Spirale vs FilmDev
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
Spirale
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Pair a black & white film and developer, pick a fixer and start developing. Spirale guides your sessions with clear timers, agitation cues, and reusable chemistry tracking. The data you need, organized around how development works β not around the database behind it. RECIPES. Your darkroom shelf. Spirale pairs each film and developer in one card, color-coded by packaging, so you spot them at a glance. Films, developers, fixers, all major brands are covered. β’ Reusable developers show batch usage and volume right on the card. β’ Long press on a recipe to rearrange or delete it. THE EDITOR. All the data, none of the noise. Fine-tune your development variables: target ISO, developer dilution, temperature compensation and agitation style for your chemistry. β’ See the roll count, mixing date and expiry date for reusable chemistry. β’ Tap the volume to see the dilution. β’ Pick from official Ilford, Kodak and Agfa agitation styles. β’ Add or remove optional steps. THE TIMER. Agitate with precision, leave nothing to chance. β’ Arcs around the clockface and dots on the progress bar mark each agitation cycle. β’ Sound, haptic, and text cues show what to do and when. β’ Tap the seconds hand or the dial to change the timerβs appearance. THE PROCESS. Make it yours. Your own times, recorded as you develop β tracked, averaged, and refined. The longer you use Spirale, the more it reflects how you work. The datasheet is where you start. Where you end up is yours.
FilmDev
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FilmDev is a darkroom-safe multi-stage timer built for home film developers β B&W and C-41, push/pull, and beyond. β Multi-stage auto-advance timer Set up develop, stop, fix and wash stages once. FilmDev counts each stage down and auto-advances to the next β no fumbling for a stopwatch in the dark. β True darkroom-safe screen Running timer screen is pure black with a deep red display only β no white pixels, no accidental flash. Fullscreen immersive, safe for your eyes and your film. β Haptic + beep agitation cues Feel and hear when it's time to agitate β configurable haptic pulses and beep cues so you don't need to watch the screen. β Wall-clock accurate, even backgrounded Timing is based on real elapsed time, not a fragile in-app counter β lock your phone or switch apps and the timer stays accurate when you come back. β Temperature compensation Adjust develop time for your actual chemistry temperature using a standard B&W time-temp factor. A guide, not a guarantee β always verify against your own testing. β Your own recipe library Build and save your own recipes β film stock, developer, dilution, temperature, and every stage. Starter recipes are included from manufacturer datasheets, clearly marked "verify before use." Your recipes, your times. β Develop log Log every roll you develop β recipe used, film, developer, notes and a rating β so you can track what worked. β FilmDev Pro (one-time purchase) Unlock unlimited recipes, remove ads, and export/import your recipe library as JSON. One-time purchase, no subscription. β 8 languages, private by design No account, no cloud. Everything β recipes and logs β stays on your device.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Spirale at none against FilmDev's 1. Spirale also leads on ads (none vs shown). FilmDev's advantage is device support (4 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). On price there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. FilmDev sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Spirale asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | Spirale | FilmDev |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | β | Monthly |
| Ads | No β better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No β better | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch β better |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 15.0 β better |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 97 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Bogdan Dumitrache | SEONYONG LEE |
In-app purchases
Spirale
No in-app purchases
FilmDev
- FilmDev Pro$4.99









