Develop! vs Lightme
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Develop!
This app provides a flexible and intuitive timer for film and darkroom development. Create custom development recipes with multiple steps and intervals, and utilize a special darkroom mode for low-light conditions. Easily share your recipes and import them from FilmDev.org.
- Customizable development recipes
- Multiple steps and intervals per recipe
- Darkroom Mode (red-on-black theme)
- Integrated interval timer
- Import recipes from FilmDev.org
- Share recipes via social media
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Develop your film with a smile! Develop! Film Development Timer is a flexible and elegant timer suitable for film and darkroom use. Create your own development recipes through a very simple and intuitive process. As many steps as you need with multiple intervals per step. It is entirely up to you, you are in full control. Notable Features: - Darkroom Mode: A minimalist red-on-black theme for darkroom use - Flexible: As many recipes as you like, as many steps per recipe as you like. Name your steps however you like. Record notes however you like. - Intuitive: Minimalist, elegant interface gets out of your way so there is nothing standing between you and your photography. Large timer is visible across the room. - Intervals: An integrated interval timer makes it easy to do things like “for this step please beep after the first minute and then every 30 seconds". You’ll know at-a-glance how much time until your next inversion. - Nostalgia: Great faux leather vulcanite covering - Import: Import recipes directly from FilmDev.org - Share. Tweet and post your recipes. Facebook, Twitter, Mail, Sina Weibo, Tencent Weibo are all supported. No more excuses that you lost track of time or forgot to agitate at a 30 seconds interval -- this is a thing of the past. Concentrate on being the best photographer and alchemist you can be, leave the timing to Develop!. Now go out there and shoot a roll of film! Good luck! 100% free. Always.
Lightme
This powerful light meter app offers a clean, intuitive interface optimized for one-handed use. It displays multiple aperture and shutter speed combinations simultaneously, aiding quick setting selection. Suitable for beginners and experienced photographers alike, it includes advanced features like spot metering, reciprocity failure compensation, and pinhole mode.
- Multiple exposure settings display
- One-handed operation
- Spot metering with zoom
- Reciprocity failure compensation
- Pinhole mode
- Incident light metering
- Film database
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Lightme - Lightmeter is a clean, simple to use yet very powerful lightmeter. It is optimised for an easy one-handed use, both for left-handed and right-handed users, with the main controls within your thumb's reach, without the fatiguing juggling of your precious smartphone. A core distinguishing feature of Lightme - Lightmeter is that - differently from most of the other apps - it can show multiple combinations of valid settings for aperture and shutterspeed at the same time by working like a - stretched out - old needle and wheel lightmeter. This allows the user to quickly pick the desired settings without having to scroll on a tiny wheel picker. The app is designed to be welcoming to people who are just starting out, with a simple one-button use. But it offers many useful and advanced features for the more experienced shooters/users: Continuous metering (by pressing and holding or double tapping the measure button) Spot metering with a variable zoom (for more precision) which also supports average metering, and a very intuitive implementation of the zone system Automatic reciprocity failure compensation (for 25+ films, if you see exposure times in red, they are being compensated) A dedicated pinhole mode with precise exposure times for user defined apertures (multiple apertures at a time), with the possibility of setting a timer (through a shortcut) Incident light metering with calibration when using the front facing camera And more ... It also includes some other features that are enjoyable by any kind of user: Black and white preview The ability to use any of the cameras on your smartphone (swipe left/right on the preview) Multiple presets for your different camera/film/lens setups Framelines for previewing your shot, before setting up your tripod etc. A searchable list of useful tips to make better use of the application's potential A searchable list of more than 70 films to choose from with the possibility of selecting a few favourites Dark mode support and a useful level of customisation You can find even more info in the tips inside the app or you can have a look at full user manual by tapping on manual (in the settings) The app is free in all its many functionalities, but it offers In-App-Purchases in order to support the project. The only minor perk you can enable only via certain IAPs is the replacement of the Ad button with a label containing the name of your current preset, check under settings -> coffee for more info. Don't panic though, even if there's an Ad button it doesn't mean I'm going to show you ads. In fact unless you decide to tap on that button I'm never going to show you any. But if you have a few minutes to spare, watching a few of them sure helps keeping this project alive :) Try it, and, if you like it, share it with your friends and consider writing a (mini) review ;) Have a nice day, and good light!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Develop! at none against Lightme's 6. Develop! also leads on iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.6). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. Lightme sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Develop! asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Develop! against 4.8 for Lightme. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 374 and 918 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 89% of Develop!'s written reviews are positive against 91% of Lightme's.
Develop! ships an update every 4 weeks, Lightme every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Develop! | Lightme |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (374 ratings) | 4.8 (918 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 88.7% of reviews | 90.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 374 | 918 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 101 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Todd Breslow | Giuseppe Bertolini |
Customer experience
Develop!
Lightme
User reviews
Develop!
From 374 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Straightforward and useful
- 👍 Customizable timers and recipes
- 👍 Helpful voice prompts
- 👍 Simple and easy to use
- 👍 Excellent for film development
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes or bugs
- 🔋 Cannot run in background
- 👎 Quiet chime/alarm volume
- 👎 Difficult to add/edit tasks
- 👎 No darkroom mode or red light option
Lightme
From 918 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Accurate metering
- 👍 Intuitive and clean interface
- 💡 Comprehensive features (spot metering, zone system, film stock selection, etc.)
- 🚀 Consistently accurate exposures
- 👍 Thoughtful design with user's needs in mind
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes or freezes
- 👎 Confusing or cluttered interface for some users
- 👎 Tedious film selection process
- 🐛 Inaccurate metering in certain lighting conditions
Bugs and requests
Develop!
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crashes on startup for some users
- Timer stops when switching apps or locking phone
- Issues with saving and editing recipes
Requested features
7 requests- Ability to pause and resume timers
- Option to clone/duplicate existing recipes
- Integration with development charts or databases
- More detailed task descriptions and notes
- Ability to skip optional steps
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- Larger font size for better visibility
- Background music playback without interruption
Lightme
Reported bugs
2 issues- Crashes on iOS 16
- Metering issues with certain camera/lens combinations
Requested features
5 requests- Add shutter angle adjustment for cinematography
- Implement ISO lock feature
- Add more film stock profiles
- Improve film selection process (e.g. search, categories)
- Provide more customization options (e.g. interface themes)
In-app purchases
Develop!
No in-app purchases
Lightme
- Espresso ristretto$1.99
- Pecorino Romano$4.99
- Guanciale$9.99
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- Parmigiano$16.99
- Pizza for two$29.99
- Do this full-time$59.99









