Comparison

Grejn vs theLAB

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

Head to head
About

Grejn

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Grejn is built for photographers who want more control from the iPhone camera. Capture in Apple ProRAW, choose the lens that fits the shot, adjust exposure, and keep your workflow focused on image quality from capture to export. Fine-tune the look of every photo with detailed controls for contrast, highlights, shadows, clarity, sharpness, saturation, vibrance, white balance, color grading, HSL adjustments, bloom, vignette, and grain. Save your own presets, switch between looks quickly, and create a consistent visual style without leaving the app. Grejn also gives you practical controls that matter while shooting. Tap to focus, lock focus with a long press, choose quality or balanced capture priority, set maximum resolution, and export styled HEIF images in 8-bit or 10-bit. On supported devices and lenses, you can also save the original RAW DNG separately for more flexibility in post.

About

theLAB

Create film-inspired photos with advanced controls for color, texture, and scan effects. Apply realistic grain, borders, and light leaks to achieve a unique aesthetic. Save custom editing styles for consistent results.

Highlights
  • Film-inspired color and monochrome looks
  • Scanned grain and cinema-style grain
  • Lab scan profiles and correction
  • Halation, borders, textures, light leaks
  • Customizable editing styles
  • Camera capture and import tools
Features
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theLAB is a film-inspired photo editor for building finished images with color, texture, and scan character. Import an image, then shape it with film looks, scanned grain, lab-style color, halation, borders, paper textures, light leaks, artifacts, and crop tools. Designed for photographers who want more than a simple filter, theLAB gives you hands-on control over the feel of the image: density, warmth, tone bias, grain range, scan character, border placement, and finishing details. Features include: - Film-inspired color and monochrome looks - Scanned grain and cinema-style grain options - Lab scan profiles and scan correction controls - Halation, scanner noise, borders, textures, light leaks, and artifacts - Camera capture, photo import, file import, and share tools - Saved looks for building a repeatable editing style theLAB includes a free editing mode. theLAB Pro unlocks the full film stock library, advanced lab controls, additional grain scans, premium finishing assets, and high-quality export options. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://calebsalvadori.com/thelab

Screenshots

Grejn4 screens
theLAB4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: theLAB at every 2 days against Grejn's weekly. theLAB also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.2). On price, ads, 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. Grejn sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and theLAB sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Grejn ships an update weekly, theLAB every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Grejn versus theLAB: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGrejntheLAB
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (13 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—13 — better
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS26.217.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB298 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDavid MismasCaleb Salvadori

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Grejn

One-time1
  • TrueCamera Pro$6.99
2 purchases

theLAB

Subscriptions1
  • theLAB Pro Monthly3 Days trial$9.991 Month
One-time1
  • theLAB Pro Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is Grejn free?
Grejn is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is theLAB free?
theLAB is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Grejn or theLAB have ads?
Neither Grejn nor theLAB shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Grejn or theLAB?
Grejn ships an update weekly, and theLAB every 2 days. Most recently, Grejn was updated on October 8, 2026 and theLAB on October 24, 2026.

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