Comparison

NightCap Camera vs Parachute

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

Head to head
About

NightCap Camera

Capture stunning low-light and night photos and videos with advanced features like long exposure, AI-powered controls, and specialized astrophotography modes. Achieve DSLR-like results and unlock your device's full potential in challenging lighting conditions.

Highlights
  • Low light and night photo/video capture
  • Long exposure and motion blur effects
  • Astrophotography modes (stars, aurora, ISS, meteors)
  • AI camera control for automatic settings
  • Manual gesture-based adjustments
  • 4K time lapse recording
  • ISO Boost for brighter low-light shots
Features
Read full description

Photograph star trails or stunning smooth waterfalls. Capture a meteor mid-streak or traffic with light trails. And clear, detailed photos where there’s barely any light at all. One-time purchase, no subscription. ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY Four modes that automatically set the camera up for you. - Star Trails: watch the stars draw circles overhead - Meteors: automatic capture of shooting stars - ISS: the International Space Station passing over - Stars: starry skies and the Milky Way - New in version 10: Aurora, a time-lapse mode for the Northern and Southern Lights LONG EXPOSURE Hold the shutter open for seconds or minutes and movement becomes light. - Long Exposure: motion blur, or a cleaner shot when you hold still - Light Trails: traffic at night, fireworks, light painting - Both as time-lapse too, up to 4K with adjustable speed LOW LIGHT - ISO Boost for up to 4x beyond the standard camera range - Light Boost - Noise Reduction - Night Mode video and timelapse HANDHELD New in version 10. NightCap steadies and aligns every frame as you shoot, so long exposures no longer need a tripod. MANUAL CONTROL - Swipe to adjust exposure, ISO, focus and white balance - Camera Control on iPhone 16 and later - Zoom to 16x - Black and white mode Also includes an interval programmer, self-timer, and an Apple Watch app with live preview and remote control.

About

Parachute

This app helps you prepare for emergencies by broadcasting your live video, audio, and location to trusted contacts with a single touch. It offers advanced features like discreet recording, evidence saving, and remote activation to ensure your safety and provide crucial information when it matters most.

Highlights
  • Live video, audio, and location broadcast
  • One-touch emergency contact notification
  • Discreet recording and evidence saving
  • Advanced safety features like Superlock and Checkup
  • Multi-camera recording
  • Siri activation and lock screen widget
Read full description

Emergencies happen. It’s a fact of life. And even though you can’t control when they happen, you can control how prepared you are. When the time comes for help, you don’t want something that’s “good enough”. You want the best tool you can get. Meet Parachute Parachute lets you broadcast your video, audio and location to your friends and loved ones in the event of an emergency With just one touch, Parachute: ‣ Simultaneously calls, texts and emails your emergency contacts ‣ Sends them your live video, audio and location straight from the scene ‣ Records discreetly to protect your safety ‣ Prevents accidental touches from stopping the recording or blurring the focus ‣ Saves all your evidence away from your phone, so it is safe even if the phone is lost, taken, or destroyed Advanced ‣ Superlock: Prevents an unauthorized person who grabs your phone from stopping the recording ‣ Checkup: Checks up on you every 12 hours and alerts your emergency contacts if you don’t mark yourself safe ‣ Multi-Camera: Captures video from the front and back cameras simultaneously for 200 degrees of camera coverage ‣ Siri: Activate Parachute by saying a codeword to Siri ‣ Phone Alert: Pre-record an alert message that your emergency contacts will hear when Parachute calls them ‣ Emergency Notes: Set up emergency notes to be released in the event of an emergency ‣ Twitter: Tweets your live incident and pre-written tweet in the event of an emergency ‣ Lock Screen Widget: Quickly activate Parachute right from your lock screen ‣ Live Alert Status: See the live status of each alert sent out (texts sent, emails delivered, phone calls picked up) ‣ Evidence Wiping: Wipes your evidence as soon as it’s been pushed off your phone so someone getting a hold of your phone won’t be able to find anything ‣ Seamless Streaming: Recovers seamlessly from poor or spotty reception without losing evidence ‣ Global Coverage: Works all around the world ‣ More at parachute.live/app Recognition ‣ Over 4900 5-star reviews from around the world ‣ Featured on the App Store ‣ Winner of the TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2015 Hackathon ‣ Cameo in CSI:Cyber ‣ Featured in TechCrunch, Wired, CNBC, Fox News, Cult of Mac, Digital Trends, Sydney Morning Herald and more ‣ More at parachute.live/news Ethos & Integrity ‣ Free On Crash: We believe in our product so much that if it crashes during your emergency we give you back everything you’ve paid us in the past year ‣ Private & Tracker-Free: Forensic investigation reveals that Parachute is the only one of the top 20 safety apps that does not send your information to data collection companies. More at parachute.live/privacy ‣ Independent & VC-Free: We answer only to our members and we devote 100% of our time towards providing them with the best, fastest and most reliable technology in the event of an emergency ‣ Neutral: Parachute is a neutral conduit for emergencies, open to everyone, regardless of background and beliefs ‣ More at parachute.live/about Memberships ‣ Parachute (Monthly): Our flagship membership. Unlimited everything, personal concierge and priority access. US$9.99/month ‣ Parachute Lite (Monthly): Designed for light use. 3 incidents/month. US$2.99/month ‣ Parachute Micro (Yearly): Our most affordable membership. 3 incidents/year. US$2.99/year ‣ Free Week: All our memberships start with a 1-week all-inclusive free trial ‣ Cancel Anytime: After your free week, your membership will automatically renew monthly or yearly, paid with iTunes unless turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the cycle by managing it in iTunes Account Settings. Any unused trial time will be given up if you switch memberships See how Parachute compares to the alternatives at parachute.live/comparison Help: hi@parachute.live Privacy: https://parachute.live/privacy Terms of Use: https://parachute.live/terms Prices are in US dollars and may vary in other countries Parachute® is a registered trademark of Parachute Labs, Inc. Proudly made in New York

