Comic Life 3 vs ProductionCrate
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Comic Life 3
Create dynamic photo comics with a powerful and easy-to-use app. Add photos, customize text and graphics, and share your creations. Features include a script editor, image filters, and numerous templates.
- Integrated Script Editor
- Next-generation image filters
- Instant Alpha tool
- Customizable templates
- Speech balloons and lettering
- Multi-page comic support
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The Most Powerful Photo Comic Creation App Available. "Of the comic book apps I’ve used, Comic Life, [...], has the most features and works best on an iPad because of the bigger screen... I love the way the app allows you to edit tiny details, from the shape and style of word bubbles to the size and placement of each story cell." - Kit Eaton, The New York Times - Introducing an integrated Script Editor*, next generation image filters and built in Instant Alpha tool. - New graphics features include speedlines, halftones, updated stroke options and more! - Dozens of fully customizable templates. - Everything you need at your fingertips: speech balloons, photo filters, comic lettering, templates, shapes, shadows and effects. Download Comic Life 3 to create dynamic comics with your photos. Packed with fonts, templates, balloons, captions, and lettering art, Comic Life is a fun, powerful and easy-to-use app that makes creating comics easier than ever. And now you can build your comics anywhere you like! Easily go from taking photos to creating full comics all on one device with full page templates and panel layouts. Create original stories with the integrated Script Editor then drag and drop your words to the comic page when you're done. Bring in photos from your photo library or access web photos via Flickr integration, and the app’s powerful editing and design tools to get exactly the look you want. When your work of art is complete, use the integrated reader to review pages on your device. Or share with your friends and family. Choose from Facebook, Twitter, email or open your comic in another app as a PDF. New Tools and Features in Comic Life 3 Script Editor* that recognizes elements as you type 17 Advanced parametric image filters Dozens of full templates with hundreds of panel layout options. Instant Alpha tool built in so you can knock out image backgrounds Speedlines, halftones, and textures Fully customizable fill and borders for balloons, lettering, captions, panels and shapes New balloon variety slider for even more customization Customizable gradient builder Draw shapes Over 60 font options Load photos directly from photo library Integrated camera feature to instantly add photos to your comic Supports multi-page comics Using Comic Life you can: - Read your comics with the integrated e-reader. - Create photo comics in the full featured comic editor. - Share your comics on Facebook, Twitter, via Mail, AirDrop and iTunes File Share. - Transfer your comics to Mac or Windows and keep working with Comic Life 3 on your desktop or laptop. - Send your comics to a printer on your wireless network. - Choose from full page layouts including panels, titles and captions along with complimentary styles for a high end look. - Drag and Drop elements anywhere in your comic page. - Easily add photos from your library with the Place Photo button in panels. - Curve and place balloon tails precisely with advanced tail controls. - Resize and rotate images, clip them in panels along with balloons, captions, and lettering. - Create multilayered color gradients to design the perfect style for lettering, captions or background. - Use smart shapes to add common shapes and the free form shape drawing tool to create any line or shape you can imagine. - Work without worry of losing your creation as documents are automatically saved whenever a change is made. * This feature is available on iPad only
ProductionCrate
Easily add superpowers, explosions, and fire effects to your videos in seconds. This mobile VFX studio uses real-time motion tracking and 3D rendering to create immersive special effects without requiring technical knowledge. Access a vast library of assets to enhance your video content.
