Comparison

Lambda Photo vs Lumae

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

Head to head
About

Lambda Photo

This powerful photo editor allows you to create stunning images with advanced color correction and natural skin tone adjustments. Unlock all features and import/export options with a subscription plan. Experience professional-grade image manipulation on your device.

Highlights
  • Advanced color panel
  • Natural skin tone enhancement
  • Import and export features
  • Professional-grade editing
  • Cross-device image generation
Features
Read full description

Lambda Photo is a professional color-grading editor for iPhone and iPad. Open JPEG, HEIC, or RAW, work with a live preview, and export a photo you can be proud of — including HDR HEIC that looks right on an HDR display and still holds up on SDR. Built for light, color, and skin. Exposure, Subject Exposure, and Relight give you control after the shot. HSL, curves, film looks, and .cube LUTs put color back in the image without pushing skin off-natural. Finish with subject, sky, and background masks, linear and radial grades, bokeh, grain, and Golden Hour. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Light: exposure, highlights, shadows, HDR, relight, subject exposure • Color: HSL, curves, temperature, vibrance, split tone, LUT import • Detail: sharpen, denoise, Ultra Denoise, texture, clarity • Finish: subject / sky / background, brush, linear, radial, bokeh, vignette • Looks: profiles, film, presets — plus your own .cube LUT or .dcp • Portrait: skin, eyes, teeth — edge-aware, on device • Batch export and edit from Photos or the share sheet • Formats: JPEG, HEIC, RAW, PNG, JPEG XL Everything runs on your device. No account required. Lambda Photo is free to edit; an optional auto-renewing Monthly Subscription removes ads after you save. SUBSCRIPTIONS Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. The Monthly Subscription renews automatically unless you turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions. Unused portions of a free trial, if offered, are forfeited when you purchase. Privacy Policy: https://lambdaindustriesglobal.com/privacy-policy/ Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Lumae

Features
Read full description

Lumae is a lightweight LUT studio for creators who want a faster way to preview, adjust, and export color looks without opening a full video editor. Import photos, Live Photos, or videos, choose the source profile, convert to a working Log space, apply creative .cube LUTs, adjust intensity and exposure, compare before and after, then export. Lumae is designed for camera-aware color workflows, including Apple Log, Sony S-Log, Canon Log, Nikon N-Log, Panasonic V-Log, DJI D-Log, Leica L-Log, Rec.709, and more. Key features * Import photos, Live Photos, and videos * Choose source profiles for Log and standard footage * Convert to F-Log2 or ARRI LogC4 working space * Apply built-in and imported .cube LUTs * Import .cube LUT files and LUT packages * Adjust look intensity and exposure * Compare before and after * Save edit history locally * Export processed photos, videos, Live Photos, or GIFs where supported Free version The free version includes basic editing, up to 5 imported LUTs, and 720P video export. Full Unlock A one-time Full Unlock purchase gives you access to all premium features, including unlimited LUT imports, high-quality rendering, video color grading, batch export, and high-resolution video export. Local-first workflow Lumae processes your media and LUTs on device by default. Your photos, videos, Live Photos, and LUT files are not uploaded to a cloud service.

Screenshots

Lambda Photo4 screens
Lumae4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Lumae at none against Lambda Photo's shown. On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support 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. Lambda Photo sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $2.99 per month and Lumae sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lambda Photo ships an update fortnightly, Lumae every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Lambda Photo versus Lumae: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLambda PhotoLumae
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 9 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscription—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size174 MB34 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLambda IndustriesZHICHENG CHU

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Lambda Photo

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly Subscription$2.991 Month
1 purchases

Lumae

One-time1
  • Lumae Full Unlock$5.99

Questions

Is Lambda Photo free?
Lambda Photo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lumae free?
Lumae is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Lambda Photo or Lumae have ads?
Lambda Photo shows ads; Lumae does not.
Which is updated more often, Lambda Photo or Lumae?
Lambda Photo ships an update fortnightly, and Lumae every 9 days. Most recently, Lambda Photo was updated on October 17, 2026 and Lumae on October 24, 2026.

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