Comparison

LightCalc.io vs ClappyBoard

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

Head to head
About

LightCalc.io

Features
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LightCalc is the on-set lighting tool built for cinematographers, gaffers and lighting professionals. Stop doing mental maths under pressure - get the right exposure, the right fixture, and the right setup in seconds. Exposure Calculator Input your camera settings - T-stop, ISO, shutter angle, frame rate, ND filters - and instantly see the illuminance your scene needs. Switch between lux and foot-candles with one tap. Ambient Light Meter Use your iPhone camera as a live lux meter. Point at any surface to get a real-time ambient reading and feed it directly into your calculations - no separate hardware needed. Fixture Comparison Compare up to four lighting fixtures side by side at any distance. Adjust count and dimming per fixture and see relative output at a glance. Power & Distance Solver Know exactly what dimming level or distance you need to hit your target exposure. Works with your chosen fixture, modifier, diffusion and gel. Full Fixture Library Access a curated library of professional fixtures and modifiers. Plus users can add their own custom fixtures and diffusion materials - synced across web and mobile. Projects Save your setups and reload them on the next shoot. Your lighting data travels with you. Built for the Set Dark UI, fast inputs, haptic feedback - designed to be used in low-light environments with one hand while holding a light meter in the other. LightCalc requires an active LightCalc Plus subscription. Manage your subscription at lightcalc.io. Privacy Policy: https://lightcalc.io/privacy-policy | Terms of Use: https://lightcalc.io/terms-conditions

About

ClappyBoard

Features
Read full description

ClappyBoard is a digital clapperboard for indie productions. Hold anywhere to arm the board, release to mark. ClappyBoard fires a full-screen white flash carrying the exact time of day, scene and take โ€” a frame an editor can find by eye and a waveform spike they can find by ear. BUILT FOR INDIE BUDGETS No timecode boxes to rent, no jam-syncing between setups, nobody tied up just to hold the clapper. ClappyBoard puts a real sync mark on every take using a phone someone on set already owns โ€” prop it on a stand or hand it to whoever's free. Narrative, doc or commercial, anywhere sound rolls separately from picture. THE WHOLE SLATE IS FREE Every mark, every sound, the full log and CSV export โ€” free, with no limit on takes and nothing held back until wrap. Free boards simply carry ClappyBoard as the production name. CLAPPYBOARD PRO - Circle your best takes before you wrap: mark each take good or no good right after the clap - Add a note to any take, with one-tap phrases like "boom in shot" - Put your own production name on the board - Keep a separate board and log for every job you shoot Marks and notes go into the free CSV export too, so your editor always gets them. THE BOARD - Landscape clapperboard layout, readable across a room - Big ROLL, SCENE and TAKE boxes - Live time-of-day readout at your production frame rate - Two board styles: classic black or light MARKING A TAKE - Hold to arm, release to mark โ€” stray taps never fire - Full-screen flash with the mark's time, scene and take burned in - Choose your clap sound: a real clapperboard recording or a 1 kHz beep - Plays at full volume even with the ringer on silent - Undo the last mark if you fumble it FAST BETWEEN TAKES - Takes count up automatically after every mark - Swipe on SCENE to move forward or back; double-tap for the next scene - Swipe on TAKE to nudge the number - Go back to an earlier scene and takes pick up where you left off A LOG YOU CAN TRUST AT WRAP - Every mark recorded with scene, take, roll and time - Nothing is ever rewritten โ€” the log is what actually happened - Export the whole shoot as a CSV to hand your editor - Marks and notes from Pro show next to each take PRIVATE BY CONSTRUCTION No account or sign-in. Usage analytics are optional and can be turned off in Setup. Production names, slate fields and CSV contents stay on your device. ClappyBoard still works in airplane mode and never asks for a device permission. Purchases go through Apple. ClappyBoard Pro is a subscription: $7.99 a month, or $49.99 a year with a 1-week free trial for new subscribers. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. It renews automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. If you bought Pro before 2.0, you keep it for good, with every new Pro feature. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://ginsberg.ai/privacy/clappyboard

Screenshots

LightCalc.io4 screens
ClappyBoard3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: ClappyBoard at none against LightCalc.io's shown. On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support 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. LightCalc.io sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $34.99 per year and ClappyBoard sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference ยท 5 level
LightCalc.io versus ClappyBoard: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLightCalc.ioClappyBoard
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyFortnightlyFortnightly
AdsYesNo โ€” better
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.017.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size57 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMatthias Streicher-FeldhoferGinsberg AI LLC

In-app purchases

1 purchases

LightCalc.io

Subscriptions1
  • LightCalc Plus14 Days trial$34.991 Year
2 purchases

ClappyBoard

Subscriptions2
  • ClappyBoard Pro$7.991 Month
  • ClappyBoard Pro7 Days trial$49.991 Year

Questions

Is LightCalc.io free?
LightCalc.io is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ClappyBoard free?
ClappyBoard is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do LightCalc.io or ClappyBoard have ads?
LightCalc.io shows ads; ClappyBoard does not.
Which is updated more often, LightCalc.io or ClappyBoard?
LightCalc.io ships an update fortnightly, and ClappyBoard fortnightly. Most recently, LightCalc.io was updated on October 28, 2026 and ClappyBoard on October 31, 2026.

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