- 10,000+ video FX
- Real-time motion tracking
- 3D rendering
- No green screen required
- Intuitive timing control
- Access to all current and future special FX
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Add superpowers, explosions and fire VFX to your video instantly. While Hollywood movies take years to produce, ProductionCrate FX is the first mobile VFX studio that allows you to create exciting special effects in seconds. Built with flawless real-time motion tracking and 3D rendering, you have the power to create incredibly immersive video fx without any technical knowledge required. Simply add lightning, magic and spaceship fx into your scene, and hit record! ProductionCrate AR features: 10,000+ video FX 400+ high-quality 3D models Real-time camera tracking for your VFX Record, save and share your videos instantly Real-time foreground keying, no green screen required! Control over effect scale, rotation, brightness and more Intuitive timing control for timing your effects perfectly. Customizable trigger buttons to activate events Support for Front and Back camera Freedom to organize, delete and download new special fx. We've made high-end Hollywood effects accessible even to beginners by creating an effortless intuitive AR editing experience. You're in control of an unprecedented professional library of visual effects assets and are free to position them into augmented reality with the tap of a finger. Any video artist can use this app to compose lasers, dragons and spells with full control over its integration. ProductionCrate is constantly growing the selection of digital effects available for our community of mobile content creators. With this app, you'll have access to all current and future special fx forever. Pro ProductionCrate users will have unlimited access to everything on offer, while Free users can still access an exciting selection of effects. Inspire and stand out from the crowd by using ProductionCrate FX to build high production-value videos for your social media. You'll be able to produce short videos with incredible special effects without hours of additional work - helping you become an efficient video creator. This app will become your secret weapon to gain a competitive edge. Rapidly prototype effects for your film projects and use ProductionCrate FX as a previsualization platform. The vast selection of assets available makes this the perfect environment to plan out complex effects when working on a large project. By taking advantage of ProductionCrate FX's portability, you'll be able to collaborate and communicate ideas on-set, and instantly visualize these with your actors. Use ProductionCrate FX to learn the fundamentals of VFX. 3D tracking, blocking and lighting all become intuitive concepts to users of this app. Try placing a bright orange light source (such as a bulb, LED’s or a laptop screen) in the position of a fire effect, and you'll instantly recognise how practical lighting combined with ProductionCrate FX's digital effects work together to create a realistic image. ProductionCrate FX offers Free access to a limited range of content. Pro Membership unlocks access to the entire range of 10,000+ effects and 3D models. Payment will be charged either weekly, monthly or annually (dependant on selection) to your Apple account after upgrading to a Pro membership. You can cancel your Pro membership at any time. You will retain the features of Pro membership until the end of your current subscription period. Requires iOS 14 iPhone/iPad+ We would love to hear your feedback, ideas and questions. Contact us! Support@ProductionCrate.com TOS: https://www.productioncrate.com/legal/mobile-apps/TERMS.pdf
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: ProductionCrate at Free against Comic Life 3's $4.99. Comic Life 3's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and rating (4.3 vs 4.0). On review sentiment, ratings volume, 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
ProductionCrate is free to download; Comic Life 3 costs $4.99 up front. ProductionCrate sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month. Comic Life 3 asks for nothing beyond the download.
Comic Life 3 holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 239 and 302 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 64% of Comic Life 3's written reviews are positive against 59% of ProductionCrate's.
Comic Life 3 ships an update every 2 months, ProductionCrate monthly. Both last shipped on October 19, 2026.
| Parameter | Comic Life 3 | ProductionCrate |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.3 (239 ratings) — better | 4.0 (302 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 64.2% of reviews — better | 58.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 239 | 302 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Freemium — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 97 MB | 19 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | plasq LLC | PRODUCTIONCRATE STUDIOS LLC |
Customer experience
Comic Life 3
ProductionCrate
User reviews
Comic Life 3
From 239 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Intuitive interface
- 💡 Versatile for various purposes
- 🎨 Helpful for creating comics and graphics
- 👍 Great for students and educators
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and glitches
- 🔍 Difficult to navigate and find features
- 🔍 Unintuitive controls and menus
- 🔍 Limited customization options
- 🔍 Lack of advanced features compared to desktop version
ProductionCrate
From 302 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Extremely user friendly and easy to use
- 🚀 Free version has tons of great effects
- 🚀 Effects are super high quality
- 👍 Good for monster movies
- 👍 Game changer for creative cinematic projects
Room to improve
- 🔒 Hard to edit the VFX to be perfect
- 🔒 Download limit on the free version is obscure
- 🔒 Most effects require premium subscription
- 🐛 Can't do a lot of things, not fun
- 🔒 Everything costs money, too greedy
Bugs and requests
Comic Life 3
Reported bugs
4 issues- Frequent crashes and data loss
- Issues with placing and resizing elements
- Inconsistent behavior when adding or editing content
- Problems with syncing and opening projects across devices
Requested features
5 requests- Improved stability and reliability
- More customization options for text, layouts, and templates
- Ability to import and use custom fonts
- Better integration with cloud storage (e.g., iCloud, Dropbox)
- Streamlined export and sharing options
ProductionCrate
Reported bugs
6 issues- Download limit exceeded error even without downloads
- Free effects are actually paid
- Camera is extremely slow, like 1 frame per minute
- Effects disappear when moved
- Login issues even with paid subscription
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Can't use videos from camera roll
Requested features
10 requests- More free VFX effects
- Vampire, werewolf, and other monster filters
- Add sound effects
- Allow horizontal orientation
- More free effects, less premium content
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Add ability to record and then add effects
- Allow editing of already filmed videos
- Add custom sound effects
- Improve cutout and 3D object handling
- Add Kamehameha effect
In-app purchases
Comic Life 3
No in-app purchases
ProductionCrate
- Monthly$14.991 Month
- Yearly$49.991 Year
- 1 Download$0.99
- 10 Downloads$6.99
- 50 Downloads$24.99
Questions
Is Comic Life 3 free?
Is ProductionCrate free?
Which has better reviews, Comic Life 3 or ProductionCrate?
Do Comic Life 3 or ProductionCrate have ads?
Which is updated more often, Comic Life 3 or ProductionCrate?
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