The best free projection mapping apps for iPhone and iPad (2026)

The App Store's projection mapping shelf changed a lot in 2026. Several apps that older lists still recommend are gone from the US store, and a wave of new phone-first apps arrived. This guide covers the apps you can download today and actually map with: what the free version gives you, what you pay for, and who each one suits.

Prices, ratings and features come from each app's US App Store listing on October 27, 2026. They change often, so check the listing before you buy. Disclosure: we make Lazy Lighting, the first app below.

Where a listing doesn't say what the free version includes, we haven't guessed. Download it and look before you pay.

Lazy Lighting is made for people who want something on the wall tonight: Halloween and Christmas displays, room ambiance, party and band visuals. You add a Square, Circle, Text, Outline, Cube or Box shape and drag its corners on the phone while you watch it line up on the projection. It ships with about 195 built-in visuals, including 45 Halloween and 30 Christmas scenes, you can import your own photos and videos, and visuals can be sequenced on a timeline.

The free version includes mapping, imports, masks and cutouts, and about 20 visuals, with a small watermark on the projector output and no session time limit. Pro unlocks the full library, removes the watermark, and adds project saving, audio reactivity, BPM sync, MIDI, LFOs, live camera input, video export up to 4K and Send to TV. On iPhone and iPad, the monthly and annual plans start with a 7-day free trial.

Connect with a USB-C or Lightning to HDMI adapter, with AirPlay, or with Lazy Lighting Link, a receiver app for Android TV and Google TV projectors and for a Chromecast with Google TV. It also runs on Android phones and tablets.

ProjectX launched in March 2026 and is one of the better-rated newcomers. You place polygons, circles or stencils, warp them to the surface and fill them with visuals from its built-in library, your own videos or photos. The listing says an HDMI adapter is detected automatically and AirPlay projectors work too.

Its listing doesn't spell out the free version. Paid options run from a weekly plan to a $149.99 lifetime unlock.

Pro Mapper uses a surface-based workflow for multi-surface projects. You import videos and photos, and it includes grid patterns, solid colors, gradients and visualizer content for aligning and testing. It's pitched at projection artists, stage and event designers, and installations rather than holiday decorating.

It's free to download with subscriptions from weekly to yearly. The listing doesn't say what works without one.

The only purchases on ILW Light Mapper's listing are optional "Support Development" tips and an "Organics" visual pack, which makes it the nearest thing here to a completely free mapping app. It's built for beginners: multiple grids with four-point corner adjustment, warp painting for uneven surfaces, additive and subtractive masks, color and speed controls, a downloadable visual library, imports of your own MP4 videos, and multiple save slots.

It was last updated in June 2026 and has only a handful of ratings so far.

HappyMapper lets you draw shapes on screen and curve their edges to follow arches, round objects and other organic shapes, with a cutout mode to block light from part of the surface. It searches free stock videos and GIFs from inside the app, imports your own media, and saves setups.

The free version gives you one shape with every feature. Premium adds unlimited shapes, and the listing includes a $14.99 lifetime option.

Viso (Visomapper) leans on effects: a built-in engine for shattering, scaling, rotating and fading visuals, generative visualizers such as kaleidoscopes, particles and tunnels, masking and mesh warping, multiple surfaces and an asset store. It outputs over HDMI, USB-C, Lightning or AirPlay with the editing controls hidden from the projector. It needs iOS 18 or later, and Premium is weekly or annual.

EasyMapper Studio has layers, shaders, a Halloween effects library, audio-reactive particles and a cue timeline, but its listing says the full feature set requires Premium. Without it you can only explore the interface.

• Reality Augmenter ($5.99) has been around since 2015 and was updated in October 2026. It maps quads with masks and overlays, uses photos, videos, scrolling text and even webpages as sources, and outputs over an adapter or AirPlay, with the phone acting as the remote.
• TouchViZ ($9.99, iPad only) from Hexler is a two-channel VJ video mixer with 54 effects, camera input, recording, and MIDI and OSC control. It outputs to a projector, but its listing doesn't mention surface mapping tools, so it suits live visuals more than mapping.

• illumibot generates projection visuals from spoken prompts. Its in-app purchases are "illumibots" and token packs.
• Newer apps such as BeamSpace and PicoMap launched in 2026 with few or no ratings yet. We'll add them once they have a track record.

DynaMapper, Optoma Projection Mapper and HeavyM Remote are no longer available on the US App Store as of October 2026. HeavyM itself is still a desktop app for Mac and Windows; our free projection mapping software guide covers its free demo and the other desktop options.

• Cable: a USB-C to HDMI adapter (iPhone 15 and later, and USB-C iPads) or Apple's Lightning Digital AV Adapter for older iPhones. It's the most reliable connection, with no lag.
• AirPlay: mirror to an Apple TV or an AirPlay-compatible projector on the same Wi-Fi network. Lazy Lighting, ProjectX, Viso and Reality Augmenter all list AirPlay support.
• Lazy Lighting Link: a receiver app for Android TV and Google TV projectors and Chromecast with Google TV. It works only with Lazy Lighting.

• Halloween or Christmas displays with ready-made visuals, or you also use Android: Lazy Lighting.
• Completely free and simple, with saving: ILW Light Mapper.
• Curved and organic shapes, free with one shape: HappyMapper.
• Effects-heavy art or stage visuals: Viso or Pro Mapper.
• A one-time purchase for your own content: Reality Augmenter.
• Live VJ mixing on an iPad: TouchViZ.

On Android instead? The Android roundup covers the apps there and the USB-C video output caveat that trips up many phones.