Comparison

F8 Effect vs KUMU

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

Head to head
About

F8 Effect

This camera app transforms your live view into retro game-style visuals. Apply 8-bit and 16-bit era aesthetics in real-time or edit existing photos with these unique filters.

Highlights
  • Live retro game-style effects
  • Edit existing photos
  • Customizable presets
  • Resolution adjustments
  • Dithering effect
  • CRT-style filter
Features
Read full description

F8 Effect is a camera app that applies retro game-style effects to your live camera feed in real time. Experience the look and feel of 8-bit and 16-bit era visuals, right through your camera. You can also load images from your photo library and edit them with the same effects. ● KEY FEATURES · Presets for instant retro looks — with full manual control over each setting · Resolution presets ranging from retro game styles to modern sizes · Contrast, brightness & color inversion · Dithering · CRT-style effect (RGB Mask) · Vignette, chromatic aberration & curvature · Edge detection

About

KUMU

Features
Read full description

KUMU is a photo layout app made for composing photos, not just arranging them. Combine photos, negative space, text, and graphic elements within a grid, and decide the composition with your own hands. KUMU stays out of the way and helps you shape everything into place. ■ Compose photos freely Place photos on a grid, move and swap them, adjust their scale, position, and crop. You can use the same photo more than once, or let a single photo span multiple grid cells. ■ Combine photos, space, text, and overlays Create layouts using photos, empty space, and color cells. Text can be placed freely over your composition, with support for moving, scaling, and rotation. Adjust horizontal or vertical writing, fonts, colors, character spacing, and line spacing. With Overlays, you can also add rectangles, circles, lines, and images on top of your composition. ■ Harmonize different photos Use Harmonize to balance differences in brightness and color when several photos are combined into a single work. You can let KUMU adjust them naturally, or choose one photo as a reference for the others. Individual photo adjustments and finishing adjustments for the entire composition are also available. ■ Fine-tune your layout Adjust cell spacing, outer margins, backgrounds, corner radius, borders, shadows, feathering, and blending. Editing grid guides are never included in the exported image, so you can work with structure while keeping the final result clean. ■ Save your works and continue later Your current editing state is automatically saved on your device, so you can continue where you left off the next time you open KUMU. You can also save multiple named works and return to them later for further editing. ■ Made for iPhone and iPad KUMU provides the same core editing experience on both iPhone and iPad. On iPad, the larger workspace and grids up to 10×10 give you even more room to build detailed compositions. ■ KUMU Pro The Free version includes KUMU’s core editing features. KUMU Pro is a one-time purchase that unlocks: ・Up to 50 photos ・Grids up to 7×7 on iPhone and 10×10 on iPad ・All aspect ratios ・Up to 50 saved works ・High-resolution collage export up to 6000 px ・Export of original source photos used in a work ・Individual export of placed photos You decide the composition. KUMU helps bring it together. Make your photos your own with KUMU.

Screenshots

F8 Effect4 screens
KUMU4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: KUMU at none against F8 Effect's shown. KUMU also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 3 days). F8 Effect's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, in-app purchases 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. F8 Effect sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and KUMU sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

F8 Effect ships an update every 3 days, KUMU daily. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 5 level
F8 Effect versus KUMU: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterF8 EffectKUMU
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Update frequencyEvery 3 daysDaily — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size111 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYuta YamamotoAKIRA SANO

In-app purchases

2 purchases

F8 Effect

One-time2
  • Remove Watermark$0.99
  • Remove Ads$12.99
1 purchases

KUMU

One-time1
  • KUMU Pro$9.99

Questions

Is F8 Effect free?
F8 Effect is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is KUMU free?
KUMU is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do F8 Effect or KUMU have ads?
F8 Effect shows ads; KUMU does not.
Which is updated more often, F8 Effect or KUMU?
F8 Effect ships an update every 3 days, and KUMU daily. Most recently, F8 Effect was updated on October 8, 2026 and KUMU on October 29, 2026.

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