Halationify vs Frames
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Halationify
Add realistic analog halations to your digital photos for a nostalgic film aesthetic. This app offers precise control over light-bleed effects, transforming images with dreamy warmth. It's designed for photographers, creators, and visual artists seeking authentic analog looks.
- Instant halation effects
- One-time in-app purchase for lifetime access
- Full control over tonality, size, and intensity
- Easy-to-use interface
- Set custom defaults
- Persistent settings
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Discover the magic of film photography with Halationify, a photo editing app that brings authentic analog halations to your digital images. Those dreamy, glowing red spots that define the nostalgic film aesthetic are now at your fingertips. Transform your digital photos with just a few taps. Simply import an image you have already applied a film-like edit to and instantly add halations that capture the ethereal quality of classic motion picture film stocks. Our advanced processing pipeline gives you unprecedented control, allowing you to recreate the subtle light-bleed effects that professional cinematographers and photographers have long cherished. Whether you're a photography enthusiast, social media creator, or visual artist, Halationify makes it incredibly simple to transform your images with dreamy analog warmth. Key Features: - Instant halation effects - NO SUBSCRIPTION! (yeah we’re sick of subscriptions too) - One time in-app purchase for lifetime access - Full control over the effect including tonality, size, intensity, and effected parts of the image - Easy-to-use interface (it doesn’t get much simpler than this) - Set your own defaults for maximum efficiency when editing - Persistent Settings: Your editing preferences stay consistent across multiple images - Perfect for photographers, creators, and creative visual storytellers By Polychrome - We bring the soul of analog film to the digital world. We are a very small team consisting of three students, please consider purchasing Halationify Premium if you want to support us. We have big plans for more photography focused apps in the future.
Frames
Organize your entire photo library with intelligent tagging and powerful editing tools. All processing happens directly on your device, ensuring your privacy. Discover, edit, and perfect your images without leaving the app.
- AI-powered photo tagging
- On-device face recognition
- Smart, synonym-aware search
- Advanced photo editing tools
- RAW image development
- Film looks and framing
- Privacy-focused design
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Frames turns your camera roll into a library you can actually search, and an editor you can actually work in. Everything happens on your device. Your photos never leave your phone. ORGANIZED THE MOMENT YOU OPEN IT Frames reads your library and tags what's in your photos, so you can finally find things: • Search by place, color, subject, and the people in the shot • Faces are recognized on device and gathered into albums you name • Smart, synonym-aware search: look for "dog" and find the labradoodle • Filter by date, location, camera, and more A REAL EDITOR, RIGHT ON TOP OF YOUR LIBRARY No importing, no round-trips. Open any photo and go: • Exposure, color, curves, and HSL with granular control • AI masks: select the subject, the sky, or any color or luminance range • RAW develop with highlight recovery and extended dynamic range • Film look, grain, color grade, and clean white-border framing • Save in-place in your library, or export as a new copy PRIVATE BY DESIGN All tagging, face grouping, and editing runs on your device. There's no cloud, no account, and no tracking. Your library stays yours. TRY EVERYTHING FREE Start with a 14-day free trial of the full editor — no card, no subscription required to try it. After that, Frames Pro unlocks the complete toolset: • Monthly subscription, or • A lifetime license - yours forever with no strings attached Frames is built for people who care how their photos look and where they live. Shoot it, find it, finish it. All in one place. — Frames Pro is a monthly auto-renewing subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase. The monthly subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://tyhaven.github.io/frames-privacy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Frames at 100% against Halationify's 50%. Frames also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.5) and ratings volume (9 vs 2). Halationify's advantage is update cadence (daily vs weekly) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). 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
Both are free to download. Halationify sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Frames sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Frames holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 9 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Halationify's written reviews are positive against 100% of Frames's.
Halationify ships an update daily, Frames weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Halationify | Frames |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (2 ratings) | 4.7 (9 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 9 — better |
| Update frequency | Daily — better | Weekly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 32 MB | 226 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Polychrome | TYLER ANDREW HAVEN |
Customer experience
Halationify
Frames
In-app purchases
Halationify
- Halationify Premium$7.99
Frames
- 1 month subscription$3.991 Month
- Lifetime license$19.99
Questions
Is Halationify free?
Is Frames free?
Which has better reviews, Halationify or Frames?
Do Halationify or Frames have ads?
Which is updated more often, Halationify or Frames?
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