Comparison

ColorDev Timer vs Film Development Assistant

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

Head to head
About

ColorDev Timer

Features
Read full description

ColorDev Timer is designed for analog photographers developing color film (C-41) who want a clear, reliable, and distraction-free workflow. Choose your development kit, enter the total chemistry volume, how many rolls have already been processed, and whether you’re pushing or pulling film. The app calculates the timings and guides you through each development phase with a clear, lab-friendly timer. All development phases are listed with their individual durations, and the current phase is clearly highlighted. You can start any phase with a single tap and reset the entire process whenever needed. ColorDev Timer also tracks chemical usage, helping you know when your chemistry is approaching its recommended limits. Key features: • Phase-based development timer • Push / pull support • Development kit and volume selection • Roll usage tracking • Clean interface suitable for darkroom use • Designed for real analog workflows • App for Apple Watch No ads. No accounts. No clutter. Just analog photography.

About

Film Development Assistant

This app helps amateur photographers track their film development chemicals and sessions. It monitors chemical batch expiration, usage, and provides multi-stage timers for development processes. Users can also record notes on session quality for future reference.

Highlights
  • Chemical batch tracking
  • Expiration date monitoring
  • Session tracking
  • Multi-stage development timers
  • Chemical usage calculation
  • Session notes and quality tracking
Features
Read full description

Film Development Assistant provides advanced features for every at-home photographic film developer! Reduce your risk of development issues by keeping track of your chemical batches and development sessions in the app. Our ever-evolving database of home development chemicals makes it easy to track the expiration dates of your mixed chemical batches based on the suggested shelf life from the manufacturer. Once you have your chemicals mixed, you can create sessions to track how many rolls/sheets of film you are developing, and the app will track the chemical usage for you so that you don't forget how much chemical capacity you have remaining! The visual progress indicators for your chemical batch freshness are a very useful tool for keeping track of your chemicals and making sure you either use them before expiration, or prevent yourself from using already expired or depleted chemicals. With each session, you can open a multi-stage timer to track the time for each stage of development. No more creating different timers by hand with the default timer app on your phone! And if you associate an existing chemical batch with each stage, the app will automatically adjust the development times of those stages based on the previous usage of your chemicals (or you can adjust the times manually). When you finish your sessions, you can take notes about how your session went so that you can learn from your home development process over time. You can keep track of the quality of the session and add your own notes to reference later.

Screenshots

ColorDev Timer4 screens
Film Development Assistant3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: ColorDev Timer at every 4 months against Film Development Assistant's every 10 months. ColorDev Timer also leads on device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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. ColorDev Timer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Film Development Assistant sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ColorDev Timer ships an update every 4 months, Film Development Assistant every 10 months. The most recent releases landed on September 7, 2026 and August 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
ColorDev Timer versus Film Development Assistant: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterColorDev TimerFilm Development Assistant
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—3 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 months — betterEvery 10 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAngel David RodriguezZachary Burns

In-app purchases

1 purchases

ColorDev Timer

One-time1
  • Buy me a coffee$2.99
2 purchases

Film Development Assistant

One-time2
  • 7 Day Free TrialFree
  • Film Development Assistant Pro$4.99

Questions

Is ColorDev Timer free?
ColorDev Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Film Development Assistant free?
Film Development Assistant is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do ColorDev Timer or Film Development Assistant have ads?
Neither ColorDev Timer nor Film Development Assistant shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ColorDev Timer or Film Development Assistant?
ColorDev Timer ships an update every 4 months, and Film Development Assistant every 10 months. Most recently, ColorDev Timer was updated on September 7, 2026 and Film Development Assistant on August 9, 2026.

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