Comparison

PhotoPills vs +Frames

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

+Frames

This app helps astrophotographers plan their shots by providing a sky atlas, equipment-specific target recommendations, and field-of-view previews. It also offers an AI assistant for personalized advice and project tracking for deep-sky objects.

Highlights
  • Sky atlas with millions of stars and deep-sky objects
  • Ranked target recommendations based on equipment and sky conditions
  • True field-of-view preview for cameras and eyepieces
  • Mosaic planning up to 4x4
  • Project tracking for exposures and filters
  • AI assistant for personalized astrophotography advice
  • Augmented Reality (AR) mode for target location
Read full description

Clear night ahead? +Frames tells you what to shoot - and how to shoot it. THE ATLAS The whole sky in your pocket: ~12 million stars down to magnitude 14, 8,800 deep-sky objects, Sun, Moon and planets, asteroids, comets and 16,000 satellites moving live. Real astrophotos lie on the map, galaxies are drawn with their true orientation, and every object opens a card with the numbers that matter tonight. TONIGHT'S TARGETS, RANKED The Night tab scores every object for YOUR equipment, YOUR sky and YOUR horizon: altitude, moon distance, usable dark window, field-of-view fit. Grade A to E - the best target for tonight is always on top. FRAME IT True field-of-view preview for your camera or eyepiece. Rotate the frame, plan mosaics up to 4×4, check the sampling. An 8-sector horizon profile per site keeps trees and rooftops out of your plans. PROJECTS Track every target over nights: subs, exposure, gain, filter by filter. Camera angle and position are saved with the project and restored when you return. Export the plan in ASIAIR format. ASTRO BUDDY Your AI assistant knows your gear, your site and tonight's sky. Ask what to shoot, why a filter fits, how long to expose — computed from your sensor, your Bortle sky and the Moon. Type "I have a ZWO ASI2600MC" and he looks it up and saves it to your gear. AND MORE - Plate solving puts your own photos on the atlas - AR mode shows where a target sits in your real sky - Red night mode protects your dark adaptation - Calendar with moon phases and events, searchable up to 2050 - Works offline; no account, your data stays on your device (private iCloud backup) +Frames Premium unlocks the whole app - 7-day free trial. Languages: EN, DE, FR, ES, IT, PT, JA, KO, ZH, UK, RU, PL, TR. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ App terms: https://plus-frames.com/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://plus-frames.com/privacy.html

Screenshots

PhotoPills4 screens
+Frames4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: +Frames at Free against PhotoPills's $10.99. +Frames also leads on update cadence (every 8 days vs every 2 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). PhotoPills's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (1.5K vs 1). On ads, monetization model 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

+Frames is free to download; PhotoPills costs $10.99 up front. +Frames sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. PhotoPills asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

+Frames holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PhotoPills has 1.5K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PhotoPills ships an update every 2 months, +Frames every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
PhotoPills versus +Frames: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhotoPills+Frames
Price$10.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (1.5K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews84.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.5K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
Best chart rank#8 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size41 MB743 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperPhotoPills S.L.LEVIN GIDEON MERANER

Customer experience

PhotoPills

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

+Frames

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

+Frames

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

PhotoPills

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

+Frames

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year

Questions

Is PhotoPills free?
PhotoPills costs $10.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is +Frames free?
+Frames is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PhotoPills or +Frames?
+Frames is rated higher. PhotoPills averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while +Frames averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do PhotoPills or +Frames have ads?
Neither PhotoPills nor +Frames shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PhotoPills or +Frames?
PhotoPills ships an update every 2 months, and +Frames every 8 days. Most recently, PhotoPills was updated on October 20, 2026 and +Frames on October 12, 2026.

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