Screenshots

NightCap Camera4 screens
Parachute4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Parachute at Free against NightCap Camera's $2.99. Parachute also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.3) and review sentiment (63% vs 51%). NightCap Camera's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and chart position (#10 vs unranked). On 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Parachute is free to download; NightCap Camera costs $2.99 up front. Parachute sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. NightCap Camera asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Parachute holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NightCap Camera has 3K ratings behind it against 521, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 51% of NightCap Camera's written reviews are positive against 63% of Parachute's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NightCap Camera ships an update every 3 weeks, Parachute every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
NightCap Camera versus Parachute: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNightCap CameraParachute
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (3K ratings)4.6 (521 ratings) — better
Positive reviews51.0% of reviews63.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3K — better521
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 11 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#10 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.612.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB30 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRTDParachute Labs, Inc.

Customer experience

NightCap Camera

All ratings2,959 ratings
Positive83.5%
Neutral4.0%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews676 reviews
Positive51.0%
Neutral7.5%
Negative41.4%

Parachute

All ratings511 ratings
Positive92.6%
Neutral2.3%
Negative5.1%
Written reviews93 reviews
Positive63.4%
Neutral9.7%
Negative26.9%

User reviews

NightCap Camera

From 3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great for astrophotography
  • 👍 Excellent night/low light photography
  • 💡 Powerful manual controls
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 👍 Produces high-quality results

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes on newer devices
  • 🐛 Focus issues on iPhone 7+
  • 🔋 Drains battery quickly
  • 👎 Unintuitive user interface
  • 👎 Disappointing results for some users

Parachute

From 521 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Powerful safety features
  • 🔒 Secure live streaming and recording
  • 👍 Useful for emergencies
  • 👍 Provides peace of mind

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Unreliable activation and functionality
  • 🔒 Privacy concerns around data collection
  • 💰 Subscription-based model
  • 👎 Lack of customer support

Bugs and requests

NightCap Camera

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Photos not saving properly
  • Meteor mode not working as expected
  • Compatibility issues with iOS 8 and iPhone 6 Plus

Requested features

5 requests
  • RAW image support
  • Bluetooth remote shutter control
  • Ability to save settings
  • More exposure options
  • Improved timelapse features

Parachute

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Unexpected activations and false alerts
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
  • Audio/video quality problems

Requested features

4 requests
  • Emergency services integration
  • Test mode for safe experimentation
  • Offline recording and backup
  • Customizable activation methods

In-app purchases

None

NightCap Camera

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Parachute

Subscriptions4
  • Parachute Lite (Monthly)7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Parachute Micro (Yearly)7 Days trial$2.991 Year
  • Parachute (Monthly)7 Days trial$9.991 Month
Show 1 more
  • Parachute Family (Monthly)7 Days trial$14.991 Month

Questions

Is NightCap Camera free?
NightCap Camera costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Parachute free?
Parachute is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, NightCap Camera or Parachute?
Parachute is rated higher. NightCap Camera averages 4.3 out of 5 from 3K ratings, while Parachute averages 4.6 from 521 ratings.
Do NightCap Camera or Parachute have ads?
Neither NightCap Camera nor Parachute shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NightCap Camera or Parachute?
NightCap Camera ships an update every 3 weeks, and Parachute every 11 days. Most recently, NightCap Camera was updated on October 29, 2026 and Parachute on October 24, 2026.

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