Comparison

Photo Import vs Capture

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

Head to head
About

Photo Import

Easily transfer photos from your Mac or PC to your iPhone or iPad using iTunes File Sharing. This app allows you to import high-resolution JPG files directly to your device's Camera Roll, ideal for photos from DSLRs and other cameras.

Highlights
  • Import photos from Mac or PC
  • Utilizes iTunes File Sharing
  • Supports JPG file transfer
  • Transfers to Camera Roll
  • Maintains full resolution
  • Ideal for DSLR/mirrorless camera photos
Read full description

Import photos from your Mac or PC via iTunes File Sharing. Great for transferring photos from your other cameras, like a DSLR or mirrorless! Simply drag & drop Photos and Videos files into Photo Queue's file sharing folder in Finder or iTunes, and open the app. This is a super-fast way for getting photos from your computer to your iPhone's Camera Roll and they are imported at beautiful full resolution. The app can also import RAW+JPEG files and Live Photos as a combined entity.

About

Capture

Easily import photos and videos from cameras, SD cards, or USB drives while preserving original capture dates, GPS data, and EXIF information. Correct metadata before import and ensure no original files are altered.

Highlights
  • Preserves capture date, time, and GPS
  • Imports from cameras, SD cards, USB drives
  • Corrects EXIF data before import
  • Checks for duplicate photos
  • Supports RAW file formats
  • Offloads to external SSDs
  • Records and applies GPS routes
Features
Read full description

Capture imports photos and videos from a camera, SD card or USB drive into your Photos library. It keeps everything the camera recorded: capture date and time, GPS coordinates, make, model, lens, ISO, aperture, shutter speed and focal length. Capture reads those out of the file and writes them onto the photo explicitly, so each shot lands with the date and place it was taken, not the date you imported it. That is why the app exists. A camera or card that mounts as a drive gets no photo importer, only a file browser, and a plain file copy does not set any of it, so whether the date and place survive then depends on whatever program opens the file next. Connect the camera, card or drive, pick the shots you want, and they go into Photos. NEVER THE SAME PHOTO TWICE Every file is checked against your whole library first, rotated copies included, so anything you already imported comes back flagged. You only carry over what's new. FIX IT BEFORE IT LANDS The camera is not always right: a clock that was never set, no GPS receiver, the wrong lens in the EXIF. Correct any of those fields before the photo reaches your library: date and time on one frame or shifted across a whole batch, keeping the intervals between them; location on a map; copyright, artist and file name. NOTHING TOUCHES THE CARD Your originals are never written to. Every edit goes into the copy Photos gets. Rotation is lossless: one EXIF orientation tag rewritten, the pixels untouched. RAW AS SHOT CR3, NEF, ARW, DNG and more, imported exactly as captured. STAYS ON YOUR DEVICE No account, no cloud, no servers. Nothing leaves your iPhone or iPad. FREE TO START Your first import is the whole card, no limits. After that, the free tier allows 5 items a day. WHAT A PURCHASE CHANGES It lifts the 5-a-day limit. Every capability below works on the free tier, with one exception: recording a route runs the GPS for hours at a time, so it comes with the purchase. FOR THE CARD YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO LOSE • Smart Cull scores sharpness while the card is still being read and flags the soft frames. Page through them full size, keep the ones you blurred on purpose, skip the rest so they never reach your library. • Offload to a drive sends a card straight to an external SSD or a Files folder, no laptop. Every file is read back and hash-checked after writing, with a per-file receipt and a plain “safe to erase” verdict before you format anything. • Record your route while you shoot, then geotag the whole card from it, matched by capture time. Recording keeps going with the screen off and the app closed; nothing is logged unless you start a recording, and tracks stay on your iPhone. • Geotag from any GPX track you already have, matched the same way. • Keep both halves of a RAW+JPEG pair, or just one, and save RAW Photos can't render to Files so it survives. • Old digicam videos (AVI, MPG) convert on import so they play on iPhone (iOS 18+), and a Shortcuts import runs with one tap. One plan, as a monthly or yearly subscription, or a one-time Lifetime purchase. --- Capture is an auto-renewing subscription (monthly or yearly); a one-time Lifetime unlock is also available, and prices are shown in the app before you buy. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless turned off at least 24 hours before the current period ends; you can manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. Privacy Policy: https://capture.karololszanski.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Photo Import2 screens
Capture4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Photo Import at 4.0 against Capture's 3.0. Capture's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 24 months) and review sentiment (100% vs 75%). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. Photo Import sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Capture sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Photo Import holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 75% of Photo Import's written reviews are positive against 100% of Capture's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Photo Import ships an update every 24 months, Capture every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Photo Import versus Capture: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhoto ImportCapture
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (1 ratings) — better3.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings12 — better
Update frequencyEvery 24 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGeospike Pty LtdKarol Olszanski

Customer experience

Photo Import

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral12.5%
Negative12.5%

Capture

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Photo Import

One-time1
  • Remove Advertising$1.99
4 purchases

Capture

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Quarterly$3.993 Months
  • Yearly$5.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$19.99

Questions

Is Photo Import free?
Photo Import is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Capture free?
Capture is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Photo Import or Capture?
Photo Import is rated higher. Photo Import averages 4.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Capture averages 3.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Photo Import or Capture have ads?
Neither Photo Import nor Capture shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Photo Import or Capture?
Photo Import ships an update every 24 months, and Capture every 2 months. Most recently, Photo Import was updated on October 23, 2026 and Capture on October 28, 2026.

Other comparisons