The Best Progress Photo App for iPhone in 2026 (6 Ranked)

The best progress photo app helps you take the same photo every time, keeps your photos private, and makes the change easy to see. Without that, week one and week eight never quite match, and you can't trust what you're looking at.

I compared six iPhone apps built for progress photos on how they line up a shot, how they compare photos, whether they track measurements, where your photos go, and what you get without paying.

Full disclosure: I make Then & Now, so it's no surprise it's first. For the other five, I've stuck to what each app's own App Store listing and screenshots say, and I say so where a listing is silent.

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Quick answer

• Then & Now: best for lined-up, private photos with your numbers.
• Metamorph: best for GIFs and transformation videos, if you don't mind paying from day one.
• PhotoJourney: best for a photo a day, like 75 Hard.
• Progress Pics: Body Tracker: best for letting the app line photos up for you.
• Progress: best for tracking twenty-plus body measurements.
• CompareMyself: best if you want something simple and free.

App	Best for	Main tradeoff	Price (US)
Then & Now	Lined-up, private photos with your numbers	No GIF export, and it won't line photos up for you	Free (99 photos a week), or from $4.99 a month
Metamorph	GIFs and videos to share	No free version: you need a paid plan to use it	Paid only, from $4.99 a week
PhotoJourney	A photo a day, like 75 Hard	Unlimited photos and HD exports need a subscription	Subscription, with a free trial
Progress Pics: Body Tracker	Letting the app line photos up for you	Full access needs a subscription	Subscription, with a free trial
Progress	Twenty-plus body measurements	Progress photos need Pro	Free; photos need Pro
CompareMyself	Keeping it simple and free	No alignment tools in its listing	Free to download

How I compared the apps

I looked for iPhone apps built for progress photos and still being updated, so Snapsie (last updated in 2017) didn't make it. I judged each one on five things: how it helps you line up a shot, how many ways it compares, whether it tracks measurements, where your photos are stored, and what the free version does.

I know Then & Now best because I make it. Everything about the other five comes from its App Store listing, screenshots and US ratings as of October 14, 2026, except Metamorph's paywall, which I checked in the app on October 20. Where a listing doesn't mention something, I've said so rather than assume the app can't do it. If something here is out of date, tell me and I'll fix it.

Best progress photo apps for iPhone

1. Then & Now (best overall)

Then & Now is built around the hardest part of progress photos: taking them the same way every time. Ghost mode lays a faint copy of an earlier photo, or a body outline, over the camera, so you match your position before you tap. A voice timer takes the shot when you say "Now" from across the room.

Then it gives you four ways to see the change: a slider, side by side, one at a time and a timelapse video, with your weight or measurements beside each photo. There's no account, no servers and no ads. Your photos stay on your iPhone and in your own iCloud, and albums lock with Face ID.

• Pros: the free version has every feature, with up to 99 new photos a week. Your numbers sit under your photos, so a flat week on the scale still shows progress. Apple's "Data Not Collected" label.
• Cons: no GIF export, only photos and videos. It doesn't line photos up for you; you match them as you shoot, or afterwards with Crop & Align. iPhone only, and in English.

Price: Free, with every feature and up to 99 new photos a week (exports carry a small logo). Premium is $4.99 a month, $29.99 a year with 7 days free, or $99.99 once. Needs iOS 17 or later. Rated 5.0 from 17 US ratings.

2. Metamorph (best for GIFs and transformation videos)

Metamorph (listed as "Body Progress Pics: Metamorph", by Tiny Ideas) is the closest app to Then & Now, and a well-made one. It lines up shots with automatic alignment, a photo overlay and an alignment grid, and compares with a slider, side by side and time-lapses. Its listing leads with GIFs and before and after videos "ready for socials", so if the point is a transformation clip to post, this is the one built for it.

• Pros: GIF export, which Then & Now doesn't have. Photos stay "on your device or iCloud", in its words, with Face ID and Apple's "Data Not Collected" label. Updated regularly (version 2.17, August 2026).
• Cons: no free version: it's free to download, but you need a paid plan to use it. Its listing doesn't mention measurements or charts. Needs iOS 18 or later.

Price: $4.99 a week, $4.99 a month, $29.99 a year or $129.99 lifetime. Rated 4.4 from 68 US ratings. More detail in Then & Now vs Metamorph.

3. PhotoJourney (best for daily photo challenges)

Body Tracker - Photo Journey organizes photos into "journeys" on a schedule, from hourly to weekly. It's pitched at 75 Hard and other photo-a-day challenges, with Ghost Mode, a thirds grid and body templates to line up each shot, and HD time-lapse and GIF export at the end.

