Comparison

LikeThis vs Backdrop

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

Head to head
About

LikeThis

Easily recreate photos by using a reference image as a transparent overlay on your live camera. Perfect for capturing the exact same pose, angle, and spot as a previous shot, ensuring perfect alignment for comparisons or recreating memories.

Highlights
  • Photo overlay ghost on live camera
  • Outline mode for visibility
  • Pose and spot ideas
  • Self-timer
  • Front camera and zoom
  • Cropped to reference shape
  • Before/after slider and share card
Features
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Asking your boyfriend for one photo? Torture. So flip it: take HIS photo first, the way you want yours. He opens it in LikeThis and it shows as a see-through ghost on his camera. You stand where he stood, he lines it up and takes yours. Same spot, same angle, same height. HOW IT WORKS 1. Take his photo first, the way you want yours: the spot, the angle, the height. Or pick any photo you love: a saved pin, a pose, an old photo. 2. He opens it in LikeThis. It shows as a see-through ghost over his live camera. 3. You stand where he stood. He moves until you sit on the ghost and the background lines up, then he takes the shot. He does not need to learn photography or your angles. He copies what he sees on the screen. IN THE CAMERA - Ghost: your photo over the live camera. Slide it from faint to strong. - Outline: show only the edges, so a busy spot stays easy to see. - Ideas: poses and spots with a one-line tip each, couple ideas included. - Self-timer, so you can both be in the shot. - Front camera and zoom. - Every shot is cropped to the shape of the reference, so the two photos line up. - Before and after slider, and a share card with both photos side by side. IT ALSO WORKS FOR - A pose or an angle you saw online. - An old family photo, recreated years later in the same spot. - Progress photos that line up month after month. NO AI. YOUR PHOTOS STAY ON YOUR DEVICE LikeThis does not generate or edit photos with AI. He takes a real photo with the real camera. The ghost, the crop and the before and after are made on your iPhone or iPad. We do not upload your photos. No account needed. LIKETHIS PRO LikeThis is free to download. Taking photos needs LikeThis Pro. Choose a weekly or yearly subscription, or a one-time lifetime purchase. The weekly and yearly plans start with a 3-day free trial for eligible users. SUBSCRIPTION TERMS Payment is charged to your Apple ID account when you confirm the purchase, or when the free trial ends. The subscription renews automatically unless you cancel it at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription in Settings > your name > Subscriptions. If you buy a subscription during a free trial, the unused part of the trial ends. The lifetime purchase is a one-time payment and does not renew. Terms of Use: https://getlikethis.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://getlikethis.app/privacy Questions: support@sproutllc.com

About

Backdrop

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Pick a Look and the camera changes. Point it at a street and the street is already painted in oil, or broken into dots, or drawn by hand. You are not previewing a filter. That is the picture, and the shutter keeps it. THE LOOKS Brush. Painted stroke by stroke, coarse to fine, as you move. Mosaic. Rebuilt from its own colours. Cells split where there is detail. Drawn. The world drawn instead of photographed. Flat colour, inked lines. Matter. The picture as a field of grains that drift and settle. Fur. Combed strands that follow what the camera sees. Dither. Tone traded for dots on one fixed grid, nothing in between. Halftone. Print dots on a square or hex grid, in four shapes. Fluted. Seen through ribbed glass. The world arrives in strips. Water. Refraction and caustics, the scene read through moving water. Code. Digital rain over katakana, lit by whatever the camera sees. The list grows. New Looks arrive in updates. TAP OR HOLD Tap the shutter for a photo. Hold it to record, up to ten minutes. Video renders in the background at full quality, one frame at a time, using the exact settings you shot with. TUNE ANYTHING Every Look has its own knobs. Size, grain, relief, speed, depth, whatever that Look actually has. Drag the handle at the edge of the screen and the picture changes under your thumb. Tap a knob to put it back. BRING YOUR OWN Choose from Photos to run something you already have through a Look. For video, trim it first, pick the frame, then render. NOTHING LEAVES YOUR PHONE No account, nothing to sign in to. No servers. What you shoot sits in the Shelf on your device. Saving a copy to Photos is a switch, off until you turn it on. BACKDROP PREMIUM Dither, Water, Halftone and Drawn are free, and they record video too. Premium opens every Look, including the ones added later, and takes the Backdrop mark off everything you shoot. Monthly and annual. Payment goes to your Apple Accou renews unless you turn it off at least 24 hours befo Manage or cancel in Settings, Apple Account, Subscri Privacy: backdrop.wiki/privacy Terms: backdrop.wiki/terms Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ iPhone. iOS 18 and later.

Screenshots

LikeThis4 screens
Backdrop4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Backdrop at none against LikeThis's shown. LikeThis's advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 6 days) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On price, 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. LikeThis sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days and Backdrop sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

LikeThis ships an update daily, Backdrop every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
LikeThis versus Backdrop: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLikeThisBackdrop
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyDaily — betterEvery 6 days
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size57 MB131 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSprout LLCShekhar Upadhaya

In-app purchases

4 purchases

LikeThis

Subscriptions2
  • LikeThis Pro Weekly3 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • LikeThis Pro Yearly3 Days trial$24.991 Year
One-time2
  • LikeThis Pro$4.99
  • LikeThis Pro Lifetime$29.99
3 purchases

Backdrop

Subscriptions2
  • Backdrop Premium — Weekly$4.997 Days
  • Backdrop Premium — Annual$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • Backdrop Premium — Lifetime$79.99

Questions

Is LikeThis free?
LikeThis is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Backdrop free?
Backdrop is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do LikeThis or Backdrop have ads?
LikeThis shows ads; Backdrop does not.
Which is updated more often, LikeThis or Backdrop?
LikeThis ships an update daily, and Backdrop every 6 days. Most recently, LikeThis was updated on October 31, 2026 and Backdrop on November 5, 2026.

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