Comparison

+Frames vs Shutter Link

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

Head to head
About

+Frames

This app helps astrophotographers plan their shots by providing a sky atlas, equipment-specific target recommendations, and field-of-view previews. It also offers an AI assistant for personalized advice and project tracking for deep-sky objects.

Highlights
  • Sky atlas with millions of stars and deep-sky objects
  • Ranked target recommendations based on equipment and sky conditions
  • True field-of-view preview for cameras and eyepieces
  • Mosaic planning up to 4x4
  • Project tracking for exposures and filters
  • AI assistant for personalized astrophotography advice
  • Augmented Reality (AR) mode for target location
Read full description

Clear night ahead? +Frames tells you what to shoot - and how to shoot it. THE ATLAS The whole sky in your pocket: ~12 million stars down to magnitude 14, 8,800 deep-sky objects, Sun, Moon and planets, asteroids, comets and 16,000 satellites moving live. Real astrophotos lie on the map, galaxies are drawn with their true orientation, and every object opens a card with the numbers that matter tonight. TONIGHT'S TARGETS, RANKED The Night tab scores every object for YOUR equipment, YOUR sky and YOUR horizon: altitude, moon distance, usable dark window, field-of-view fit. Grade A to E - the best target for tonight is always on top. FRAME IT True field-of-view preview for your camera or eyepiece. Rotate the frame, plan mosaics up to 4×4, check the sampling. An 8-sector horizon profile per site keeps trees and rooftops out of your plans. PROJECTS Track every target over nights: subs, exposure, gain, filter by filter. Camera angle and position are saved with the project and restored when you return. Export the plan in ASIAIR format. ASTRO BUDDY Your AI assistant knows your gear, your site and tonight's sky. Ask what to shoot, why a filter fits, how long to expose — computed from your sensor, your Bortle sky and the Moon. Type "I have a ZWO ASI2600MC" and he looks it up and saves it to your gear. AND MORE - Plate solving puts your own photos on the atlas - AR mode shows where a target sits in your real sky - Red night mode protects your dark adaptation - Calendar with moon phases and events, searchable up to 2050 - Works offline; no account, your data stays on your device (private iCloud backup) +Frames Premium unlocks the whole app - 7-day free trial. Languages: EN, DE, FR, ES, IT, PT, JA, KO, ZH, UK, RU, PL, TR. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ App terms: https://plus-frames.com/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://plus-frames.com/privacy.html

About

Shutter Link

Features
Read full description

ShutterLink turns your iPhone into a remote for the camera you already own, over Bluetooth. No Wi-Fi network to join, no hotspot that drops, no account to make. Pair once, and the camera is there when you pick the phone up. Works with Sony Alpha, Fujifilm X and GFX, and Canon EOS bodies that have Bluetooth remote control. A REMOTE YOU ARRANGE Add, move, resize and remove controls on a grid, the way you would in Control Center. Upright and sideways are kept separately, and every camera keeps its own layout. Shutter, half press, single shot, shoot on focus, 3s and 10s self timers, AF-ON, C1, video record, power zoom and focus drive, as far as the body allows. SEQUENCES A bulb timer, an intervalometer and focus bracketing, composed into one run, with an estimate of how long it will take before you start it. Exposure ramping gives every frame a different length across a run, for a timelapse shot into changing light. A Live Activity keeps the count on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island while the phone is in your pocket. ON YOUR WRIST, AND EVERYWHERE ELSE An Apple Watch remote with four controls you choose per camera. Siri and Shortcuts for shutter, start and stop. A Control Center button for the shutter, one press from anywhere. MORE THAN ONE CAMERA Pair as many bodies as you like. They stay connected together, and the title on the remote decides which one it drives, so a sequence running on one carries on while you shoot with the other. GEOTAGGING AND THE SHOT LOG Feed the phone's position to the camera over the maker's own location service, and the camera writes GPS into its own files, including the frames you fire on the body that the app never sees. The shot log records when and where every frame the app triggered went off, and exports GPX for matching photos by capture time in Lightroom or Capture One. FREE TO CONNECT, PAY TO CONTROL Finding, pairing and connecting cost nothing, so you can watch the app talk to your camera before you spend anything. One purchase then unlocks the remote for every supported make, now and for the makes added later. No subscription, no account, no sign-in. WHAT BLUETOOTH CANNOT DO Bluetooth is a remote release, not a tether. There is no live view, no image preview or transfer, and no reading or setting ISO, aperture, shutter speed or white balance. What is on offer also varies by make: a Fujifilm gives the shutter, its half press and geotagging, and a Canon gives different things depending on which of its two Bluetooth modes you paired from. The app follows what your camera can actually do rather than what its badge says, lists that for you before you buy, and never draws a button the body will not answer. Not affiliated with, or endorsed by, Sony, Fujifilm or Canon. Product names are the trademarks of their owners.

Screenshots

+Frames4 screens
Shutter Link4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: +Frames at 18.0 against Shutter Link's 26.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. +Frames sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Shutter Link sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

+Frames ships an update every 8 days, Shutter Link fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
+Frames versus Shutter Link: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter+FramesShutter Link
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 8 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size743 MB21 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLEVIN GIDEON MERANERJonathan Underwood

In-app purchases

2 purchases

+Frames

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year
1 purchases

Shutter Link

One-time1
  • Bluetooth Remote$6.99

Questions

Is +Frames free?
+Frames is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Shutter Link free?
Shutter Link is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do +Frames or Shutter Link have ads?
Neither +Frames nor Shutter Link shows ads.
Which is updated more often, +Frames or Shutter Link?
+Frames ships an update every 8 days, and Shutter Link fortnightly. Most recently, +Frames was updated on September 26, 2026 and Shutter Link on October 1, 2026.

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