# Jolly Lights vs Annotable

The clearest difference is update cadence: Annotable at every 2 months against Jolly Lights's every 9 months. Annotable also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.4) and ratings volume (894 vs 49). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Jolly Lights sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Annotable sells 8 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Annotable holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Annotable has 894 ratings behind it against 49, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 79% of Jolly Lights's written reviews are positive against 75% of Annotable's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Jolly Lights ships an update every 9 months, Annotable every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Jolly Lights | Annotable |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.4 (49 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/jolly-lights/id933263480/reviews) | **[4.6 (894 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/annotable-annotation-and-markup/id1099850421/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 49 | **894** |
| Positive reviews | **79.2% of reviews** | 75.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | **Every 2 months** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 68 MB | 9 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.0** | 16.6 |
| Devices | iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Wrinkle-free Games, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/441736974) | [凌 王](https://appshunter.io/developer/347232661) |

## What reviewers say

### Jolly Lights

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/jolly-lights/id933263480)

Add festive holiday lights to your photos or create original illuminated art. Customize bulb size, color, and placement, and enhance your creations with frames and text. Share your animated light designs as videos or GIFs.

**Highlights:** Holiday light decoration, Customizable bulb editor, Themed photo frames, Text overlays, Light animation timers, Video and GIF export

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Holiday Pack #1 | $1.99 | one-time |
| Unlock Text Mode | $1.99 | one-time |
| Holiday Pack #2 | $1.99 | one-time |
| Holiday Pack #3 | $1.99 | one-time |


### Annotable

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/annotable-annotation-and-markup/id1099850421)

This app provides a comprehensive suite of tools for annotating and marking up images. It offers a wide range of customization options for common annotation elements and unique features like text highlighting on screenshots. The app supports various iOS system integrations for a seamless user experience.

**Highlights:** Common annotation tools (rectangles, text, arrows), Customizable colors, sizes, and fonts, Blur and pixelation for obscuring information, Spotlights and Loupes for highlighting, Text highlighting on screenshots, High-resolution output, Support for all image types

**Features:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Color Customization | $1.99 | one-time |
| Text Highlighter & Redaction Tool | $1.99 | one-time |
| All Obscuration Styles | $1.99 | one-time |
| Blur Tool | $1.99 | one-time |
| Spotlight Tool | $1.99 | one-time |
| Loupe Tool | $1.99 | one-time |
| All Text Styles & Fonts | $1.99 | one-time |
| All Features | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Game changer
- 🚀 Excellent—the built-in iOS markup features pale in comparison
- 👍 Easy to use
- 👍 Fantastic!
- 👍 Amazing App

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Blur broken ios26
- 🔒 Can't undo
- 💰 Paid app, free version is worthless
- 💰 Everything is locked behind a pay wall
- 💰 Extremely frustrating to use

**Reported bugs**

- Blur broken ios26
- Can't save edits on iPad Pro, 14.5.1
- In-App Purchases do not work
- Loss of work
- App freezes occasionally on iPad

**Requested features**

- Open the app directly to the camera
- Save images to the app, not to my phone or make a specific folder to save Annotated images
- Make a Mac version
- Add insert photo option
- Add flexible pointers lines


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Jolly Lights free?

Jolly Lights is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Annotable free?

Annotable is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Jolly Lights or Annotable?

Annotable is rated higher. Jolly Lights averages 4.4 out of 5 from 49 ratings, while Annotable averages 4.6 from 894 ratings.

### Do Jolly Lights or Annotable have ads?

Neither Jolly Lights nor Annotable shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Jolly Lights or Annotable?

Jolly Lights ships an update every 9 months, and Annotable every 2 months. Most recently, Jolly Lights was updated on October 16, 2026 and Annotable on October 17, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*