Comparison

MeltCam vs Chaos Camera Lab

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

Head to head
About

MeltCam

Features
Read full description

Point the camera, and watch your world melt, warp, and glow. MeltCam is a real-time psychedelic camera app. From trending VHS-style noise to glitch, kaleidoscope, neon, and tie-dye, switch between bold effects and reshape the world right inside your viewfinder. [What makes MeltCam different] ◆ Zero-lag real-time preview No heavy post-processing, no waiting. Effects transform your viewfinder the instant you tap them. You're not editing after the shot — the world is already warped before you press the shutter. ◆ Social-ready 1:1 square Preview and saved photo are pixel-perfect identical squares. Drop them straight into your Instagram or TikTok feed, profile, or thumbnail without second-guessing the crop. ◆ A bold lineup of effects - Melt: signs and shapes drip and flow like liquid - Tie-Dye: vivid tie-dye psychedelia - Wave: a sine-wave shimmer like looking through water - Mirror: symmetrical beauty born from a flip - Glitch: scanlines and noise, full digital decay - Acid: hue rotation paints the world in psychedelic colors - Plasma: undulating plasma light - Trip: a swirling vortex of mind-bending color - Vortex: a spiral that pulls everything inward - Kaleidoscope: peer into another world through a kaleidoscope - Neon Edge: outlines glow like neon signs - Prism Split: prism-shifted color separation - VHS Noise: gritty, retro 80s tape noise ◆ Photos and videos, ready to post Save photos and videos with the effect baked in, straight to your library. Record short videos up to 60 seconds. No extra editing step required. ◆ Front and rear camera Selfies or scenery, your call. Like the stock camera, the preview is mirrored while the saved photo is not — so what you share looks the way it should. [Made for you if you...] - Want photos and videos that don't look like everyone else's - Love glitch, psychedelic, and neon visuals - Shoot music, live shows, clubs, and festivals - Have outgrown standard filter apps - Want to play with the shot, not just edit it after [MeltCam Pro] Free users get unlimited use of the basic effects. Upgrade to Pro to unlock all the psychedelic, neon, and retro effects. [Supported languages] English, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil), German, Spanish, Korean, French, Simplified Chinese Look through the lens, into another world. With MeltCam, turn what's in front of you into something that isn't quite real.

About

Chaos Camera Lab

Transform ordinary photos into unique, collectible color worlds with unpredictable effects. Remap colors, add digital grain, and explore 16 distinct styles. Save and reuse your custom looks for future edits.

Highlights
  • 16 distinct Chaos styles
  • Color remapping and textured grain
  • Reusable recipes with shareable codes
  • Recipe Lab for custom looks
  • 4:5 camera with zoom
  • Photo Library import
Features
Read full description

Chaos Camera Lab turns ordinary scenes into unpredictable, collectible color worlds. This is not a traditional filter camera. Chaos remaps the colors inside each photo, adds tactile digital grain, and gives every image its own strange visual character. Shoot with the built-in 4:5 camera or import a photo, then explore looks ranging from soft and dreamlike to stark, graphic, spectral, and broken. Explore 16 distinct Chaos styles: Chaos, Soft, Poster, Acid, Dream, Noir, Thermal, Prism, Solar, Xerox, Signal, Infra, Ghost, Bleach, Mosaic, and Emulsion. When you discover a look worth keeping, save its recipe. Each recipe preserves the preset, palette, tuning, name, and code behind the image, so you can apply the same visual logic to a completely different scene later. Features: • A focused 4:5 camera with tap to focus and multiple zoom choices • 16 visually distinct Chaos presets • Expressive color remapping and textured grain • Photo Library import for remixing existing images • Hold the result to compare it with the original • Reusable recipes with names, palettes, and shareable codes • Recipe Lab for building custom color looks • Chaos Roll sessions and stylized contact sheets • A local gallery and Recipe Passport • High-quality image export to Photos Chaos Camera Lab is made for fast experimentation, happy accidents, and photographers who want an image to become something unexpected. Your photos and recipes stay on your device. Chaos Camera Lab does not collect personal data.

Screenshots

MeltCam3 screens
Chaos Camera Lab4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Chaos Camera Lab at none against MeltCam's 2. Chaos Camera Lab also leads on ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (17.6 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence 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. MeltCam sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Chaos Camera Lab asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MeltCam ships an update every 4 days, Chaos Camera Lab every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
MeltCam versus Chaos Camera Lab: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMeltCamChaos Camera Lab
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS26.017.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB30 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCROSSBRIDGE INC.Ryan Walker

In-app purchases

2 purchases

MeltCam

Subscriptions2
  • MeltCam Pro (Monthly)$1.991 Month
  • MeltCam Pro (Yearly)$19.991 Year
None

Chaos Camera Lab

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MeltCam free?
MeltCam is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chaos Camera Lab free?
Chaos Camera Lab is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do MeltCam or Chaos Camera Lab have ads?
MeltCam shows ads; Chaos Camera Lab does not.
Which is updated more often, MeltCam or Chaos Camera Lab?
MeltCam ships an update every 4 days, and Chaos Camera Lab every 2 days. Most recently, MeltCam was updated on October 24, 2026 and Chaos Camera Lab on October 10, 2026.

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