Comparison

9am vs Better Camera

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

Head to head
About

9am

Capture and share photos with a unique disposable film aesthetic. A new shared album appears daily at 9 a.m. for you and your friends, but photos disappear if not saved.

Highlights
  • Disposable film photography emulation
  • Daily shared albums
  • Friend photo saving
  • Group photo sharing
  • Real film effects
Read full description

9am is a free-to-use social disposable photo app featuring real film photography emulation effects. Every day at 9 a.m., a shared album with all your friends is dropped. Make sure to save your photos and your friends' photos before they are gone. The app is better with a group of friends; invite your friends! Terms of Use: https://9amphoto.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://9amphoto.app/privacy

About

Better Camera

Capture authentic photos with manual controls for ISO, shutter speed, and focus. Apply realistic film simulations and optional grain. Save in HEIF, JPEG, or lossless TIFF formats with full EXIF data.

Highlights
  • Manual ISO, Shutter Speed, and Focus
  • Shutter and ISO Priority modes
  • Authentic film simulations
  • Optional per-pixel grain layer
  • HEIF, JPEG, and TIFF output
  • Full EXIF metadata embedding
  • Persistent camera settings
Features
Read full description

Camera, but better. No AI. No compromise. Better Camera is the iPhone camera app for photographers who want what they see. No scene detection rewriting your photo. No smart HDR flattening highlights. No AI denoise smoothing skin into plastic. Just manual ISO, shutter, focus, and white balance – plus film simulations that respect what light actually did. When the stock Camera isn't enough but pro tools are too much, Better Camera is the camera in between. Simple where it can be. Manual where it matters. Honest about what it captures. BUY FILM, NOT A SUBSCRIPTION Start with 12 free shots. When they run out, buy a 36-shot roll – or the whole camera once, and never think about it again. No countdown, no expiry, no renewal you forgot about. Film you own, the way film used to work. BUILT FOR THE WAY YOU ACTUALLY SHOOT – Manual ISO and Shutter Speed, plus Auto ISO and Auto Shutter – Shutter Priority and ISO Priority modes for flexible exposure control – Three focus modes: C-Auto across the frame, S-Auto locked to your point, and full Manual – Focus peaking highlights sharp edges as you focus by hand, in your choice of colour – Live histogram in the viewfinder, so you can see clipping before you press the shutter – Exposure compensation in third stops with a thumb-friendly stepper – Flash power compensation across five steps, for fill light that doesn't overpower – White balance presets (Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Tungsten, Fluorescent) plus full manual Kelvin control – Tap to focus in any mode, including Manual – Front camera with screen flash for low-light selfies EVERY LENS, INCLUDING MACRO All your iPhone's lenses in one row, from ultra wide to telephoto. On supported models a dedicated macro lens gets you close enough to fill the frame with something small. FILM, THE WAY IT SHOULD LOOK Ten carefully crafted film simulations modelled on real stocks photographers actually shoot. Each is a proper colour profile – authentic rendering of colour, contrast, and tonal response. Not a slapped-on filter. GRAIN, OPTIONAL A separate grain layer, with four intensity levels, that can be applied to any film simulation or to unfiltered photos. Rendered per-pixel through a Metal compute shader. The grain is monochromatic – a single noise value per pixel applied equally across colour channels – the way real film grain actually behaves. OUTPUT YOU CAN TRUST – HEIF for everyday shooting – JPEG for compatibility – Lossless TIFF for archival, post-processing, and when compression is not acceptable Full EXIF metadata embedded in every photo: exposure values, lens information, GPS, and the film simulation used. QUALITY OF LIFE – Camera settings persist between sessions – open the app and your setup is exactly where you left it, ready to shoot – On-screen rule-of-thirds grid and gravity-based level line – iPhone Camera Control support – Hardware shutter button (volume keys) – Launch from Lock Screen control – Designed for one-handed use BUILT BY A PHOTOGRAPHER Better Camera was made by a Fuji X-T5 and Ricoh GR shooter who wanted his iPhone to feel as deliberate as a real camera in his pocket. No AI. No filters pretending to be film. No menus inside menus. Just a camera, but better. Privacy Policy: https://bettercamera.app/privacy.html Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Instagram Community: https://www.instagram.com/better_camera/ Contact us: hey@bettercamera.app

Screenshots

9am4 screens
Better Camera4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: 9am at 100% against Better Camera's 67%. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. 9am sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per month and Better Camera sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

9am ships an update every 11 days, Better Camera every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
9am versus Better Camera: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter9amBetter Camera
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.5 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings—8 — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 daysEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.6 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size39 MB9 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperMatthew PaquetteDavyd Horhiashvili

Customer experience

9am

Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Better Camera

All ratings8 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

9am

Subscriptions1
  • 9am Pro - Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
4 purchases

Better Camera

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time2
  • Film Roll$2.99
  • Lifetime$59.99

Questions

Is 9am free?
9am is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Better Camera free?
Better Camera is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do 9am or Better Camera have ads?
Neither 9am nor Better Camera shows ads.
Which is updated more often, 9am or Better Camera?
9am ships an update every 11 days, and Better Camera every 9 days. Most recently, 9am was updated on October 30, 2026 and Better Camera on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons