Comparison

Lighting Designer vs Lightframer Pro

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

Lightframer Pro

This app transforms your iPhone into a professional cinema viewfinder, allowing you to preview shots with specific camera and lens combinations. It also features real-time sun tracking to help plan shoots around natural light conditions and exports scout photos with detailed metadata.

Highlights
  • Real-time AR viewfinder
  • Camera and lens simulation
  • Sun path tracking
  • Customizable frame lines
  • Metadata export
  • Golden hour and blue hour prediction
Features
Read full description

Lightframer Pro turns your iPhone into a professional cinema viewfinder with real-time sun tracking. PREVIEW YOUR FRAME Select from a library of cinema cameras and lenses — ARRI, RED, Sony, Canon, Blackmagic, and more. See exactly how your chosen setup frames the shot, right on location. No guesswork. No rental truck needed. TRACK THE SUN Plan your shoot around the light. Lightframer Pro shows the sun's path across the sky in real time — golden hour, blue hour, sunrise, and sunset — overlaid directly on your viewfinder. Know your light before you call "action." FRAME LINES FOR EVERY RATIO Overlay frame lines for any aspect ratio: 2.39:1 anamorphic, 1.85:1 theatrical, 17:9 DCI, 16:9 HD, 4:3 open gate, or set your own custom ratio. See your final deliverable frame while you scout. EXPORT WITH FULL CINEMA DATA Every capture includes a metadata strip with camera, lens, focal length, aspect ratio, sun position, compass heading, and white balance. Share scout photos your entire crew can reference. BUILT FOR CINEMATOGRAPHERS - Real-time AR viewfinder matched to your camera and lens - Sun path with golden hour, blue hour, sunrise, and sunset times - Compass heading overlay - Portrait and landscape modes - Frame line shading and color controls - Photo export with cinema metadata Whether you're a DP scouting a commercial, an indie filmmaker planning your next short, or a director blocking scenes on location — Lightframer Pro gives you the tools to plan every shot with precision.

Screenshots

Lighting Designer4 screens
Lightframer Pro4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Lightframer Pro at 100% against Lighting Designer's 46%. Lightframer Pro also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.0) and price ($19.99 vs $24.99). Lighting Designer's advantage is ratings volume (145 vs 5) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.0). On update cadence, 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

Lighting Designer costs $24.99 and Lightframer Pro $19.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Lightframer Pro holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Lighting Designer has 145 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 46% of Lighting Designer's written reviews are positive against 100% of Lightframer Pro's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Lighting Designer versus Lightframer Pro: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLighting DesignerLightframer Pro
Price$24.99$19.99 — better
Rating4.0 (145 ratings)4.8 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews46.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings145 — better5
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreemium — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#161 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size80 MB40 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperScenario Software LLCeric Hernandez

Customer experience

Lighting Designer

All ratings145 ratings
Positive74.5%
Neutral6.2%
Negative19.3%
Written reviews80 reviews
Positive46.3%
Neutral18.8%
Negative35.0%

Lightframer Pro

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Lighting Designer

No in-app purchases

None

Lightframer Pro

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Lighting Designer free?
Lighting Designer costs $24.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Lightframer Pro free?
Lightframer Pro costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Lighting Designer or Lightframer Pro?
Lightframer Pro is rated higher. Lighting Designer averages 4.0 out of 5 from 145 ratings, while Lightframer Pro averages 4.8 from 5 ratings.
Do Lighting Designer or Lightframer Pro have ads?
Neither Lighting Designer nor Lightframer Pro shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Lighting Designer or Lightframer Pro?
Lighting Designer ships an update every 3 weeks, and Lightframer Pro every 3 weeks. Most recently, Lighting Designer was updated on October 10, 2026 and Lightframer Pro on October 3, 2026.

Other comparisons