Comparison

GhostFrame vs Shadow Camera

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

Head to head
About

GhostFrame

Features
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GhostFrame turns one photo a day into a timelapse that actually holds still. Pick a subject — your face, a bump, a baby, a plant, a room mid-renovation — and the camera fades yesterday's shot over the live view. New in 2.0, GhostFrame reads the ghost and the live picture on your iPhone and guides you in: when you're lined up it locks with a tap you can feel, and Auto can take the photo for you. WHAT'S NEW IN 2.0 • Live ghost guide: face tracking for selfie-style projects, scene alignment for everything else, a match score, one plain hint, and a haptic lock. • Auto-shoot and a level line. • Apple Watch: today's frames and streaks, Then vs Now on the Digital Crown, and a remote shutter for the iPhone camera. • Home Screen widget: your streak and latest frame for the project that still needs today's photo — tap to shoot. • Then vs Now: wipe, fade, flicker or side by side between any two frames, plus a share card. • Memory Lane: the photo from a month, 100 days or a year ago today. • Insights: streaks, a calendar of every day you showed up, milestones, your usual shooting time, your ghost-match score. • Export studio: a live storyboard of your video, auto-align steadies every frame; opening title and closing stats; 9:16, 1:1, 4:5, 16:9, 4K and GIF. • A living home where every project plays its own timelapse, a new icon and a new animated tour. ALSO INCLUDED Templates for Face, Bump (week cards), Baby (month cards), Fitness (front/side/back), Plant, Renovation and Anything; import photos you already have on their real dates; ghost from the previous, first or a pinned frame; outline mode; 0.5Ɨ/1Ɨ/2Ɨ lenses; reminders with quiet days that open straight into the camera; zip backups; captions for any video, transcribed on device. PRIVACY Photos and projects stay on your device; alignment runs on device. No account. Anonymous usage stats (never photos or names) can be turned off in Settings. Every feature is included. No subscription, no ads.

About

Shadow Camera

Features
Read full description

Shadow Camera helps you recreate any photo pose, perfectly — no guessing, no ten retakes. Pick a reference photo from your gallery. It appears as a translucent "ghost" overlay right on your live camera preview — drag it into place, pinch to resize, match your pose to it, and capture. What you see is exactly what you get. HOW IT WORKS • Pick any photo from your gallery as a pose reference • It overlays as a draggable, resizable ghost guide on your live camera • Line up your pose with the guide, then shoot • Works for photos and video — record with a moving reference in sync FEATURES • Full-quality stock camera controls: grid, timer, flash, 4:3/16:9 formats, zoom, tap-to-focus with exposure • Drag, pinch, and adjust opacity on your reference photo in real time • Precision Controls (Pro): fine-tune ghost overlay opacity and color tint • AI-generated reference photos via Apple's Image Playground • Video shadow mode: overlay a reference video, synced to your recording • Every capture saves in full, uncompressed quality — no double compression PRIVATE BY DESIGN Shadow Camera runs entirely on your device. There's no account, no backend server, no analytics, and no tracking. Your reference photos and captures never leave your phone unless you choose to save them. FREE TO USE The core camera and gallery-based pose matching are free, always. A few advanced features (AI-generated references, video reference mode, precision opacity/tint controls) are available a few times a day for free, or unlocked without limits with Shadow Camera Pro. Whether you're recreating a friend's pose for a couples photo, matching a professional shot for content, or just trying to nail that one angle — Shadow Camera makes it effortless. EULA (Terms & Conditions): https://digitalsmo.com/eula/

Screenshots

GhostFrame4 screens
Shadow Camera3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: GhostFrame at none against Shadow Camera's 1. On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Shadow Camera sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $5.99 per month. GhostFrame asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

GhostFrame ships an update fortnightly, Shadow Camera every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference Ā· 5 level
GhostFrame versus Shadow Camera: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGhostFrameShadow Camera
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB13 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAll Things AI, IncSamet Sarial

In-app purchases

None

GhostFrame

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Shadow Camera

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly pro$5.991 Month

Questions

Is GhostFrame free?
GhostFrame is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Shadow Camera free?
Shadow Camera is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do GhostFrame or Shadow Camera have ads?
Neither GhostFrame nor Shadow Camera shows ads.
Which is updated more often, GhostFrame or Shadow Camera?
GhostFrame ships an update fortnightly, and Shadow Camera every 3 weeks. Most recently, GhostFrame was updated on October 10, 2026 and Shadow Camera on October 7, 2026.

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