Comparison

PhotoPills vs Capsule360

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

Head to head
About

PhotoPills

Plan and capture stunning photos of the sun, moon, and Milky Way. This app helps you visualize celestial events and landscape compositions with advanced planning tools and augmented reality.

Highlights
  • 2D Map-Centric Planner (Sun, Moon, Milky Way)
  • 3D Augmented Reality Views
  • Celestial Event Finder
  • Photo Plans Manager
  • Location Scouting Tool
  • Calculators (Long Exposure, Timelapse, etc.)
Features
Read full description

Unlock your creative potential! Discover how to easily turn any Sun, Moon and Milky Way scene you imagine into a real picture… and start shooting truly legendary photos every time you pick up the camera! Whether your passion is to capture beautiful landscapes, immortalize the infinite night sky, surprise the bride and the groom in their happiest day... or to travel the world, PhotoPills will make you love exploring new artistic possibilities to tell visual stories in a way it wasn’t possible before. * All in one app PhotoPills is your iPhone and iPad personal assistant in all photographic matters. It provides tasty remedies to answer most of the questions when planning and shooting your creative ideas: - The First 2D Map-Centric Planner: Sun, Moon, Milky Way - Sun, Moon Alignments Fast Finder - 3D Augmented Reality: Sun, Moon, Milky Way, Celestial Equator, Polaris, DoF, FoV - Photo Plans Manager - Location Scouting Tool - Key information: Sunrise/set, Twilights, Golden Hour, Blue Hour, Moonrise/set, Supermoon dates, Moon Calendar - Calculators: Long Exposure, Timelapse, Spot Stars, Star Trails, Hyperfocal Table, DoF, FoV - Widgets: Sun, Moon, Milky Way - PhotoPills Awards… and much more! * Endorsed by Masters “PhotoPills is an invaluable tool which I use every time I plan a shoot.” – Mark Gee, Astronomy Photographer of the Year. “A tool every photographer should have.” – Kevin Raber, Luminous-landscape.com. “It pays off! Using such a tool ensures that we are repeatedly capable of quickly planning powerful shots; leaving maximum opportunity for more creative ruminations.” – José B. Ruiz, Innovation Award, Wildlife Photographer of the Year. * How it works Have you ever walked around a place and thought: "What a pity the Moon isn't EXACTLY right there... I would have captured a great photo!"? What about the Sun? And the Milky Way? Well, now you can let your imagination fly and calculate when this specific magic moment happens in just a few seconds: - IMAGINE: the Milky Way arching over a powerful landscape, a giant full Moon appearing from behind a nearby hill or a sunset between two rocks on a magic beach... The only limit is your imagination! - PLAN: easily calculate the exact date and time the scene you’ve imagined happens. Work smarter, not harder! - SHOOT: just get out there, immerse yourself in the great outdoors, and enjoy living and capturing unique moments. * Become a Legend Because we know the huge amount of time, energy and love you put in your photos. We want to HONOR them, SHOW them to the World, and REWARD you with up to $6,600 in cash prizes. It's easy and FREE! Just submit your creative photos from PhotoPills and join the Legacy! * Never waste an unmissable scene again Create a To-Do list of planned photos and get to the location on time. * Get it right Adjust your frame for the best composition before you shoot. Use the 3D Augmented Reality Views to see whether Sun, Moon and Milky Way will be at the desired position when pressing the shutter. * Explore, discover great places and create your own database of locations If you come across a location you’d like to remember, save it as a Point of Interest. * Enjoy all daily information in just one swipe with the Widgets Just swipe down from the top of the screen to get all the Sun, Moon and Milky Way events for your current location and date, in addition to your upcoming photo plans. * Get more than an app Our goal is not only to help you plan your shots, but also to help you nail them. Whenever you need help, take a look at our How-To articles and videos, join our free online courses or just contact us! “This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill – the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take PhotoPills – you stay in Wonderland and we show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes. Remember: all we’re offering are Legendary Photos and Goosebumps in your skin, nothing more.”

