the roll vs SYNC
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
the roll
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Some nights deserve more than a camera roll full of posed selfies and carefully curated stories. The Roll is a shared disposable camera for you and your crew. Everyone shoots blind. Nobody sees anything - not even their own photos - until the timer hits zero. Then it all comes out at once. >> How it works Start a roll, name it, and invite your crew. Everyone shoots into a shared pool of photos - no previews, no filters, no second chances. When the time comes, the roll locks. Then, at exactly the right moment, every photo from every person is revealed simultaneously. The good, the bad, the completely unhinged. That's the whole thing. And it's better than you'd expect. >> Why it feels different Most photo apps are about curation. The Roll is about capture. There's no pressure to look good, no checking what you shot, no deleting the blurry ones. You just point and shoot - and trust that the moment is worth keeping. The simultaneous reveal is where the magic happens. Opening a roll with your friends and seeing what everyone caught - angles you missed, moments you forgot, faces mid-laugh - feels like developing film from a disposable camera. Except everyone's camera, all at once. >> Built for real nights Whether it's a house party, a weekend trip, a birthday, or just a random Tuesday that turned into something - The Roll captures it the way it actually felt. Not the version you'd post. The real one. - Shared photo pool: everyone's shots, one roll - Blind shooting: no previews, no filters, no do-overs - Simultaneous reveal: everyone sees everything at the same time - Disposable camera aesthetic: warm, grainy, honest - Reactions: relive the night together, shot by shot - Party & Event rolls: bigger crews, more shots, custom reveal times - Add shots mid-roll: when 30 just isn't enough The Roll. Your night, unfiltered. Privacy policy: https://www.notion.so/the-roll-privacy-policy-3273d8355035801eacecd9e0b4b7d9ca?source=copy_link Contact us: https://www.notion.so/the-roll-contact-us-3273d83550358081b5f3fcbd9e70c06f?source=copy_link
SYNC
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SYNC turns every guest's phone into the event camera. Share one QR code, and every photo your guests take lands in one shared album, live. SYNC makes event photo sharing effortless. There are no accounts to set up, and guests don't even need the app: they can join from their phone's browser in seconds. PERFECT FOR • Weddings: the ceremony, the reception and the after-party, all in one album • Birthday parties: every candid party photo, from every guest • Corporate events: offsites, launches, conferences and team nights • Festivals, reunions, weekend trips and anything else worth remembering WHY A SHARED EVENT CAMERA? The photographer gets the posed shots. But the in-between moments (the hug at the door, the cake on the floor, the sunset everyone stopped to watch) end up in a dozen different camera rolls of Guests and never in one place. SYNC collects them all. One album, everyone contributing, everyone keeps the result. HOW IT WORKS 1. Create an event. Give it a name and an end time. 2. Invite guests. Share a QR code, a link, or the 8-character event code. 3. Capture. Everyone shoots with the SYNC camera, and every photo goes straight into the shared album. 4. Reveal. Show photos live as they're taken, all at once when the event ends, or after a delay you choose. 5. Keep. Everyone can save their favorite event pics to their own camera roll. A DISPOSABLE CAMERA APP, WITHOUT THE WAIT Love disposable camera events? SYNC gives you the same feeling without the film. Pick a look for your event and every photo develops in that style: Normal, Vintage with a classic date stamp, or black and white. No cameras to hand out, nothing to collect at the end of the night, and no waiting weeks for prints. A WEDDING PHOTO APP YOUR GUESTS DON'T HAVE TO DOWNLOAD Put your wedding photo QR code on the tables, the welcome sign or the invitation. Guests scan it and start shooting in seconds. The next morning, every angle of your day is waiting in one album. GUEST PHOTO UPLOAD Guests can add the photos they already took, too. They can upload from their camera roll during the event and for up to a week after it ends. SYNC only accepts photos taken during the event, so the album stays about your day. MOMENTS, LIVE PHOTO WALL AND EVENT ALBUM Big events have chapters. Moments split one event into stages, like ceremony, reception and after-party, each with its own QR code and reveal time. Put the party on the big screen. The Live Photo Wall plays new photos on a TV or projector as guests take them, and every photo is automatically screened before it goes up. When it's over, share one album link. Anyone with the link can browse and save the photos in their browser, with no sign-in. PRIVATE BY DESIGN We don't sell your photos and we don't show ads. Photos are visible only to people in your event, unless you choose to share an album link or put them on a Live Photo Wall. Photos are encrypted in transit, and access is enforced per event on our servers. Anyone can report a photo or block a guest. You can join without creating an account. SYNC gives you a private guest identity, and you can sign in later without losing a single photo. FREE TO START, SYNC PRO WHEN YOU NEED IT Every event starts free, with up to 7 guests and up to 36 photos each. That's plenty for a small get-together. For bigger gatherings, SYNC PRO is a one-time purchase per event, not a subscription. Pick the guest tier that fits, from 10 guests to unlimited, and unlock unlimited photos per guest, Moments, the Live Photo Wall, a shareable Event Album and QR card templates. JOIN FROM ANY PHONE Guests without the app can join from any modern phone browser with one tap. No download, no sign-up. We built SYNC for the events we cared about and couldn't capture properly any other way. We hope it helps you keep yours. Privacy policy: https://join.sync.camera/privacy Terms: https://join.sync.camera/terms Terms: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
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Verdict
the roll and SYNC are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. the roll sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and SYNC sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
the roll ships an update every 2 weeks, SYNC every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | the roll | SYNC |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 20 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Van der Velden BV | Silmaril |
In-app purchases
the roll
- 15 Shot Booster$1.49
- Party Roll$2.99
- Event Roll$7.99
SYNC
- 10 Guests$1.99
- 25 Guests$4.99
- 50 Guests$14.99
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- 100 Guests$29.99
- 150 Guests$49.99
- 200 Guests$69.99
- Unlimited Guests$99.99









