HappyMapper vs Ghost Arcade
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HappyMapper
Transform your iPhone and a projector into a dynamic art studio. Map images and videos onto any object in your space, from furniture to walls, bringing them to life with light and motion. No prior design experience or expensive software is required to create stunning visual installations.
- Map images and video onto any surface
- Draw and warp shapes to fit objects
- Layer multiple surfaces for complex designs
- Search millions of free videos and GIFs
- Import your own photos and videos
- Intuitive touch controls for easy manipulation
- Save and reload custom setups
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HappyMapper turns your iPhone and a projector into an art studio without walls. Map images and video onto anything in your space. A couch, a vase, a doorframe, your ceiling. Watch ordinary objects come alive with light, color, and motion. No design experience needed. No expensive software. Just your phone, a projector, and your imagination. CREATE YOUR OWN LIGHT INSTALLATIONS - Draw shapes directly on your screen and warp them to fit any surface - Curve edges to follow arches, round objects, and organic shapes - Layer multiple surfaces for complex, room-filling installations - Blend shapes together for seamless mapped surfaces - Cutout mode allows you to use a shape to block out light in a certain area BRING YOUR SPACE TO LIFE - Search millions of free videos: fire, water, abstract textures, neon, nature - Browse billions of GIFs for looping animations and memes - Import your own photos and videos - Pan and zoom media within each shape for perfect placement MADE FOR CREATORS, NOT ENGINEERS - Intuitive touch controls: drag, warp, and place with your fingers - Built-in quick start guide gets you mapping in minutes - Save your setups and reload them instantly - Last session is always saved so you can resume where you left off INSPIRE YOUR SPACE Whether you're setting the mood for a dinner party, creating a bedroom art installation, filming content for social media, or taking the stage, HappyMapper makes projection art accessible to everyone. One shape is free, with full access to every feature. Upgrade to Premium to add unlimited shapes.
Ghost Arcade
Transform your device into a live visual instrument for creating and performing dynamic video art. It offers clip launching, layered mixing, and projection mapping with touch-friendly controls. Integrate live camera feeds and apply various effects for unique performances.
- Live clip launching
- Generative shaders
- Layered mixing
- Projection mapping
- Live camera input
- Customizable effects
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Turn your iPhone or iPad into a live visual instrument. Ghost Arcade brings clip launching, generative shaders, layered mixing and projection mapping into one touch-friendly workspace. PERFORM Start with a full deck of included shader clips. Launch visuals, select a playing clip to adjust its controls, and double-tap to stop. Mix four layers per deck and explore A/B crossfades in dual-deck mode. SHAPE YOUR VISUALS Create projection surfaces and adjust corner or mesh points directly in the preview. Route your composition or individual layers to screens, then add edge effects and Looks. PLAY YOUR EFFECTS Apply effects to clips, layers or the composition. Flux combines a touch-controlled X/Y pad with stackable effects for expressive live performance. GhostFX adds smoothly changing, music-responsive visuals. BRING THE WORLD INTO YOUR SET Use live camera feeds as creative inputs. Supported devices also offer depth effects, simultaneous front/rear capture and LiDAR point-cloud scanning with export for desktop workflows. Hardware support varies by device. SAVE YOUR SETUPS Save sets and clip blocks to return to your favorite combinations. Standalone performance does not require an account or a desktop computer.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: HappyMapper at Free against Ghost Arcade's $1.99. HappyMapper also leads on ratings volume (3 vs 1). Ghost Arcade's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and chart position (#130 vs unranked). On rating, update cadence, ads 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
HappyMapper is free to download; Ghost Arcade costs $1.99 up front. HappyMapper sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Ghost Arcade asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for HappyMapper against 5.0 for Ghost Arcade. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 1 respectively.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | HappyMapper | Ghost Arcade |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $1.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days | Every 5 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #130 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 69 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Kenny Lu | Justin Wood |
Customer experience
HappyMapper
Ghost Arcade
In-app purchases
HappyMapper
- HappyMapper Pro3 Days trial$2.991 Month
- HappyMapper Pro3 Days trial$24.991 Year
- HappyMapper PRO Lifetime$14.99
Ghost Arcade
No in-app purchases









