Comparison

Halide Mark III vs Prime

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

Head to head
About

Halide Mark III

This professional camera app offers advanced manual controls and powerful tools for deliberate photography. Capture stunning RAW images, utilize Neural Macro for close-ups on any iPhone, and access features like focus peaking and histograms. Learn photography with included lessons and customize your shooting experience.

Highlights
  • Manual exposure and focus controls
  • Neural Macro for close-up shots
  • 14-bit RAW and ProRAW capture
  • Exposure tools: histograms, waveform, zebras
  • Focus peaking and loupe
  • Gesture-based interface
  • Included photography lessons
Features
Read full description

Halide unleashes your iPhone’s camera. Disable iPhone processing for natural photos, apply powerful film situations, access manual controls, and more. Halide has over 24,000 5-star ratings and is an App Store Editors’ Choice and Apple Design Award winner. Halide’s Looks are built into the camera itself, changing how your photo is captured and processed - not just a color filter applied after the fact. These are the best photos you can get out of an iPhone. Start with Process Zero for natural, film-like results, without any AI or computational photography. Explore our rich set of creative Looks developed with Hollywood colorist Cullen Kelly, and powered by sophisticated film simulation. For nine years, Halide has set the standard for professional iPhone camera control. Nail your manual focus with Focus Peaking and the Focus Loupe. Compose your shots with intention using sophisticated framing guides, from a basic grid and rule of thirds, to the golden ratio and rabatment of the rectangle. Get perfect macro shots with Halide's dedicated Macro Mode. Hate editing? Halide gives you amazing results straight out of the camera. But when you need to fine-tune, Photo Lab makes it fast and intuitive. Try dramatically different Looks, adjust framing and exposure, experiment with film simulation, or rescue details in highlights and shadows with Tone Fusion. You can even import and load RAWs from other apps, such as Apple’s own camera app, or standalone cameras by Canon, Nikon, Sony, Leica, Fujifilm, and Hasselblad. Specific formats are listed below. *Halide is a paid app. Try it free for 7 days with an annual membership, or buy it outright with a one-time purchase — no subscription required.* Features: - Shoot without Apple’s computational photography for stronger contrast and more natural results. - Photographic Looks developed in collaboration with esteemed Hollywood colorist Cullen Kelly. - Rescue details in shadows and highlights with a Tone Fusion slider inspired by darkroom dodging and burning. - Try any Look on existing ProRAW files - including photos shot in Apple’s camera app. - Become a better photographer by signing up for our 10-day tutorial directly from the app. - Full manual exposure controls including shutter speed, ISO and white balance. - Technical Readout to view all details of your iPhone camera hardware. - Also runs on iPad, for an amazing Photo Lab experience. RAW File Support: - DNG (iPhone, Leica) - CR2 (Canon) - CR3 (Canon) - NEF (Nikon) - RAF (Fujifilm) - ARW (Sony) - FFF (Hasselblad) Terms of Use can be found here: https://halide.cam/terms Privacy: https://www.lux.camera/privacy/

About

Prime

Take full creative control of your iPhone photography with this intuitive manual camera app. Features like Smart Focus Peaking™ and live metering help you achieve precise shots. Capture in RAW format for maximum editing flexibility.

Highlights
  • Smart Focus Peaking™
  • Full manual focus, ISO, shutter speed, white balance
  • RAW and RAW + JPEG capture
  • Live Light Meter
  • Shutter and ISO priority modes
  • Composition overlays
Features
Read full description

The easiest, most intuitive manual camera app for your iPhone. What's the point of manual focus if you need a magnifying glass? See what's in focus with Smart Focus Peaking™. Full manual control of: • Focus with Smart Focus Peaking™ • ISO • Shutter Speed • White Balance • Exposure Compensation • Fill Flash Brightness More Sweet Features: • Capture RAW or RAW + JPEG (compatible devices only) • Live Light Meter • Live ISO and Shutter Values • Shutter priority mode • ISO priority mode • 3D Level • Rule of Thirds, Triangle, and Golden Spiral Overlays • 3 & 10 Second Timers • Photos save directly to Camera Roll — Requires iOS 12 or later. Please note: iPhones are designed with a fixed aperture that cannot be changed.

Screenshots

Halide Mark III4 screens
Prime4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Halide Mark III at Free against Prime's $2.99. Halide Mark III also leads on update cadence (every 11 days vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (14K vs 66). Prime's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and review sentiment (55% vs 41%). On 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

Halide Mark III is free to download; Prime costs $2.99 up front. Halide Mark III sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Prime asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Halide Mark III holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Halide Mark III has 14K ratings behind it against 66, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 41% of Halide Mark III's written reviews are positive against 55% of Prime's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Halide Mark III ships an update every 11 days, Prime every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Halide Mark III versus Prime: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHalide Mark IIIPrime
PriceFree — better$2.99
Rating4.4 (14K ratings) — better4.2 (66 ratings)
Positive reviews41.3% of reviews54.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings14K — better66
Update frequencyEvery 11 days — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank#172 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS18.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size87 MB33 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLux Optics IncorporatedKlinger

Customer experience

Halide Mark III

All ratings13,589 ratings
Positive86.4%
Neutral2.5%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews881 reviews
Positive41.3%
Neutral8.1%
Negative50.6%

Prime

All ratings66 ratings
Positive78.8%
Neutral4.5%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews148 reviews
Positive54.7%
Neutral10.1%
Negative35.1%

Bugs and requests

Halide Mark III

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Photos not saving properly
  • Zoom functionality issues
  • Landscape mode UI problems

Requested features

5 requests
  • Shutter speed adjustment
  • Live depth/bokeh preview
  • Custom white balance
  • Time-lapse and video recording
  • Ability to save settings/presets

Prime

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Halide Mark III

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Camera, Editor, and Lessons$9.991 Month
  • Pro Camera, Editor, and Lessons7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • One Time Purchase$69.99
None

Prime

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Halide Mark III free?
Halide Mark III is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Prime free?
Prime costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Halide Mark III or Prime?
Halide Mark III is rated higher. Halide Mark III averages 4.4 out of 5 from 14K ratings, while Prime averages 4.2 from 66 ratings.
Do Halide Mark III or Prime have ads?
Neither Halide Mark III nor Prime shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Halide Mark III or Prime?
Halide Mark III ships an update every 11 days, and Prime every 4 months. Most recently, Halide Mark III was updated on October 23, 2026 and Prime on October 22, 2026.

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