Comparison

zenphoto vs retro message

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

Head to head
About

zenphoto

Easily share your photos and videos from a self-hosted ZenPhoto gallery. Manage your media, post comments, and organize albums directly from your mobile device.

Highlights
  • Photo uploading
  • Save and delete photos
  • Sharing options
  • Post comments on photos
  • Create and edit albums
  • Media website management
Features
Read full description

App for ZenPhoto (http://www.zenphoto.org/) using RPC-API. Sharing your photos and videos easily. Requirement Zenphoto installed on your server and a special plugin to enable!! For detail, visit Support Site!! Features - Photo Uploading - Save and Delete photo - Sharing Option (Open in other app, AirDrop, etc.) - Show and Post Comments on photo - Create Album - Swipe to Edit Album (Edit, Rename, Delete) - from ZenPhoto Features - Easy Media website management! Zenphoto is a CMS for selfhosted, gallery focused websites. Our focus lies on being easy to use and having all the features there when you need them (but out of the way if you don't). Zenphoto features support for images, video and audio formats, and the Zenpage CMS plugin provides a fully integrated news section (blog) and custom pages to run entire websites. This makes Zenphoto the ideal CMS for personal websites of illustrators, artists, designers, photographers, film makers and musicians.

About

retro message

Create unique messages by overlaying custom text or vintage movie quotes onto black-and-white retro video clips. Add a soundtrack to personalize your creations before sending them.

Highlights
  • Select vintage retro clips
  • Superimpose custom messages
  • Choose from movie quotes
  • Add custom soundtracks
  • Send via iMessage
  • Create personalized messages
Features
Read full description

Why message when you can retro message. Got something to say? "retro message is dedicated to the early pioneers of filmmaking—and the filmmaker in all of us" retro message lets you select a black-and-white vintage retro clip, choose a quote from a vintage movie or create your own message to superimpose over the selected clip, include your sound track, then send your retro message—that's it! And hey, the first 3 are free! After that, you'll need a retro membership, but we've streamlined the process to keep pricing low. how does it work? send a retro message in just 4 easy steps: step 1: select a retro clip step 2: select a retro message—based on famous vintage movie quotes—or create your own step 3: select a film score soundtrack step 4: send your retro message! retro message is now available in iMessage. A handful of short retro clips that are fun, fast and retro easy! retro message testimonials: “This app is so much fun! I’m using retro message instead of sending greeting cards from now on!” Marylin B "After installing retro message, my son—8 years old—asked if he could try it. Within seconds, he sent his first retro message to his mom. We were all smiling and impressed at the creativity he expressed, and how easy it was. Great app!" Tommy I "I was asked to beta test retro message, and discovered how easy it was to customize my own message instead of using one of the built-in movie quotes—although the quotes are very cool on their own! Right out of the box, the possibilities and capabilities of this app are really slick! Really, just get the app—you'll love it!" Sean L  "Once in a great while, an app comes along that redefines a paradigm—in this case, messaging. This is one such app, and messaging will never be the same as a result." Sandra S The new smart way to send a text message! "So cool and absolutely brilliant. Total fun when creating a new retro message, a great experience! We love it, this app has so much to offer with amazing creativity" On the coast.

Screenshots

zenphoto1 screens
retro message4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: retro message at 100% against zenphoto's 0%. retro message also leads on rating (4.6 vs 1.0) and ratings volume (11 vs 2). zenphoto's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and update cadence (monthly vs every 9 months). On price, 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

Both are free to download. retro message sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. zenphoto asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

retro message holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: retro message has 11 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of zenphoto's written reviews are positive against 100% of retro message's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

zenphoto ships an update monthly, retro message every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
zenphoto versus retro message: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameterzenphotoretro message
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.0 (2 ratings)4.6 (11 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings211 — better
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 9 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS8.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size20 MB53 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSachiko MiyamotoScott Hawthorne R&D LLC

Customer experience

zenphoto

All ratings2 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

retro message

All ratings11 ratings
Positive90.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative9.1%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

zenphoto

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

retro message

Subscriptions3
  • retro msg 1 month membership.$1.991 Month
  • 3 months retro msg membership$5.993 Months
  • retro msg 1 year membership.$19.991 Year

Questions

Is zenphoto free?
zenphoto is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is retro message free?
retro message is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, zenphoto or retro message?
retro message is rated higher. zenphoto averages 1.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while retro message averages 4.6 from 11 ratings.
Do zenphoto or retro message have ads?
Neither zenphoto nor retro message shows ads.
Which is updated more often, zenphoto or retro message?
zenphoto ships an update monthly, and retro message every 9 months. Most recently, zenphoto was updated on October 29, 2026 and retro message on October 25, 2026.

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