• Pros: built for a photo every day, with streaks and reminders. Has both a ghost overlay and GIF export. Rated 4.4 from 114 US ratings.
• Cons: unlimited journeys, unlimited photos and HD exports all need a subscription. Its listing doesn't mention measurements, or say where photos are stored.

Price: Free to download, with a free trial, then a subscription for the features above. Needs iOS 17.4 or later.

4. Progress Pics: Body Tracker (best for automatic alignment)

Progress Pics: Body Tracker, by Thumbstone Labs, takes the opposite approach to a ghost overlay. Its listing says it detects your pose and crops and rotates each photo to match the others, with "no ghost overlay, no manual lining up". That's handy for a camera roll full of old, uneven photos. Front, side and back photos share one timeline, with your weight linked to each.

• Pros: lines photos up after the fact, including ones you import. Photos stay on your device: "We do not upload, store, or share your images". Rated 4.6 from 46 US ratings, updated September 2026.
• Cons: its listing says full access needs a subscription, and weight is the only measurement it mentions.

Price: Free to download, then a subscription after a free trial. Needs iOS 16.4 or later.

5. Progress (best for body measurements)

Progress, by Lasmit (now listed as "Body Measurements Tracker App"), has been around since 2012 and has by far the most ratings here. It's a measurement tracker first: weight, body fat, BMI, waist, hips, chest, arms and more, over 20 in all, with charts and two-way Apple Health sync. It compares any two progress photos side by side.

• Pros: the deepest measurement tracking on this list, stored on your device and your own iCloud. Rated 4.6 from 9,362 US ratings, updated October 2026, with no ads.
• Cons: its own FAQ says progress photos are a Pro feature. No alignment tools in its listing, and one way to compare.

Price: Free to start tracking measurements; Pro unlocks progress photos, unlimited measurement areas and reports. Needs iOS 18 or later.

6. CompareMyself (best simple, free option)

CompareMyself, by CoffeeDevs, keeps things small: a timeline of photos, side-by-side comparisons and collages to share, and your weight in kilograms, pounds or stone. If you want something free and uncomplicated, it's a reasonable place to start.

• Pros: free to download, and its listing says photos and data stay on your device.
• Cons: no ghost overlay or alignment tools in its listing. Newer, with too few ratings for the App Store to show an average yet.

Price: Free to download.

Free option: the Photos app you already have

You can take progress photos with the Camera app, turn on its grid and level, and keep them in the Hidden album, which locks with Face ID. It costs nothing. But nothing helps you match the last photo, and comparing means swiping back and forth. More on that in Then & Now vs your camera roll.

Why lining up is the hardest part

Most people take a progress photo and then struggle to take the same one again. A step closer to the camera, a slightly different angle or a cloudy morning can change a photo more than a month of training does. If week one was taken from further away than week eight, you can't trust what you see.

An app fixes that in one of two ways. A ghost overlay shows an earlier photo over the camera, so you match it before you tap: that's Then & Now, Metamorph and PhotoJourney. Automatic alignment moves and crops photos afterwards, which is Progress Pics: Body Tracker's approach. A grid alone gets you close.

The rest is habit: one spot, light from in front, the phone at chest height, the same clothes and poses, the same time of day. The full routine is in How to Take Progress Pics That Actually Show Your Results, and here's how Ghost mode works.

What to look for in a progress photo app

1. A way to line up the shot. A ghost overlay of your last photo is the most reliable. Automatic alignment fixes photos afterwards.
2. More than one way to compare. A slider shows small changes, side by side shows big ones, and a timelapse shows the whole story.
3. Where the photos go. Five of the six here say your photos stay on your device or in your own iCloud; PhotoJourney's listing doesn't say. Check the App Privacy section of an app's App Store page before you trust it with these.
4. What you get without paying. Some apps have no free version at all, some lock photos or exports behind a trial, and some give you every feature with a limit.

Takeaway

The best progress photo app for iPhone is the one that gets you the same photo every time. Then & Now is the strongest fit if you want lined-up photos with your measurements beside them, nothing leaving your phone, and a free version to start with. Metamorph is the pick for GIFs to post, PhotoJourney for a photo a day, and Progress if your measurements matter more than your photos.

Looking for Android, or a workout tracker that also takes photos? My cross-platform roundup covers Hevy, Shapez and Photo Progress.

Checked October 14, 2026, and Metamorph's paywall on October 20. Prices are US and can change; the App Store shows yours.