Darkroom vs SharpStacker
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Darkroom
This app transforms your mobile device into a professional photo and video editing suite. It offers advanced AI-powered tools, comprehensive editing capabilities for various formats including RAW, and seamless organization features.
- AI-powered depth-based editing
- 8K video color grading
- Batch photo editing
- RAW and ProRAW file support
- Collage creation
- Hashtag management
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Transform your iPhone and iPad into a powerful editing suite with Darkroom, the award-winning photo and video editor designed for both aspiring photographers and professional creators. With desktop-quality tools at your fingertips, Darkroom rivals Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop — delivering a pro editing experience right on your mobile device. Award-Winning Recognition: Apple Editor's Choice since 2018 Apple Design Award Winner 2020 App Store Best New App 2015 Why Choose Darkroom? Advanced AI-Powered Editing: Harness cutting-edge AI tools for precise, depth-based edits and intelligent object detection. Enhance skies, skin tones, and landscapes with unmatched accuracy — or let AI-powered presets analyze your photo and optimize color and exposure in one tap. Professional Color Grading & Video: From 4K video color grading to film-inspired LUT presets, Darkroom gives you full creative control. Professional curves, selective color adjustments, and batch photo editing make every project effortless — whether you're retouching a single portrait or editing an entire shoot. RAW & ProRAW Support: Import and edit RAW and Apple ProRAW files at full fidelity. Every edit is non-destructive, so you can undo any adjustment at any time. Darkroom works directly with your Apple Photos library — no importing, no exporting, no friction. Professional Tools for Every Creator: All-Inclusive Format Support: From RAW files to JPEG and HEIF, Darkroom provides powerful editing tools that ensure top-tier output across every photo and video format. Built for iPhone Photographers: With deep iOS integration — Shortcuts, widgets, iCloud sync, and seamless Apple Photos access — Darkroom stands out as the premier editing tool for mobile photographers. A fast, gesture-driven interface makes pro editing feel effortless. Praise from Experts: "Darkroom is one of the best apps around, offering extensive support for RAW and ProRAW photos and capabilities to batch edit photos with ease." — The Verge "Its iPhone-specific features make Darkroom the leading editing app for iPhone photographers." — The Sweet Setup Seamless Organization and Sharing: Organize your photos and videos with Darkroom's advanced management tools. Create collages, manage hashtag sets, and share your work effortlessly. Flag, reject, and cull your shoots before editing — then export in any format, all without leaving the app. Join Darkroom+ and Elevate Your Craft: Become a Darkroom+ member to unlock every tool, preset, and filter. New features and updates ship regularly, keeping your editing toolkit cutting-edge. Join a community of creators sharing tips, inspiration, and creative techniques. Subscription Details: Manage your Darkroom+ membership in Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Terms and Conditions: https://darkroom.co/legal/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://darkroom.co/legal/privacy-policy.html
SharpStacker
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SharpStacker turns a series of night-sky exposures into a single clean, detailed image. By aligning and stacking your shots, it reduces noise and reveals faint detail — stars, the Milky Way and deep-sky objects — that a single frame can't capture. It's built to make astrophotography stacking accessible to everyone: a deliberately simple interface gives you an immediate, intuitive workflow — without the cost or complexity of traditional desktop software. Full RAW support preserves maximum quality from capture to export. The blending mask is generated automatically by a machine-learning model — or drawn by hand — and can be fine-tuned manually for full control. • Full RAW import • Automatic star alignment and stacking • Noise reduction through stacking • ML-generated mask, editable by hand • Simple, immediate workflow • iPhone, iPad and Mac • On-device processing — your photos never leave your device Import your exposures, start the stack, and export a cleaner, more detailed night sky.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Darkroom at 4.8 against SharpStacker's 1.0. Darkroom also leads on ratings volume (29K vs 1). SharpStacker's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 11). On price, update cadence, 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
Both are free to download. Darkroom sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. SharpStacker asks for nothing beyond the download.
Darkroom holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Darkroom has 29K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Darkroom ships an update every 11 days, SharpStacker fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Darkroom | SharpStacker |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (29K ratings) — better | 1.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 58.4% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 29K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 11 days — better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 18.4 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 282 MB | 17 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Bergen Co. | LUIGI VANNOZZI |
Bugs and requests
Darkroom
Reported bugs
4 issues- Incorrect white balance and color processing of RAW files
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between RAW and JPEG
- Exported photos not matching the edits seen in the app
- Issues with batch editing and syncing edits across devices
Requested features
5 requests- Brush tool for selective editing
- Panorama stitching
- Focus stacking
- HDR processing
- More advanced B&W filters
SharpStacker
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Darkroom
- Monthly Subscription$9.991 Month
- Discounted Yearly Subscription$32.991 Year
- Yearly Subscription7 Days trial$39.991 Year
- Legacy - Landscape Filters$3.99
- Legacy - Portrait Filters$3.99
- Legacy - Black & White Filters$3.99
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- Legacy - XPRO$3.99
- Legacy - All Tools$7.99
- Legacy - All Premium Filters$7.99
- Legacy - Unlock Everything$9.99
- Unlock Everything Forever$99.99
SharpStacker
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Darkroom free?
Is SharpStacker free?
Which has better reviews, Darkroom or SharpStacker?
Do Darkroom or SharpStacker have ads?
Which is updated more often, Darkroom or SharpStacker?
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