Halide is the better app overall, scoring 8.7 to 7.8. Halide wins on 5 of the 5 scores, VSCO on 0.
iPhone photographers who want manual control and natural-looking RAW files
Photographers who want a consistent film look and a place to share it
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Halide | VSCO |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Photo & Video | Photo & Video |
| Category rank | #4 of 8 | #8 of 8 |
| Developer | Lux Optics | VSCO |
| Pricing | Subscription | Free + paid plans |
| Usable for free | No | Yes |
| iPhone & iPad | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | — | ✓ |
| Web | — | ✓ |
Strengths and weaknesses
Halide
- Controls fall right under your thumb
- Process Zero gives natural, less processed images
- No account needed and very little data collection
- iPhone and iPad only
- No free tier beyond the trial
Halide is the best manual camera app for iPhone. It puts focus, shutter speed and ISO under your thumb, and adds focus peaking, a live histogram and RAW capture. Process Zero skips Apple's heavy image processing for natural, film-like shots. The catch is price: after the trial you pick a subscription or a one-time purchase. Get it if you care how your iPhone photos are processed.
Full Halide review
VSCO
- Presets give a consistent, film-like look
- Clean, simple editing interface
- Low-pressure community for sharing work
- Most presets and tools need a membership
- Editing depth trails dedicated editors
VSCO is known for its film-inspired presets, and they still look great. The editor covers the essentials, and the app doubles as a low-key community for sharing photos. The catch is value: most of the best presets and tools sit behind a paid membership, and the editing depth trails Lightroom and Darkroom. Get it if you love a consistent film look across your feed.
Full VSCO review
