Comparison

Lighting Designer vs Raccord Lighting

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

Raccord Lighting

Features
Read full description

Arrive on set with the light planned and a map the whole crew can understand. Raccord Lighting helps you create complete lighting plots, place lights and modifiers, check electrical distribution, and prepare the production’s technical material. Start by drawing the floor plan from scratch or, on supported iPhones and iPads, scan the room in 3D to automatically create the base of the plot. Then adjust walls and measurements, organize equipment, and build the lighting setup. CREATE THE LIGHTING PLOT Build a clear representation of the space before the shoot. Work to scale, place lights, modifiers, and set elements, and make dimensions, directions, and notes easy to understand. • Draw walls, doors, and room elements. • Scan the space in 3D on supported devices. • Place lights and modifiers. • Organize the plot with dimensions, layers, and labels. • See light direction with Smart Beams. CHECK THE POWER • Organize sources, circuits, and loads. • Review watts, amps, available capacity, and overload warnings. • Estimate battery and generator runtime for the setup. HAND IT TO THE CREW • Export plots as PDF, PNG, or JPEG. • Generate a technical pack, electric report, rental list, and CSV. • Review the document before sharing it with the crew or rental house. USE THE RIGHT DEVICE Work on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Projects remain available locally and can sync through iCloud when it is available. Smart Beams are a 2D visual aid, not a lux simulation. The app does not control lights or DMX consoles. Free mode lets you try the main workflow with creation limits. Raccord Lighting Pro removes those limits; plans and prices are shown by the App Store. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Lighting Designer4 screens
Raccord Lighting4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Raccord Lighting at Free against Lighting Designer's $24.99. Lighting Designer's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 18.0). On update cadence, ads 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

Raccord Lighting is free to download; Lighting Designer costs $24.99 up front. Raccord Lighting sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Lighting Designer asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lighting Designer ships an update every 3 weeks, Raccord Lighting every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Lighting Designer versus Raccord Lighting: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLighting DesignerRaccord Lighting
Price$24.99Free — better
Rating4.0 (145 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews46.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings145 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS14.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size80 MB43 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperScenario Software LLCRaphael Medeiros

In-app purchases

None

Lighting Designer

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Raccord Lighting

Subscriptions2
  • Raccord Lighting Pro Mensal7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Raccord Lighting Pro Anual7 Days trial$22.991 Year
One-time1
  • Raccord Lighting Pro Vitalício$59.99

Questions

Is Lighting Designer free?
Lighting Designer costs $24.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Raccord Lighting free?
Raccord Lighting is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Lighting Designer or Raccord Lighting have ads?
Neither Lighting Designer nor Raccord Lighting shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Lighting Designer or Raccord Lighting?
Lighting Designer ships an update every 3 weeks, and Raccord Lighting every 2 weeks. Most recently, Lighting Designer was updated on October 14, 2026 and Raccord Lighting on September 30, 2026.

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