Halide Mark III vs Polycam 3D Scanner & Measuring
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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/
Polycam 3D Scanner & Measuring
Create high-quality 3D models, precise LiDAR scans, and immersive 360° images directly from your iPhone or iPad. Edit and export your creations in industry-standard formats, and share them with a global community of creators.
- Create high-quality 3D models from photos
- Precise LiDAR 3D scanning
- Generate detailed 3D room models
- Capture immersive 360° images
- Edit and measure 3D models on-device
- Export to industry-standard 3D software
- Generate 2D floor plans and blueprints
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Polycam turns a single phone scan into the documents jobs run on: floor plans, as-builts, estimates, roof reports, claims files, measurements, and CAD-ready exports. No tripod. No technician. No two-week wait. WHAT YOU WALK AWAY WITH • Floor plans — 2D and 3D, ready for AutoCAD, SketchUp, and Revit • As-builts — weeks of documentation compressed into minutes • Measurements — every dimension in the room, in the time it takes to cross it • Estimates — priced off real conditions, not guesses • Claims and damage records — dated, dimensioned, defensible • 3D models and point clouds — .obj, .dae, .fbx, .stl, .dxf, .ply, .esx • 360° tours — shareable links for clients and remote stakeholders HOW YOU CAPTURE IT • 3D scanner for fast, accurate interior and structural capture that works without LiDAR • Photogrammetry and Gaussian splats from photos and video • Drone and aerial capture for roofs, exteriors, and whole-site coverage • Measure, annotate, crop, rescale, and label directly on the scan WHERE IT FITS IN YOUR WORKFLOW • Construction documentation and progress tracking • Renovation and design visualization • Insurance, restoration, and damage assessment • Site survey and drone-based mapping • BIM coordination and CAD workflows • Factory layout and equipment documentation WORK FROM ONE TRUTH Share scans and floor plans with clients and teammates by link. Control access with private or public permissions. Use shared libraries so the whole team is looking at the same site. View, edit, and export from any computer on Polycam Web, included free. 34 million scans. More than 10 million people. Over 2 billion square feet captured. Privacy Policy: https://poly.cam/privacy_policy.pdf Terms of Use: https://poly.cam/terms_and_conditions.pdf
Screenshots
Verdict
Halide Mark III and Polycam 3D Scanner & Measuring both sit at 4.4 stars, but that hides the real split: 70% of Polycam 3D Scanner & Measuring's written reviews are positive against 41% of Halide Mark III's. Polycam 3D Scanner & Measuring also leads on ratings volume (44K vs 14K). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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
Both are free to download. Halide Mark III sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Polycam 3D Scanner & Measuring sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $26.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Polycam 3D Scanner & Measuring holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 14K and 44K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 41% of Halide Mark III's written reviews are positive against 70% of Polycam 3D Scanner & Measuring's.
Halide Mark III ships an update every 11 days, Polycam 3D Scanner & Measuring weekly. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Halide Mark III | Polycam 3D Scanner & Measuring |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (14K ratings) | 4.6 (44K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 41.3% of reviews | 70.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 14K | 44K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 11 days | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #146 | #66 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Vision Pro — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 87 MB | 512 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Lux Optics Incorporated | Polycam Inc. |
Customer experience
Halide Mark III
Polycam 3D Scanner & Measuring
User reviews
Halide Mark III
From 14K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Powerful manual controls
- 👍 Intuitive and clean interface
- 🔍 Excellent RAW capture and editing
- 📷 Macro and depth features
- 🎨 Great image quality and color
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
- 🔍 Depth/portrait mode limitations
- 🕰️ Slow performance on older devices
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 🔒 Lack of free trial or demo
Polycam 3D Scanner & Measuring
From 44K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast and efficient
- 👍 Easy to use
- 🤩 Impressive results
- 🎨 Great for 3D modeling and scanning
- 💻 Useful for professional applications
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy and crashes frequently
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 🔍 Lack of instructions and user guidance
- 🔍 Unclear feature limitations in free version
- 🔍 Inconsistent performance across devices
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
Polycam 3D Scanner & Measuring
Reported bugs
4 issues- Scans disappearing after processing
- Inability to save or export scans
- Inconsistent behavior when exiting the app
- Inaccurate room dimensions and measurements
Requested features
5 requests- Add flash support for better lighting
- Allow screen rotation for wider scanning angles
- Improve texture quality and reduce artifacts
- Provide more detailed feedback during scanning
- Enable offline scanning without internet connection
In-app purchases
Halide Mark III
- Pro Camera, Editor, and Lessons$9.991 Month
- Pro Camera, Editor, and Lessons7 Days trial$19.991 Year
- One Time Purchase$69.99
Polycam 3D Scanner & Measuring
- Polycam Pro Monthly$26.991 Month
- Polycam Basic$29.991 Month
- Polycam Pro Monthly$29.991 Month
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- Polycam Basic Yearly7 Days trial$149.991 Year
- Polycam Pro Yearly7 Days trial$199.991 Year
- Polycam Pro Annual7 Days trial$239.991 Year
- Polycam Pro$499.99
Questions
Is Halide Mark III free?
Is Polycam 3D Scanner & Measuring free?
Which has better reviews, Halide Mark III or Polycam 3D Scanner & Measuring?
Do Halide Mark III or Polycam 3D Scanner & Measuring have ads?
Which is updated more often, Halide Mark III or Polycam 3D Scanner & Measuring?
Which is more popular, Halide Mark III or Polycam 3D Scanner & Measuring?
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