Cull vs AlphaFTP
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cull
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Cull is the fastest way to go from a full memory card to your best shots. Import a shoot, fly through your photos with keyboard shortcuts, and export your picks straight to Lightroom — all without your photos ever leaving your device. CULL FASTER THAN EVER Press P to keep, X to reject, and move to the next shot automatically. Cull hundreds of photos in minutes instead of hours. Every action has a keyboard shortcut so your hands never leave the keys. FOUR POWERFUL VIEWS • Grid — scan your entire shoot at a glance with adjustable column density • Loupe — full-screen single photo view with a floating filmstrip for quick navigation • Compare — two photos side by side to pick the better expression or moment • Burst — automatically groups burst sequences and surfaces the best frame using AI scoring ON-DEVICE AI SCORING Every photo gets an AI quality score powered by Apple Vision — running 100% locally on your Mac's Neural Engine. No cloud, no subscription, zero privacy cost. • Face shots scored on capture quality, eye openness, and focus • All other photos scored on aesthetics and sharpness • Blurry photos automatically flagged for rejection • Adjust the rejection threshold to match your standards COLOR LABELS Tag your keepers with Lightroom-compatible color labels (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple) directly in Cull. Labels carry through to Lightroom on export. EXPORT TO LIGHTROOM One click writes XMP sidecar files for all your keeps — Lightroom reads them automatically when you import, so your picks, ratings, and labels are already applied. No plugins, no manual tagging. DESIGNED FOR RAW SHOOTERS Cull works with every format your camera shoots: RAW (CR3, ARW, NEF, DNG, RW2, ORF, and more), JPEG, HEIC, and TIFF. Files stay exactly where they are on disk — Cull never copies or moves your originals. PRIVACY FIRST All AI analysis runs on your Mac using Apple's Vision framework. Your photos are never uploaded anywhere. ONE-TIME PURCHASE Pay once, cull forever. No subscription.
AlphaFTP
This app allows photographers to wirelessly transfer photos directly from compatible Sony Alpha cameras to an iPhone, iPad, or Mac. It supports saving images to folders, importing them into the Photos library, and viewing them full-screen with EXIF data as they are received.
- Direct Sony Alpha camera-to-iOS FTP transfers
- Save photos to a folder
- Import uploads into Photos library
- Live connection and upload activity
- View photos full-screen with EXIF data
- Built-in Sony camera setup guide
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AlphaFTP is a simple FTP server for photographers who want Sony Alpha cameras to transfer photos directly to an iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Start the app, enter the username and password you want your camera to use, choose where uploads should go, and AlphaFTP listens on your local network. The app shows the Ethernet and Wi-Fi addresses your camera can connect to, along with the FTP port. AlphaFTP can save received photos to a folder, import them into your Photos library, and display photos full-screen as you take them! AlphaFTP is ideal for: - Casual shooters who want to quickly transfer photos to their iOS, iPadOS, or MacOS device wirelessly - Event photographers who want their photos backed up - as they take them - Portrait photographers who want clients to be able to review the photos as they are taken without being tethered to a cable. Features: - Direct Sony Alpha camera-to-iOS FTP transfers - Works with the device locked showing Live Activities with incoming photos - Save photos to a folder - Import uploads into the iOS Photos library - Recent photo thumbnails on the main screen - Live connection and upload activity - View photos full-screen with EXIF data as they are received - RAW, JPEG, and HEIF session counts - Built-in Sony camera setup guide - Optional sounds for camera connection and photo receipt - Start the FTP server via Shortcuts - No accounts, analytics, tracking, or external servers AlphaFTP uses standard FTP and is intended for trusted local networks. Camera transfers happen directly between your camera and your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Supported cameras: - Sony α1 II (ILCE-1M2) - Sony α1 (ILCE-1) - Sony α9 III (ILCE-9M3) - Sony α9 II (ILCE-9M2) - Sony α9 (ILCE-9) - Requires camera firmware version 5.00 or later. - Sony α7R VI (ILCE-7RM6) - Sony α7R V (ILCE-7RM5) - Sony α7R IV A (ILCE-7RM4A) - Sony α7R IV (ILCE-7RM4) - Sony α7R III A (ILCE-7RM3A) - Sony α7R III (ILCE-7RM3) - Sony α7S III (ILCE-7SM3) - Sony α7 V (ILCE-7M5) - Sony α7 IV (ILCE-7M4) - Sony α7 III (ILCE-7M3) - Sony α7CR (ILCE-7CR) - Sony α7C II (ILCE-7CM2) - Sony α7C (ILCE-7C)
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Cull at Free against AlphaFTP's $9.99. AlphaFTP's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 6 weeks). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
Cull is free to download; AlphaFTP costs $9.99 up front. Cull sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. AlphaFTP asks for nothing beyond the download.
Cull ships an update every 6 weeks, AlphaFTP every 3 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.
| Parameter | Cull | AlphaFTP |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $9.99 |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | — | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | briek keters | Kristopher Linquist |
In-app purchases
Cull
- Lifetime License$39.99
AlphaFTP
No in-app purchases








