Comparison

Carousel vs Waku

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

Head to head
About

Carousel

Easily create professional-looking social media posts, carousels, and collages without design experience. Choose from a variety of templates and customize them with a powerful editor to make scroll-stopping content for platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn.

Highlights
  • Create carousels and collages
  • Professional templates for social media
  • Powerful slide editor
  • Customize text, images, and backgrounds
  • Resize for any platform
  • Save and export high-quality images
Features
Read full description

Create stunning carousels, collages, and social media posts in minutes — no design skills needed. CarouselKit gives you professional templates and a powerful editor to make scroll-stopping content for social media. MADE FOR EVERYONE Create beautiful posts in minutes — no design experience needed. Whether you're a student, hobbyist, entrepreneur, or just someone who loves sharing great-looking posts, CarouselKit makes it effortless. Pick a template, make it yours, and share. PROFESSIONAL TEMPLATES - Browse ready-made carousel and collage templates - Designed for Instagram posts, LinkedIn slides, and stories - Fresh layouts for every niche and style - Start from scratch or build on a template POWERFUL SLIDE EDITOR - Add text, images, and layers with a tap - Customize fonts, colors, and backgrounds - Resize for any platform — square, portrait, or landscape - Duplicate and reorder slides instantly COLLAGE & POST MAKER - Create photo collages with flexible grid layouts - Design single posts that grab attention - Mix photos and text for maximum impact EXPORT & SHARE - Save slides as high-quality images - Export your entire carousel at once - Share directly to your favorite apps Privacy Policy: https://rajhiranisupport.github.io/carouselkitapp/privacy-policy.html Terms of Use: https://rajhiranisupport.github.io/carouselkitapp/terms-of-use.html

About

Waku

Features
Read full description

Waku puts your photo inside a clean frame at the exact size you need, and adds captions the way you'd write them in a story. Pick a photo, tap Save to Photos, and you're done. Sizes IG story (9:16), IG post (4:5), IG grid (3:4), IG square (1:1), 10×15 and 13×18 prints, a tall 3:5, or the photo's own shape. Rectangular sizes also work in landscape. The same result every time The border is even and measured on the canvas, so it doesn't change from one photo to the next. A caption stays one border below the photo, whether the photo is vertical or horizontal. A story always comes out at 1080×1920 pixels, exactly as you see it. Templates A template keeps the size, border, background, photo style and captions. Tap it and it applies to the photo you have open. Every time you save, it remembers your text, so for a daily story you only change what's new. Several at once, and video Pick up to 10 photos and videos, give them one look and save them in order, ready for a story with several slides. Videos get the same frame, colors and captions as your photos. Style Solid colors, gradients, colors taken from the photo itself, or the photo blurred. Shadow, glow, rounded corners, line and mat for the photo. For captions: built-in typefaces, any font on your iPhone or imported from Files, solid or translucent backgrounds, shadows, and your own text styles. From Photos to your story Share a photo from the Photos app to Waku to frame it with your template. From Waku, save it or send it straight to your Instagram story. Free and Pro Free saves everything, at Instagram size. A black frame in any size and border saves clean. Designs that use Pro items (colors, gradients, captions, photo styles, video, several photos at once) save with a small "Made with Waku" on the photo. Waku Pro is a one-time purchase, not a subscription: it removes the mark, and adds your own templates and full-size export. Privacy Waku collects no data. No accounts, no ads, no servers. Your photos stay on your iPhone, and the images you save carry no EXIF data or GPS location. Accessibility Works with VoiceOver, Voice Control and larger text. The interface is dark and respects Reduce Motion.

Screenshots

Carousel4 screens
Waku4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Waku at none against Carousel's shown. Carousel's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 weeks) 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. Carousel sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 7 days and Waku sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Carousel ships an update every 4 days, Waku every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Carousel versus Waku: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCarouselWaku
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (19 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings19 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size77 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRaj HiraniAlvaro Martin

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Carousel

Subscriptions3
  • CarouselKit Weekly Pro!$6.997 Days
  • Standard CarouselKit Yearly Plan3 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • CarouselKit Yearly Pro!3 Days trial$39.991 Year
1 purchases

Waku

One-time1
  • Waku Pro$2.99

Questions

Is Carousel free?
Carousel is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Waku free?
Waku is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Carousel or Waku have ads?
Carousel shows ads; Waku does not.
Which is updated more often, Carousel or Waku?
Carousel ships an update every 4 days, and Waku every 2 weeks. Most recently, Carousel was updated on October 31, 2026 and Waku on October 29, 2026.

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