Comparison

PhotoPills vs Lume Control

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

Lume Control

Control your Lume Cube lighting directly from your smartphone. Adjust brightness, temperature, color, and effects. Access tutorials and inspiration to enhance your creative projects.

Highlights
  • Smartphone lighting control panel
  • Adjust brightness, temperature, color
  • Light grouping
  • Special effects control
  • Built-in tutorials
  • How-to videos
  • Inspirational content
Features
Read full description

Maximize the potential of your Lume Cube lighting with the help of the Lume Control App. This intuitive app turns your smartphone into a convenient and portable lighting control panel accessible right at your fingertips. Easily adjust your settings, like brightness, temperature, color, light grouping, special effects, and more. The Lume Control app is more of a resource than ever, with built-in tutorials, how-to-videos, and inspirational content to help you bring your next creation to light.

Screenshots

PhotoPills4 screens
Lume Control4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Lume Control at Free against PhotoPills's $10.99. Lume Control also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 2 months). PhotoPills's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 3.0) and review sentiment (85% vs 50%). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

Lume Control 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 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PhotoPills has 1.5K ratings behind it against 22, 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 50% of Lume Control's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PhotoPills ships an update every 2 months, Lume Control monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and July 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
PhotoPills versus Lume Control: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhotoPillsLume Control
Price$10.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (1.5K ratings) — better3.0 (22 ratings)
Positive reviews84.9% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1.5K — better22
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#5 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size41 MB16 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperPhotoPills S.L.Kelly Mondora

Customer experience

PhotoPills

All ratings1,525 ratings
Positive92.5%
Neutral1.5%
Negative6.0%
Written reviews478 reviews
Positive84.9%
Neutral4.0%
Negative11.1%

Lume Control

All ratings18 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

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

Lume Control

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

PhotoPills

No in-app purchases

None

Lume Control

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PhotoPills free?
PhotoPills costs $10.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Lume Control free?
Lume Control is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PhotoPills or Lume Control?
PhotoPills is rated higher. PhotoPills averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while Lume Control averages 3.0 from 22 ratings.
Do PhotoPills or Lume Control have ads?
Neither PhotoPills nor Lume Control shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PhotoPills or Lume Control?
PhotoPills ships an update every 2 months, and Lume Control monthly. Most recently, PhotoPills was updated on September 23, 2026 and Lume Control on July 5, 2026.

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