Comparison

KeyLight PRO vs Light Meter Ultra

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

Head to head
About

KeyLight PRO

This app simplifies off-camera flash photography by providing calculators for optimal exposure settings. It helps photographers determine ISO, aperture, strobe power, and distance, removing guesswork for both beginners and advanced users. Manage multiple lighting setups and modifiers with its virtual gear bag.

Highlights
  • Exposure calculators (ISO, aperture, strobe power, distance)
  • Key Falloff calculator
  • Virtual Gear Bag for unlimited strobe configurations
  • Strobe Library with 100+ pre-loaded models
  • Support for various light modifiers
  • Save multiple setups
Features
Read full description

Shooting off-camera flash photography is challenging. Optimal exposure settings requires a knowledge of how to balance ISO sensitivity, aperture level, strobe power and strobe proximity to the subject. Because strobe power varies dramatically not only between manufacturers and models but also when external elements such as umbrellas, soft-boxes and lighting gels are used, quickly determining correct exposure settings can be challenging at best, and frustrating at the worst. KeyLight PRO removes all of this guesswork. Easy-to-use calculators quickly and clearly display optimal ISO levels, aperture settings, strobe power levels and strobe-to-subject distances in an intuitive, familiar interface. For the more advanced photographer, the Key Falloff calculator will calculate the proximity of the strobe from the subject in order to meet a desired exposure value falloff over a specific distance. For example, the area behind a subject is 10 feet away, should be 3 stops underexposed relative to the subject, and the strobe is firing at 1/4 power and the camera is at ISO 400. What should the aperture setting be on the camera? With KeyLight PRO, the answer is a tap away. How many strobes does KeyLight PRO support? The Virtual Gear Bag provides an unlimited number of strobe makes, models and settings, and the Strobe Library provides over 100 pre-loaded strobe model configurations. The Gear Bag is readily accessible on all of the calculators, providing quick, easy and accurate exposure settings when swapping between your strobes. Only using one strobe? Keep multiple "set ups" in your Gear Bag under a variety of configurations: bare bulbed, gelled, soft-boxed, umbrellaed, neutral-density filtered, wall-bounced, go-bo'd. There is no limit to the number of ways the light from a single strobe can be modified. Create as many configurations for these light modifiers as you need, and know in an instant how to most effectively utilize them. KeyLight PRO. Control the light.

About

Light Meter Ultra

This app provides precise light metering for film photography, eliminating the need for external hardware. It offers various metering modes and customizable profiles to ensure perfect exposures for manual cameras. Advanced features like reciprocity failure correction are available with a PRO plan.

Highlights
  • Aperture Priority Metering
  • Shutter Priority Metering
  • Exposure Priority Metering
  • Customizable ISO, Shutter Speed, Aperture
  • Exposure Compensation
  • Reciprocity Failure Correction
  • Custom Camera Profiles
Read full description

Fast, precise and easy to use. Get perfect exposures every time. No additional hardware required. Say goodbye to arcane Sunny 16. Figuring out the best exposure settings for your manual camera doesn’t have to be difficult. Light Meter Ultra for iPhone gives you the exact readings you need for your camera by simply pointing your device at the scene. Precise measurements mean you can dial in the perfect exposure settings for capturing the widest dynamic range, whilst customizable shooting profiles allow you to switch between settings with a single tap. Download now and take advantage of our free plan which includes our precision Aperture Priority metering mode, limited settings, and single-use shooting profiles. Or choose one of our PRO plans and gain access to everything the app has to offer, including our full suite of professional metering modes, quick-select reusable shooting profiles, plus advanced features such as reciprocity failure correction that you won't find elsewhere. Capture your creative vision with powerful features, including: - Aperture Priority Metering Mode - Shutter Priority Metering Mode* - Exposure Priority Metering Mode* - Stop increment selection of full, half or third stops* - Customizable ISO, Shutter Speed and Aperture ranges* - Exposure Compensation - Exposure Lock - Sample Offset - Custom Camera Profiles* - Detachable Lens Profiles* - Film/Emulsion Profiles* - Bulb-mode* - Reciprocity Failure Correction* *Features marked with an asterisk require an active PRO plan Download now and start metering on your iPhone today. Terms of Use: https://lightmeterultra.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://lightmeterultra.com/privacy

Screenshots

KeyLight PRO4 screens
Light Meter Ultra4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Light Meter Ultra at Free against KeyLight PRO's $0.99. Light Meter Ultra also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.0) and update cadence (every 8 days vs every 26 months). KeyLight PRO's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 6) and review sentiment (44% vs 36%). On ads 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

Light Meter Ultra is free to download; KeyLight PRO costs $0.99 up front. Light Meter Ultra sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per 7 days. KeyLight PRO asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Light Meter Ultra holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Light Meter Ultra has 738 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 44% of KeyLight PRO's written reviews are positive against 36% of Light Meter Ultra's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

KeyLight PRO ships an update every 26 months, Light Meter Ultra every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
KeyLight PRO versus Light Meter Ultra: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKeyLight PROLight Meter Ultra
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating4.0 (4 ratings)4.7 (738 ratings) — better
Positive reviews44.4% of reviews — better36.2% of reviews
Number of ratings4738 — better
Update frequencyEvery 26 monthsEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS10.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB81 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDaniel BrewerUltrafine

Customer experience

KeyLight PRO

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive44.4%
Neutral22.2%
Negative33.3%

Light Meter Ultra

All ratings738 ratings
Positive92.0%
Neutral2.4%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews69 reviews
Positive36.2%
Neutral10.1%
Negative53.6%

Bugs and requests

KeyLight PRO

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Light Meter Ultra

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Camera integration issues causing failed exposures
  • Inconsistent metering results compared to standalone meters

Requested features

4 requests
  • Offline mode for remote shooting
  • Wider aperture and shutter speed range
  • Support for more camera/film types
  • Customizable exposure bias/compensation

In-app purchases

None

KeyLight PRO

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Light Meter Ultra

Subscriptions3
  • Light Meter7 Days trial2 variants$7.997 Days
  • Light Meter2 variants$11.991 Month
  • Light Meter2 variants$39.991 Year

Questions

Is KeyLight PRO free?
KeyLight PRO costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Light Meter Ultra free?
Light Meter Ultra is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, KeyLight PRO or Light Meter Ultra?
Light Meter Ultra is rated higher. KeyLight PRO averages 4.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Light Meter Ultra averages 4.7 from 738 ratings.
Do KeyLight PRO or Light Meter Ultra have ads?
Neither KeyLight PRO nor Light Meter Ultra shows ads.
Which is updated more often, KeyLight PRO or Light Meter Ultra?
KeyLight PRO ships an update every 26 months, and Light Meter Ultra every 8 days. Most recently, KeyLight PRO was updated on September 23, 2026 and Light Meter Ultra on October 20, 2026.

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