About

Capsule360

This versatile device and its companion app enable advanced time-lapse photography, 360° product shots, and panoramas with DSLR, mirrorless, or smartphone cameras. It offers multiple shooting modes and wireless communication between units for complex motion setups.

Highlights
  • Advanced time-lapse modes (Bulb Ramping, Interval Ramping, HDR)
  • 360° product photography
  • Panorama creation
  • Wireless multi-unit communication
  • Face tracking (Follow Me mode)
  • Star tracking
Read full description

Capsule360 is a Versatile Time-lapse Motion Control Box which is compatible with DSLR or Mirrorless Cameras, smartphones and action cameras. It combines multiple operating modes in a single unit such as Enhanced Time-lapse Modes, 360° Product Photography and Panorama. When several Capsule360 units are working together to create motions, they do not need any cable connection at all. No more cable clutter! All units communicate with each other without a cable. You can use Capsule360 to take time-lapse photos as well. It offers both standard and advanced time-lapse modes. The advanced modes are Bulb Ramping, Interval Ramping, Long Exposure and HDR (High Dynamic Range) time-lapse modes. These modes do not require the existence of the smartphone during the shooting. Once you have the parameters set and start the shooting, you can just use your smartphone for other purposes. Capsule360 benefits from your smartphone in every possible way, but it is also capable of doing many things by itself. Our user-friendly and cleverly designed mobile application lets you make all setup and configurations easily. You will not be bored with complex user interfaces and your motion setup will only take 10 seconds. Current modes in the app: Basic Timelapse Long Exposure Timelapse Bulb Ramping Timelapse Interval Ramping Timelapse HDR Timelapse Basic Video Follow Me (Face Tracking mode) Turntable Mode (360 degree product photography) Panorama (Includes multi row panorama) Remote Controlled Motion Star Tracker

Screenshots

PhotoPills4 screens
Capsule3604 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: PhotoPills at 85% against Capsule360's 14%. PhotoPills also leads on rating (4.7 vs 1.1) and ads (none vs shown). Capsule360's advantage is price (Free vs $10.99) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On update cadence, 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

Capsule360 is free to download; PhotoPills costs $10.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PhotoPills holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 1.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PhotoPills has 1.5K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of PhotoPills's written reviews are positive against 14% of Capsule360's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PhotoPills ships an update every 2 months, Capsule360 every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
PhotoPills versus Capsule360: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhotoPillsCapsule360
Price$10.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (1.5K ratings) — better1.1 (7 ratings)
Positive reviews84.9% of reviews — better14.3% of reviews
Number of ratings1.5K — better7
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
Best chart rank#14 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size41 MB75 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperPhotoPills S.L.ERON ELEKTRONIK BILGISAYAR VE YAZILIM SANAYI

Customer experience

PhotoPills

All ratings1,525 ratings
Positive92.5%
Neutral1.5%
Negative6.0%
Written reviews484 reviews
Positive84.9%
Neutral4.1%
Negative11.0%

Capsule360

All ratings7 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive14.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative85.7%

Bugs and requests

PhotoPills

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes when using depth of field calculator
  • Location settings not persisting between sessions
  • Milky Way position not aligning correctly

Requested features

5 requests
  • User guide in multiple languages
  • Improved integration with other apps
  • More customization options
  • Weather forecast integration
  • Apple Watch companion app

Capsule360

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

PhotoPills

No in-app purchases

None

Capsule360

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PhotoPills free?
PhotoPills costs $10.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Capsule360 free?
Capsule360 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PhotoPills or Capsule360?
PhotoPills is rated higher. PhotoPills averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while Capsule360 averages 1.1 from 7 ratings.
Do PhotoPills or Capsule360 have ads?
Capsule360 shows ads; PhotoPills does not.
Which is updated more often, PhotoPills or Capsule360?
PhotoPills ships an update every 2 months, and Capsule360 every 6 weeks. Most recently, PhotoPills was updated on November 6, 2026 and Capsule360 on November 3, 2026.

Other comparisons