Comparison

Vanish vs CTRL’d

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

Head to head
About

Vanish

Create stunning visual illusions with two images. Define interactive zones to cut and paste elements in real-time, making objects appear, transform, or vanish. Perfect for magicians looking to elevate their performances with dynamic effects.

Highlights
  • Create seamless visual effects
  • Use primary and swap images
  • Define interactive zones for transformations
  • Perform illusions in real-time
  • Make objects appear, transform, or vanish
  • Perform card transformations
Read full description

Vanish – Perform Stunning Visual Effects Vanish is a powerful tool for magicians, allowing you to create seamless visual effects right on your phone. Using two images—a primary image and a swap image—you can define interactive zones that let you cut and paste between them in real time, enabling you to perform amazing illusions. How It Works: • Select Your Images – Choose a primary image as your starting point and a swap image with the elements you want to reveal during performance. • Define Zones – Mark areas where transformations will occur. • Perform – During your performance, use a swap trigger to instantly overlay the selected portion of the swap image, creating a smooth and magical effect. Endless Creative Possibilities: • Make objects appear, transform, or vanish with ease. • Use playing cards as images to perform stunning color changes—even transforming the card piece by piece! • Use any screenshot from your phone to craft unique and personalized effects. Unlock Your Potential: Download Vanish now and elevate your magic to new heights with amazing visual effects at your fingertips!

About

CTRL’d

Features
Read full description

CTRL’d is an easy-to-use magic app that brings your playing cards to life using augmented reality. Perform a stunning visual transformation where the face of a real playing card appears to digitally animate and change right in front of your spectator’s eyes. Simply show a playing card (for example, the King of Hearts) and turn it face down. When your phone is pointed at the back of the card, the app displays a digital version of the front that smoothly transforms into a different card, such as the Four of Hearts. The animation is clean, visual, and looks completely impossible in the real world. No sleight of hand. No special decks. No experience required. Just your phone and a regular playing card. Perfect for beginner magicians or anyone who wants an impressive visual effect that can be performed instantly. CTRL’d lets you look like you can control the digital world. Features: •⁠ ⁠Augmented reality card animation •⁠ ⁠Professional visual effect with no practice needed •⁠ ⁠Works with a normal playing card •⁠ ⁠Ideal for beginners and casual performers •⁠ ⁠Works offline — perform anytime, anywhere •⁠ ⁠No accounts, no ads, no tracking

Screenshots

Vanish2 screens
CTRL’d4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: CTRL’d at none against Vanish's shown. CTRL’d also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 20 months) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On price, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Vanish ships an update every 20 months, CTRL’d every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Vanish versus CTRL’d: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVanishCTRL’d
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (5 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews90.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings5 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 20 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supported—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB238 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBjorn Orri Saemundssonmatthew wright

In-app purchases

None

Vanish

No in-app purchases

None

CTRL’d

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Vanish free?
Vanish is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is CTRL’d free?
CTRL’d is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Vanish or CTRL’d have ads?
Vanish shows ads; CTRL’d does not.
Which is updated more often, Vanish or CTRL’d?
Vanish ships an update every 20 months, and CTRL’d every 2 months. Most recently, Vanish was updated on October 2, 2026 and CTRL’d on October 14, 2026.

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