Comparison

Infinite Fractal Zoom vs Cathode

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

Head to head
About

Infinite Fractal Zoom

Features
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Turn your screen into an ever-changing world of color, motion, and depth. Infinite Fractal Zoom creates real-time fractal visuals that keep unfolding without end. Use it as an immersive music visualizer, a calming ambient background, a focus companion, or a full-screen display for parties and large screens. EXPLORE THE INFINITE โ€ข Dive through hypnotic, continuously evolving fractal worlds โ€ข Choose from distinct visual presets and moods โ€ข Adjust speed, color, motion, and intensity โ€ข Use Comfort Mode for gentler movement MOVE WITH MUSIC Play Apple Music and let the visuals respond to the sound. On supported devices, Listen Mode can react to nearby audio, while Mac can visualize system audio. MADE FOR IPHONE AND IPAD Use direct touch controls to shape the journey, switch scenes, and fine-tune color, speed, motion, and intensity. Enjoy quick personal sessions on iPhone or open the experience across the larger iPad display. FOR ANY MOMENT โ€ข Parties, DJ sets, and room displays โ€ข Relaxation, meditation, and sleep ambience โ€ข Focus sessions and creative work โ€ข Exploring fractal mathematics and generative art Audio analysis is performed locally by default. No account is required to begin exploring. Some features and visual packs may require an in-app purchase or subscription. Apple Music features require an active Apple Music subscription. Feature availability varies by device and operating system.

About

Cathode

Features
Read full description

Cathode turns your iPhone or iPad into a screen worth handing over. Twenty full-screen effects, each one drawn live on the device at full frame rate. Nothing here is looping video and nothing is a static wallpaper โ€” every pixel is computed while you watch. WHAT IS IN IT โ€ข Digital Rain โ€” columns of glyphs falling through the dark. Choose the script: Katakana, Japanese, Chinese, Hangul, Vietnamese, Latin, Cyrillic, Greek, hex or binary. Let it fall as random characters, as good wishes written in that language, or as anything you type yourself โ€ข Code Editor โ€” source typing itself out character by character, with line numbers and syntax colours, in C, Python, HTML, Java, SQL or JavaScript โ€ข Terminal โ€” a console mid-session: boot logs, hex dumps, network traces โ€ข Breach โ€” a wall of small monitors working a system open, with a progress bar counting up to the moment it gives โ€ข Locator โ€” a map acquiring a fix, accuracy rings closing in on a crosshair โ€ข Radar, Spectrum, Oscilloscope โ€” instruments with real graticules and phosphor afterglow โ€ข Neural Grid, Automaton, Double Helix, Orbitals, Strange Attractor, Interference, Fractal โ€” science that is actually being computed: Conway's Game of Life and Rule 110 run for real, the attractors integrate their own differential equations, the interference pattern is summed per pixel โ€ข Starfield, Vortex, Plasma, Hyperspace, Glitch โ€” pure spectacle TWO TAPS TO FULL SCREEN Pick an effect and it fills the screen edge to edge, with nothing on top of it and the display kept awake. Tap once and a small control bar fades in; leave it alone and it fades back out. Turn the device and the effect reflows with it. MAKE IT YOURS Every effect has speed, density, glow, eight colour palettes and several styles. Adjust them against a live preview, then save what you like as a named preset. ENTIRELY OFFLINE No account. No network requests of any kind. No analytics, no crash reporter, no third-party SDK. Cathode never asks for a single permission โ€” not the camera, not the microphone, not location โ€” because it never needs one. FREE AND PAID Digital Rain is free forever, at full quality, with every setting unlocked. No watermark, no time limit, no advertising. Cathode Unlimited is a single one-time payment that unlocks the other nineteen effects and raises the saved-preset limit. It is not a subscription. It does not renew. It is shareable through Family Sharing. A NOTE ON WHAT THIS IS Everything on screen is generated by the app. The console text, network traces, radar contacts and progress bars are decorative fiction โ€” nothing is a real system or a real connection, and none of it should be presented to anyone as though it were. PHOTOSENSITIVITY Some effects flicker or change brightness quickly. If you are sensitive to flashing imagery, use the Speed and Glow controls to slow and soften them, or do not use the app. Effects keep the display awake and can make the device warm; both are switches you control. Terms of Use: https://csyzd.github.io/privacy/Cathode/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://csyzd.github.io/privacy/Cathode/privacy.html

Screenshots

Infinite Fractal Zoom4 screens
Cathode4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: Infinite Fractal Zoom at 5 against Cathode's 2. On price, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Infinite Fractal Zoom sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Cathode sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scorecard1 real difference ยท 5 level
Infinite Fractal Zoom versus Cathode: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterInfinite Fractal ZoomCathode
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyFortnightlyโ€”
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Vision Pro โ€” betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.617.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size7 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThomas RichardsonไธŽ้’Š ๆฎต

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Infinite Fractal Zoom

Subscriptions2
  • All Access Monthly2 Months trial$2.991 Month
  • All Access Yearly2 Months trial$19.991 Year
One-time8
  • Mandel Dive$3.99
  • OG Crystal Rings$3.99
  • OG Portal Windows$3.99
Show 5 more
  • OG Liquid Fold$3.99
  • OG Nebula Spiral$3.99
  • OG Dark Gravity$3.99
  • OG Album Spiral$3.99
  • All Access Lifetime$44.99
1 purchases

Cathode

One-time1
  • Cathode Unlimited$1.99

Questions

Is Infinite Fractal Zoom free?
Infinite Fractal Zoom is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Cathode free?
Cathode is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Infinite Fractal Zoom or Cathode have ads?
Neither Infinite Fractal Zoom nor Cathode shows ads.

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