives you the most screen to work with; your iPad is large and versatile; your iPhone will go with you anywhere. And if you like, your work can sync among all your Apple devices using iCloud, so you can start plotting on one and finish on another. LD is perfect for tech scouts, working while traveling, or just choosing the couch over your desk chair. While expensive drafting programs can take hours to use and years to master, Lighting Designer is an accessible way to plan your next show! Features: • Organize your setups into Shows, with details like shooting dates and crew members • Choose from over 2000 built-in types of lights, grip equipment, camera gear, actors, and objects like furniture and musical instruments • With a Crescit Premium account, you can have access to an additional 25,000+ pieces of lighting equipment, gels, and gobo templates • Use your own images to create custom fixtures on your Plots (read the User Guide for image specs) • For each light, specify wattage, beam spread, light output, DMX address, color, and many other details • Certain fixtures include info for exposure approximation; all can be user-configured and have their exposure reverse-calculated from real-world readings • Use Groups to create flexible collections of lights • Notes allow you to describe every detail of your setup • Pack your Truck to share gear among multiple Plots • Draw a Floor Plan using basic shapes, and images from your device • Lights can target other objects, and objects can rig onto each other for easy adjustments • Email editable Plots to the crew, with images, equipment, and crew lists • Undo/Redo functionality • Dark Mode presents a dark workspace to reduce eyestrain and minimize your device's light in a dark environment

About

ARRI ECS

Features
Read full description

The “ECS Sync” iPhone app functions as a direct communication platform between ARRI and users of ARRI’s Electronic Control System (ECS). Adaptable to any camera and any lens, ARRI ECS tools include wireless hand units and digital controllers, intelligent lens motors, and distance measurers. With the ECS Sync app, users can receive up-to-the-minute software updates, news, and answers to frequently asked questions relevant to these products. In addition, the ECS Sync app enables Bluetooth file sharing between ECS devices and the app via the new Hi-5 hand unit, without the need of a bulky laptop on set. Software versions can be synchronized, and transferred from the app to the connected devices. Lens files and user settings can be archived in the app, or forwarded on, including to the user’s Google Drive or Drop Box. Lens files can also be displayed graphically, contributing to the app’s usefulness as a portable and intuitive filmmaking tool. Features: • Save and load lens tables and user setup files to/from the Hi-5 hand unit via Bluetooth • Create a personalized lens data archive in the ECS Sync app • Update the Hi-5 hand unit and connected LBUS devices via the app • Get the latest news about ARRI ECS products • Distribute lens tables and user setup files from the app via email, WhatsApp, Dropbox, Google Drive and more

Screenshots

Lighting Designer4 screens
ARRI ECS3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: ARRI ECS at Free against Lighting Designer's $24.99. Lighting Designer's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 14 months). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

ARRI ECS is free to download; Lighting Designer costs $24.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lighting Designer ships an update every 3 weeks, ARRI ECS every 14 months. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Lighting Designer versus ARRI ECS: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLighting DesignerARRI ECS
Price$24.99Free — better
Rating4.0 (145 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews46.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings145 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 14 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS14.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size80 MB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperScenario Software LLCARRI Group

In-app purchases

None

Lighting Designer

No in-app purchases

None

ARRI ECS

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Lighting Designer free?
Lighting Designer costs $24.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is ARRI ECS free?
ARRI ECS is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Lighting Designer or ARRI ECS have ads?
Neither Lighting Designer nor ARRI ECS shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Lighting Designer or ARRI ECS?
Lighting Designer ships an update every 3 weeks, and ARRI ECS every 14 months. Most recently, Lighting Designer was updated on October 14, 2026 and ARRI ECS on September 19, 2026.

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