Comparison

Lighting Designer vs Cinecyclop

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

Cinecyclop

This app helps film, commercial, and music video crew members prepare equipment for shoots. It allows users to build comprehensive gear lists, create reusable kit templates, and generate DMX patches. Quotes can be created and exported to PDF, with additional on-set calculation tools available.

Highlights
  • Equipment list generator
  • Reusable kit templates
  • DMX analysis and patch
  • Quote generation and PDF export
  • On-set calculation tools
  • Cross-device project sync
Features
Read full description

Prepare cinema equipment with Cinecyclop: lists, a catalogue and calculation tools for lighting, camera and grip crews. ORGANIZE YOUR EQUIPMENT Create projects and equipment lists, adjust quantities and track preparation. Add notes and find equipment references in the catalogue, available offline. PREPARE YOUR SHOOTS Use lighting and camera tools and calculations to prepare your setups. Browse the directory of studios in France and information about their stages. SHARE YOUR PREPARATION With a Cinecyclop account, export your lists as PDFs and invite collaborators to shared projects with viewing or editing permissions. Sharing and synchronization require an internet connection. ON IPHONE AND IPAD Use your lists and tools in a native interface with dedicated equipment artwork and dark mode. Calculations are for reference and must be checked on set, including by a qualified electrician for electrical installations. Terms of use: https://comenolo.fr/cinecyclop/cgu.html Privacy: https://comenolo.fr/cinecyclop/confidentialite.html

Screenshots

Lighting Designer4 screens
Cinecyclop4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Cinecyclop at 100% against Lighting Designer's 46%. Cinecyclop also leads on price (Free vs $24.99) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 weeks). Lighting Designer's advantage is iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.0). On 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

Cinecyclop 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, Cinecyclop every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Lighting Designer versus Cinecyclop: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLighting DesignerCinecyclop
Price$24.99Free — better
Rating4.0 (145 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews46.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings145 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size80 MB255 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperScenario Software LLCNOLO (APPS)

Customer experience

Lighting Designer

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

Cinecyclop

Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Lighting Designer

No in-app purchases

None

Cinecyclop

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Lighting Designer free?
Lighting Designer costs $24.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Cinecyclop free?
Cinecyclop is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Lighting Designer or Cinecyclop have ads?
Neither Lighting Designer nor Cinecyclop shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Lighting Designer or Cinecyclop?
Lighting Designer ships an update every 3 weeks, and Cinecyclop every 2 days. Most recently, Lighting Designer was updated on October 19, 2026 and Cinecyclop on October 16, 2026.

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