Comparison

PhotoPills vs DWARFLAB

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

DWARFLAB

This app connects wirelessly to a smart telescope, offering intuitive control for capturing stunning images of the night sky and dynamic terrestrial scenes. It features automatic tracking, in-app image processing, and panorama creation for both astrophotography and everyday use.

Highlights
  • Wireless telescope connection
  • In-built star atlas for astrophotography
  • Automatic celestial and motion tracking
  • In-app image stacking and post-processing
  • Gigapixel panorama creation
  • Time-lapse photography
Features
Read full description

DWARFLAB smart telescope, empowered by advanced technology, opens up a world of diverse perspectives for users, capturing the wonders of life. No guidance or experience needed, it's ready to use out of the box. Wireless Connection Use the App to connect wirelessly with DWARFLAB smart telescope, enabling not only precise control but also making the shooting process more flexible and efficient. Astrophotography The App features an in-built star atlas, allowing you to simply tap on the celestial you desire to proceed with automatic star tracking and enjoy real-time image stacking. You can also adjust the astro curves and personalize the color grading to create your own 4K astronomical images. In-App Post Processing Capture, select, stack, and enhance — all in one seamless workflow for astrophotography. Supports both onboard stacking and cloud-based processing, with multi-format export options to make every astro image crisp and brilliant. Motion Tracking You can freely select the target to track on the shooting interface, enjoying the flexibility of manual selection; or you can use the telescope's automatic recognition function, which intelligently identifies tracks, and starts recordings, easily capturing dynamic scenes such as bird predation, flights, and sports close-ups. Gigapixel Panorama Simply set the shooting range and tap to start — with one-click stitching, you can create extremely detailed and vast panoramic images, supporting deep zoom and experiencing an unprecedented level of detail richness. Time-Lapse Photography Capture the flow and changes of time, recording the hustle and bustle of traffic, the blooming and wilting of flowers. Combined with astronomical tracking functions, it can also record the trajectory of the sun, solar/lunar eclipses, and the star trails.

Screenshots

PhotoPills4 screens
DWARFLAB4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: PhotoPills at 85% against DWARFLAB's 36%. PhotoPills also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.5) and ratings volume (1.5K vs 145). DWARFLAB's advantage is price (Free vs $10.99). On update cadence, 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

DWARFLAB 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 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PhotoPills has 1.5K ratings behind it against 145, 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 36% of DWARFLAB's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PhotoPills ships an update every 2 months, DWARFLAB every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
PhotoPills versus DWARFLAB: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhotoPillsDWARFLAB
Price$10.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (1.5K ratings) — better3.5 (145 ratings)
Positive reviews84.9% of reviews — better36.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1.5K — better145
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#12 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015
Further details — not scored
Size41 MB219 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperPhotoPills S.L.Tinyphoton (Wuhan) Technology. Co., Ltd.

Customer experience

PhotoPills

All ratings1,525 ratings
Positive92.5%
Neutral1.5%
Negative6.0%
Written reviews482 reviews
Positive84.9%
Neutral4.1%
Negative11.0%

DWARFLAB

All ratings143 ratings
Positive60.1%
Neutral7.7%
Negative32.2%
Written reviews114 reviews
Positive36.0%
Neutral21.1%
Negative43.0%

User reviews

PhotoPills

From 1.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Comprehensive planning tools
  • 🚀 Powerful features for astrophotography
  • 💡 Excellent tutorials and support
  • 🌟 Indispensable for photographers
  • ⭐ Incredible value for money

Room to improve

  • 🤔 Steep learning curve
  • 🤯 Overwhelming complexity
  • 🤖 Confusing user interface
  • 🔋 Battery drain issues
  • 🗺️ Inaccurate location tracking

DWARFLAB

From 145 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 📸 High-quality astrophotography results
  • 💰 Excellent value for price
  • 🎯 Intuitive sky atlas and target selection
  • 🔄 Frequent app updates and improvements
  • ⚡ Responsive developer team

Room to improve

  • 🔌 Persistent WiFi connectivity issues
  • ⏱️ Slow connection establishment (15-30 minutes)
  • 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezes
  • 📉 Tracking frame drops (25% loss reported)
  • 🔄 Connection drops after minutes

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

DWARFLAB

Reported bugs

21 issues
  • WiFi connection fails repeatedly or drops within seconds
  • App crashes on iOS 18 and older iOS versions
  • Account creation security verification fails
  • Full-screen mode freezes with no escape option
  • Autofocus produces inconsistent or blurry results
Show 16 more
  • Manual focus unresponsive
  • Tracking takes excessive time to initiate
  • Dark frame calibration lines appear and ruin images
  • Temperature-related calibration failures
  • Settings reset to defaults after stacking
  • IR Cut/Pass filter constantly resets to Pass mode
  • Photo saving to album is inconsistent (hit or miss)
  • App freezes when changing camera systems
  • Inverted controls and flipped image display
  • Battery icon obscures capacity readout on iPhone
  • STA mode connectivity broken
  • Firmware update errors prevent connection
  • Image preview not displaying in app
  • Joystick controls unresponsive intermittently
  • Wide and telephoto lens menu settings reversed
  • App incompatible with iOS versions below 15

Requested features

13 requests
  • One-tap return to home and power off function
  • Panorama/mosaic image merging capability
  • Comet-aligned tracking mode
  • Dew control for iOS (available on Android)
  • iPad-optimized app version
Show 8 more
  • Histogram display in app
  • Burst mode functionality
  • External Barlow lens support
  • Mac M-series silicon compatibility
  • Ability to skip firmware updates until convenient time
  • Milky Way capture documentation for Dwarf Mini
  • Photo album integration improvements
  • STA mode WiFi connectivity fix

In-app purchases

None

PhotoPills

No in-app purchases

None

DWARFLAB

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PhotoPills free?
PhotoPills costs $10.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is DWARFLAB free?
DWARFLAB is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PhotoPills or DWARFLAB?
PhotoPills is rated higher. PhotoPills averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while DWARFLAB averages 3.5 from 145 ratings.
Do PhotoPills or DWARFLAB have ads?
Neither PhotoPills nor DWARFLAB shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PhotoPills or DWARFLAB?
PhotoPills ships an update every 2 months, and DWARFLAB every 5 weeks. Most recently, PhotoPills was updated on November 1, 2026 and DWARFLAB on October 30, 2026.

Other comparisons