Comparison

Frames vs Dotly

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

Head to head
About

Frames

Transform your personal photos into a visually appealing monthly calendar. Add custom images to each month for a personalized experience. Organize your schedule with a beautiful, minimal interface and home screen widgets.

Highlights
  • Custom photo for each month
  • Artistic and aesthetic design
  • Monthly calendar view
  • Home screen widgets
  • Frame styles and customization
  • Private and personal storage
Features
Read full description

Frames turns your personal photos into a beautiful, artistic calendar you'll actually love to look at. Every month gets its own picture. Choose from your camera roll or photo library — family memories, travel adventures, pet portraits, landscapes, or any image that inspires you. Frames makes every month feel personal and meaningful. WHY FRAMES? Your Photos, Your Calendar Add a custom photo or picture to each month of the year. Swipe through your personalized monthly calendar and relive your favorite moments all year long. Artistic & Aesthetic Design Frames isn't just a calendar — it's a visual experience. We've crafted a beautiful, minimal interface that puts your photos front and center. Choose from stunning frame styles and layouts that complement your images. A Calendar That Works View your monthly calendar at a glance. Track dates, plan ahead, and stay organized — all while enjoying the photos that matter to you most. Widgets for Your Home Screen Add a beautiful calendar widget right on your home screen or lock screen. See your monthly calendar at a glance — framed with your favorite photo. Your home screen has never looked this good. Frame Styles & Customization Pick from a curated collection of frames and backgrounds. Whether you love classic, modern, or cute aesthetics — there's a style for every taste. Personalize your calendar wallpaper and make it uniquely yours. Private & Personal Your photos stay on your device. No sign-up required, no cloud uploads. Frames is your personal photo calendar — designed with privacy in mind. PERFECT FOR: - Turning family photos into a monthly photo calendar - Creating a picture calendar from travel or vacation memories - Making a visual daily planner with your favorite images - Gifting a custom calendar to someone special - Keeping a photo diary throughout the year - Setting beautiful calendar wallpapers and backgrounds - Adding a stunning photo calendar widget to your home screen Join thousands of users who've turned their camera roll into their favorite calendar. Download Frames today and make every month picture-perfect. Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Dotly

Visualize your year with a beautiful dot grid, ring, or arc that fills up daily. Track important events with smart countdowns and build lasting habits with powerful daily tracking and insights. Personalize your experience with various styles, colors, and widgets.

Highlights
  • Visual year progress (grid, ring, arc)
  • Event countdowns with reminders
  • Daily habit tracking
  • Progress insights and streaks
  • Home screen widgets
  • Customization options
Features
Read full description

Dotly turns every day into visual progress. See your entire year as a beautiful dot grid, ring, or arc — and watch it fill up as each day passes. Track the events that matter most with smart countdowns, and build lasting habits with powerful daily tracking. YOUR YEAR, VISUALIZED Choose from 7 stunning progress styles: Classic Grid, Ring, Matrix, Month Blocks, Sleek Line, Segmented Arc, and Precision Text. Each one gives you a unique way to see how far you've come — and how much is ahead. TRACK WHAT MATTERS Create countdowns for birthdays, vacations, deadlines, or any date you're looking forward to. Pin your favorites, set reminders, and import events directly from your iPhone calendar. BUILD BETTER HABITS Add daily habits like drinking water, meditating, reading, or exercising. Set goals, track completions, and see your consistency grow over time. View your habits in four beautiful ways: list, cards, monthly calendar, or a GitHub-style heatmap. POWERFUL INSIGHTS Discover your streaks, completion rates, best day of the week, monthly trends, and more. Understand your patterns and stay motivated with data that actually helps. WIDGETS THAT INSPIRE Add beautiful widgets to your Home Screen — progress rings, habit heatmaps, event countdowns, and daily trackers. See your progress without even opening the app. MAKE IT YOURS Personalize with 13 accent colors, 5 icon shapes, 3 sizes, custom habit icons with emojis, and full light and dark mode support. Your app, your style. DOTLY PREMIUM Unlock everything with a single lifetime purchase — unlimited events, unlimited habits, all progress styles, signature colors, every widget, habit insights, calendar sync, smart reminders, and more. Pay once, keep forever. Download Dotly and start making every day count.

Screenshots

Frames4 screens
Dotly4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Dotly at 5.0 against Frames's 4.0. On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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. Frames sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Dotly sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Dotly holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 3 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Frames ships an update every 4 days, Dotly weekly. The most recent releases landed on August 10, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Frames versus Dotly: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFramesDotly
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (4 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size304 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMerchzDeals LLCVANIA SALES DE MESQUITA

Customer experience

Frames

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Dotly

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Frames

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly Access$2.991 Month
  • Monthly Access with Family Sharing$3.991 Month
  • Annual Access$24.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Yearly Access with Family Sharing$34.991 Year
One-time2
  • Lifetime Access$39.99
  • Lifetime Access with Family Sharing$49.99
5 purchases

Dotly

One-time5
  • Small Coffee$0.99
  • Dotly Premium$1.99
  • Medium Coffee$2.99
Show 2 more
  • Large Coffee$4.99
  • Coffee Party$9.99

Questions

Is Frames free?
Frames is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Dotly free?
Dotly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Frames or Dotly?
Dotly is rated higher. Frames averages 4.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Dotly averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Frames or Dotly have ads?
Neither Frames nor Dotly shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Frames or Dotly?
Frames ships an update every 4 days, and Dotly weekly. Most recently, Frames was updated on August 10, 2026 and Dotly on September 19, 2026.

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