Comparison

LightBox Extra vs SlideScan by Photomyne

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

Head to head
About

LightBox Extra

Easily view 35mm negatives and slides on your iOS device. Customize the background for optimal viewing and the app remembers your preferred settings.

Highlights
  • View 35mm negatives and slides
  • Customizable white background
  • Background adjusts to negative/slide area
  • Resizes for all iOS7 devices
  • Remembers custom box sizes
Features
Read full description

Use LightBox Extra to easily view 35mm negatives and slides. You can choose between a classic white background, or only have white where you place the negative/positive to avoid blinding yourself. Resizes itself to work on all iOS7 devices. You can resize the white boxes as needed, and next time you launch the app it will restore those.

About

SlideScan by Photomyne

Transform your old slides into digital photos quickly and easily using AI. Simply hold your slides up to a light source and let the app automatically crop, enhance, and save them as digital images. Enjoy unlimited scanning and sharing with an optional upgrade.

Highlights
  • AI-powered slide scanning
  • Automatic cropping and rotation
  • Image enhancement
  • Voice control option
  • Unlimited saving and sharing (premium)
  • Photo backup and cross-device access (premium)
Features
Read full description

Brought to you by the developer who built the smartest photo scanner app, Photomyne is proud to now also offer an AI-powered photo slide scanning app that will blow you away. See how those hidden memories in slides are instantly revealed and scanned. IT’S AUTOMATIC - JUST ADD SLIDES: 1. Open a backlight source on your computer (or use the link provided in the app) 2. Hold the slide in front of the light 3. Long-press the capture button or simply say “Go” (if voice control is enabled) 4. See slides magically scanned and images revealed The app’s smart algorithm will automatically crop, rotate, enhance, and save the slide as a digital photo in the app. OPTIONAL IN-APP UPGRADE: The first few photos are free. For unlimited use, consider purchasing an optional paid plan (in-app purchase). Here are the premium features you get with a paid plan: * Unlimited scanning * Unlimited photo saving and sharing * Photo backup and access on other devices and online. The app offers an optional paid plan via monthly/yearly auto-renewing subscriptions**, as well as a One-Time plan which is paid for by a single upfront payment (valid for 2 years). These offer unlimited access to the premium mentioned above. **Payment will be charged to your App Store account at confirmation of purchase. Your subscription will automatically renew itself unless auto-renewal is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage your subscriptions and turn off auto-renewal by going to your Account Settings in the App Store. If offered, if you choose to use our free trial, any unused portion of the free trial period will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription to that publication, where applicable. Got any questions? We’d love to connect: support@photomyne.com Privacy Policy: https://photomyne.com/privacy-policy Terms of Use: https://photomyne.com/terms-of-use

Screenshots

LightBox Extra4 screens
SlideScan by Photomyne4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: SlideScan by Photomyne at 4.6 against LightBox Extra's 2.3. SlideScan by Photomyne also leads on review sentiment (69% vs 28%) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 13 months). LightBox Extra's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. LightBox Extra sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and SlideScan by Photomyne sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SlideScan by Photomyne holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SlideScan by Photomyne has 13K ratings behind it against 19, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 28% of LightBox Extra's written reviews are positive against 69% of SlideScan by Photomyne's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

LightBox Extra ships an update every 13 months, SlideScan by Photomyne every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
LightBox Extra versus SlideScan by Photomyne: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLightBox ExtraSlideScan by Photomyne
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.3 (19 ratings)4.6 (13K ratings) — better
Positive reviews27.8% of reviews69.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1913K — better
Update frequencyEvery 13 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS8.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB157 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperSkyCharts LLCPhotomyne LTD

Customer experience

LightBox Extra

All ratings19 ratings
Positive36.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative63.2%
Written reviews18 reviews
Positive27.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative72.2%

SlideScan by Photomyne

All ratings12,800 ratings
Positive91.3%
Neutral3.6%
Negative5.1%
Written reviews477 reviews
Positive69.4%
Neutral5.2%
Negative25.4%

Bugs and requests

LightBox Extra

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

SlideScan by Photomyne

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Backlight detection issues
  • Inconsistent voice control
  • Scanning freezes after updates

Requested features

4 requests
  • Batch scanning option
  • Improved image editing tools
  • Higher resolution scanning
  • Easier subscription management

In-app purchases

1 purchases

LightBox Extra

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$0.99
10 purchases

SlideScan by Photomyne

Subscriptions4
  • Unlimited (Monthly)2 variants$9.991 Month
  • Unlimited (Monthly)$14.991 Month
  • Unlimited (Yearly)3 Days trial2 variants$39.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Unlimited (Yearly)3 Days trial$49.991 Year
One-time6
  • Remove announcements$0.99
  • Video effects$4.99
  • SlideScan membership$24.99
Show 3 more
  • Unlimited scanning (5 years)$39.99
  • Unlimited scanning (2 years)$39.99
  • Unlimited scanning (2 years)$69.99

Questions

Is LightBox Extra free?
LightBox Extra is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SlideScan by Photomyne free?
SlideScan by Photomyne is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, LightBox Extra or SlideScan by Photomyne?
SlideScan by Photomyne is rated higher. LightBox Extra averages 2.3 out of 5 from 19 ratings, while SlideScan by Photomyne averages 4.6 from 13K ratings.
Do LightBox Extra or SlideScan by Photomyne have ads?
SlideScan by Photomyne shows ads; LightBox Extra does not.
Which is updated more often, LightBox Extra or SlideScan by Photomyne?
LightBox Extra ships an update every 13 months, and SlideScan by Photomyne every 2 months. Most recently, LightBox Extra was updated on October 7, 2026 and SlideScan by Photomyne on October 18, 2026.

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