Simulon vs ILW Light Mapper
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Simulon
Bring your imagination to life by placing custom or real-world objects into augmented reality. Create lifelike images and videos by describing actions, with no animation experience required. Develop ideas or share your creations with the world.
- Create from words, photos, or designs
- Clone real-world objects
- Place subjects in augmented reality
- Direct video action with descriptions
- Personal subject library
- AI rendering for lifelike scenes
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Simulon. The camera for your imagination. Bring imagined characters, real objects and your own designs into the world around you. Compose with your camera, capture a lifelike image and turn it into a video by describing what happens next. No 3D or animation experience needed. CREATE FROM AN IDEA Start with words, a photo or your own design. Turn a sketch into a character or take a concept off the page and into a real setting. CLONE REALITY Create from photos of something real, whether it's your pet, a favourite car or a sculpture. Keep its familiar look or imagine something different. Give your pet a new outfit, shrink a car onto your desk or bring a statue to life. MAKE THE WORLD YOUR SET Place your subject in augmented reality. Adjust its size and position, then move around to find your angle. AI rendering brings it into the scene with lifelike lighting, shadows and reflections. DIRECT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT Describe how your subject moves and what happens in the scene to create a video. From a small gesture to an unexpected adventure, you direct the action without animating by hand. Keep your subjects in a personal library and return to them in new locations and new stories. Make something just for fun, develop an idea or create something to share with the world. GET STARTED Try Simulon with starter assets and included free usage. Creating custom assets requires a paid plan. Simulon Plus and Pro offer additional features and monthly usage. Usage limits apply. Shape reality.
ILW Light Mapper
Transform sculptures with animated light using this projection mapping tool. Import your videos or use the built-in library to calibrate and apply visuals. Features include multiple grids, corner offsets, and warp painting for precise alignment and dynamic effects.
- Video Import (.mp4 / H.264)
- Downloadable Artwork Library
- Multiple Grids
- Corner Offsets & Global Offset Control
- Global Warp Painting Tool
- Per Grid Masking
- Timeline Scrubbing
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LightMapper is a beginner-friendly projection mapping tool designed for artists, creators, and anyone exploring light-based art. Select from a library of artwork or import your own videos, calibrate your projection with intuitive controls, and transform any surface with animated light. You can save your setups so everything is ready exactly how you left it each time you return. LightMapper includes a growing library of downloadable visuals, with new artwork added over time. FEATURES CONTENT & LIBRARY • Import your own videos (.mp4 / H.264) • Browse and download projection visuals directly in the app SETUP & CALIBRATION • Multiple grids for complex projection setups • Four-point corner adjustment for precise alignment • Global offset control for quick positioning • Scale and rotation touch controls CREATIVE TOOLS • Warp Painting – apply localized distortion to match surfaces • Masking – additive and subtractive masking tools (use shapes or import images) • Color Controls – adjust hue, saturation, and brightness (per-grid or global) • Speed Controls – slow down or speed up visuals (per-grid or global) • Transparent Backgrounds – set black to be transparent for layering (per-grid or global) WORKFLOW & CONTROL • Simple two-step process • Timeline scrubbing for video playback (per-grid or global) • Undo support while editing • Grid overlay for alignment PROJECT MANAGEMENT • Multiple save slots — create, rename, duplicate, and delete your setups • Easily switch between saved projects PERFORMANCE & SETTINGS • Edge smoothing toggle for softer or sharper visuals • Video quality control for performance vs resolution INTERFACE • Clean, sci-fi inspired UI designed for creative workflows
Screenshots
Verdict
Simulon and ILW Light Mapper both sit at 4.2 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of ILW Light Mapper's written reviews are positive against 65% of Simulon's. ILW Light Mapper also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). Simulon's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 6 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, rating, 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
Both are free to download. Simulon sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month and ILW Light Mapper sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.2 for Simulon against 4.3 for ILW Light Mapper. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Simulon has 36 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 65% of Simulon's written reviews are positive against 100% of ILW Light Mapper's.
Simulon ships an update every 6 days, ILW Light Mapper every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Simulon | ILW Light Mapper |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (36 ratings) | 4.3 (7 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 65.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 36 — better | 7 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 days — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 68 MB | 364 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Simulon | Stuart Griese |
Customer experience
Simulon
ILW Light Mapper
In-app purchases
Simulon
- Plus$14.991 Month
- Lite7 Days trial$15.001 Month
- Plus7 Days trial$24.991 Month
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- Core$29.001 Month
- Pro$39.991 Month
- Pro7 Days trial$55.001 Month
- Studio$200.001 Month
- Plus7 Days trial$239.001 Year
- 1,000 credits$18.99
- 1,000 credits$19.99
ILW Light Mapper
- Support Development$2.99
- Organics$5.99
- Support Development$9.99
Questions
Is Simulon free?
Is ILW Light Mapper free?
Which has better reviews, Simulon or ILW Light Mapper?
Do Simulon or ILW Light Mapper have ads?
Which is updated more often, Simulon or ILW Light Mapper?
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