Comparison

Light Stack Camera vs Astrosimo

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

Head to head
About

Light Stack Camera

Capture incredibly sharp long exposure photos without a tripod. Advanced AI stabilization allows for handheld shots up to 30 seconds, providing natural-looking results. Unique features like true-to-motion preview and customizable failure responses ensure control and prevent ruined shots.

Highlights
  • AI-stabilized long exposures
  • Handheld shooting up to 30 seconds
  • True-to-motion live preview
  • Customizable failure response options
  • Full-resolution image pipeline
Features
Read full description

Capture sharp long exposures — no tripod required. With advanced AI stabilization, Light Stack lets you shoot handheld for up to 30 seconds — with consistently sharp, natural-looking results. To help you stay steady and in control, Light Stack offers some unique features: • True-to-Motion Preview: The live preview moves naturally with your hands, giving you intuitive feedback that helps you stay steady. No more fighting to keep a crosshair centered. • Failure Response: If motion tracking is lost, you choose what happens: temporarily pause the exposure, end it cleanly, or keep going without stabilization. No surprises, and no ruined shots when things don’t go as planned. • Full-Resolution Pipeline: Light Stack maintains full resolution from capture to final image. No cropping, and no upscaling to cover it up. Try it free and experience the convenience of Light Stack. --- Terms of Service: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Astrosimo

Plan, align, and capture stunning night sky photos with recommended settings and automatic processing. Explore celestial objects and enhance your astrophotography with advanced features.

Highlights
  • Night sky planning and alignment
  • Recommended capture settings
  • Automatic star focus
  • Live view target alignment
  • Automatic stacking and processing
  • Celestial object catalog
Read full description

Astrosimo helps you plan, align, and capture the night sky on iPhone. Choose the Moon, star fields, clusters, nebulae, or galaxies. Capture prepares recommended settings and displays live target alignment over the viewfinder. The catalog includes Messier objects, showpiece deep-sky targets, the Moon, and planets. Planet guidance is for locating and composition; detailed planet images require added optics. Tonight ranks phone-suitable targets using the selected night, location, weather, and moonlight. It does not recommend planets for automatic phone capture. Free includes three successful automatic captures total, recommended settings, automatic star focus, target alignment, automatic stacking with a live view, automatic gradient removal and stretch, and photos saved to Photos at up to 2200 px on the long side. Trails and Time-lapse sessions run for 5 or 10 minutes. Tonight, the Library, capture settings and an exposure histogram on every photo are included. Pro includes unlimited astrophotography and keeps capture automatic, with linear RAW stacking on supported cameras and output up to 4096 px on the long side. Manual controls are optional. Pro also adds exposure, ISO, focus with a loupe, white balance, frame count and stacking choices, optional dark frames, adjustable finishing, 16-bit TIFF export, Trails and Time-lapse sessions up to 30 minutes, and photo verification. Annual and monthly plans unlock the same features. No trial or introductory offer. Free captures use a dedicated private iCloud allowance, independent of Library or Photos deletion. Precise location is used only for live planning and alignment. Saved records use approximate location. All image processing happens on the iPhone. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Light Stack Camera3 screens
Astrosimo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Astrosimo at 100% against Light Stack Camera's 73%. Astrosimo also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and update cadence (every 3 days vs weekly). Light Stack Camera's advantage is ratings volume (28 vs 1) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 27.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Both are free to download. Light Stack Camera sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Astrosimo sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Astrosimo holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Light Stack Camera has 28 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of Light Stack Camera's written reviews are positive against 100% of Astrosimo's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Light Stack Camera ships an update weekly, Astrosimo every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Light Stack Camera versus Astrosimo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLight Stack CameraAstrosimo
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (28 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews73.1% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings28 — better1
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better27.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB26 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCogitap SoftwareJoseph Simo

Customer experience

Light Stack Camera

All ratings28 ratings
Positive92.9%
Neutral3.6%
Negative3.6%
Written reviews26 reviews
Positive73.1%
Neutral3.8%
Negative23.1%

Astrosimo

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Light Stack Camera

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription$4.991 Month
  • Yearly Subscription7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Access$34.99
2 purchases

Astrosimo

Subscriptions2
  • Astrosimo Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Astrosimo Pro Annual$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Light Stack Camera free?
Light Stack Camera is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Astrosimo free?
Astrosimo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Light Stack Camera or Astrosimo?
Astrosimo is rated higher. Light Stack Camera averages 4.7 out of 5 from 28 ratings, while Astrosimo averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Light Stack Camera or Astrosimo have ads?
Neither Light Stack Camera nor Astrosimo shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Light Stack Camera or Astrosimo?
Light Stack Camera ships an update weekly, and Astrosimo every 3 days. Most recently, Light Stack Camera was updated on October 6, 2026 and Astrosimo on September 29, 2026.

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