# Phoetic — The photo word cloud generator

> App for creating detailed photo word clouds with custom text and styling. (iPhone/iPad app by Jack Goossen.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/phoetic/id546829744 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Jack Goossen](https://appshunter.io/developer/546829747)
- Category: Photo & Video, Education
- Price: $0.99
- Rating: 4.10/5 from 13 App Store ratings · 117 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 12.0 · 21 MB
- Released: 2012-08-01
- Data updated: 2026-06-10
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/phoetic/id546829744/reviews.md

## What is Phoetic?

***** Number 1 Photo and Video app in 14 countries! *****
***** Top 5 Photo and Video app in 47 countries! *****
***** Top 10 Photo and Video app in 54 countries! *****

Create beautiful detailed photo word clouds with your images and text! Select your favourite photo, add and style your own text and turn them in a work of art to impress friends and family. The result can be shared as a PNG, JPEG image or even a PDF document to allow for printing at extremely high resolutions.

= FEATURES =
- Create extremely detailed photo word clouds
- Create your own styled word lists
- Create your own color palettes
- Create your own shapes
- International character and emoji support
- Compatible with Fonteer (use any font you like)
- Text in any orientation
- Save as PNG, JPEG or PDF (vector)
- Universal app : support for iPad, iPod and iPhone

= FAQ =
Q: Can I sell the images I create with Phoetic?
A: Yes, what your create with Phoetic is yours. You can do with that as you please, including selling the images for profit. The templates included with Phoetic can also be used commercially. Of course the right to sell the templates separately is excluded.
Q: I want to make a huge print; how do I make my image look good?
A: Share the word cloud as a PDF file. This file is stored as a vector image; it can be scaled without the results becoming pixelated. You can directly send this to your printer or export the file as an image at any desired resolution.

## Key features

- Create detailed photo word clouds
- Style custom word lists
- Design custom color palettes
- Use custom shapes
- International character and emoji support
- Save as PNG, JPEG, or PDF (vector)
- Universal app support

## What do users think of Phoetic?

Overall sentiment: mixed

**Pros**

- 🎨 Highly customizable fonts, colors, and layouts
- 📤 High-quality vector PDF export with editable words
- 🖼️ Ability to upload and use personal photos as shapes
- ✨ Professional-quality results for word cloud creation
- 💰 Affordable pricing compared to competitors
- 🎯 Versatile shape options and customization controls
- 📊 Frequency-based word sizing works well
- 🔧 Advanced features for power users
- 🎁 Transparent background option for PNG exports
- 👥 Responsive customer support from developer

**Cons**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes across multiple iOS versions
- 😕 Steep learning curve and confusing interface
- ❌ Difficulty adding custom words/text
- 🔄 Word placement is random and uncontrollable
- 📱 Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
- 🎨 Limited shape options beyond squares
- ⚠️ Major update broke existing functionality
- 🖼️ Photo import feature crashes frequently
- 🔤 Cannot specify dominant word sizing
- 📋 Copy-paste feature doesn't work effectively

**Commonly reported bugs**

- App crashes on iPhone 6 and newer models
- Crashes when using photo import feature
- Incompatibility with iOS 9.2 and later versions
- Word list input not saving or applying
- Unable to generate word cloud error messages
- Font selection not working after update
- Copy-paste functionality broken
- App freezes when resizing photos
- Data loss after major update
- Crashes when entering custom words manually
- Shape selection not applying correctly (defaults to square)
- Interface unresponsive in advanced settings
- Recent update caused widespread functionality issues

**Most requested features**

- Ability to specify which words appear larger or dominant
- Control over word placement location
- macOS/OS X desktop version
- Ability to keep word groups separated by comma in same color
- Save layout separately from colors for reuse
- Spell check and automatic capitalization
- In-app tutorials and instructions
- Ability to repeat or exclude specific words
- Layering main words over word cloud as title
- Image overlay through word cloud (background images visible)
- Smaller minimum font sizes for more detail
- RGB/HEX color code input option
- Better photo import with grayscale threshold control
- Ability to edit saved word lists
- Randomize or shuffle results without changing layout
- iCloud integration for saving PDFs

## Recent user reviews (10 of 117)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/phoetic/id546829744/reviews.md

### 5/5 — Sparks My Creativity

*2025-12-16, version 3.1.19*

Phoetic surpasses any word cloud program I’ve tried. Being able to upload my own photos has been my favorite feature. 
One thing, on my new iPhone the app frequently crashes which it never did before. Is there a compatibility problem with iOS 26?

### 5/5 — Favorite word cloud generator!

*2023-02-11, version 3.1.14*

2023 update: Still love it!  Most of the word cloud generators I have purchased have soon ended up deleted.  Of the two I have kept, I use this one nearly twice as often.

This is, hands down, my favorite word cloud generator and I have several. It’s also the best priced!

With Phoetic, I have the most versatility over fonts, colors and pdf export layers with this app.  If exporting using pdf, each word is editable with illustrator.  Most apps, yeah, it’s vectorized, but it’s a flat image that can’t be altered.

Phoetic is by far the easiest to use for awesome results.  I have others that are easy to use, but are very limited in shape and color choices.

It does have limitations (the reason I have other word cloud apps), like I can’t specify a specific word or phrase to be dominant in size.  I have to regenerate the image until that randomly happens.  I also cannot specify a location for the dominant sized word/phrase.  For me those are the only draw backs and I just use a different app for that.  Over all, this one is still the best.

**Now, I wish the developer would make An OS X desktop version.

### 1/5 — Crashing

*2022-05-09, version 3.1.19*

I’ve used this app and works great, but recently it’s been crashing. I can’t even open it. Please fix!

### 5/5 — Favorite word cloud generator!

*2020-04-01, version 3.1.16*

This is, hands down, my favorite word cloud generator and I have several. It’s also the best priced!

With Phoetic, I have the most versatility over fonts, colors and pdf export layers with this app.  If exporting using pdf, each word is editable with illustrator.  Most apps, yeah, it’s vectorized, but it’s a flat image that can’t be altered.

Phoetic is by far the easiest to use for awesome results.  I have others that are easy to use, but are very limited in shape and color choices.

It does have limitations (the reason I have other word cloud apps), like I can’t specify a specific word or phrase to be dominant in size.  I have to regenerate the image until that randomly happens.  I also cannot specify a location for the dominant sized word/phrase.  For me those are the only draw backs and I just use a different app for that.  Over all, this one is still the best.

**Now, I wish the developer would make An OS X desktop version.

### 1/5 — Very glitchy

*2019-05-26, version 3.1.16*

This is so glitchy, you cant add words using the edit button, the app is not user friendly at all. Other word apps out there that are much better

### 4/5 — Pretty awesome, just one small issue

*2019-02-16, version 3.1.16*

This app is pretty awesome, I have used it for making all sorts of things with my Cricut, but there is one thing I wish that could be changed. I wish that the words didn’t have to be so random, like that they could stay in the order that I wrote them, so you could actually read the song lyrics that I was putting into the image... if that makes any sense

### 3/5 — First use CRASH

*2018-12-04, version 3.1.15*

Appears to be useful but make sure to pre-type your wordlist and then feed it in. I unfortunately did it manually in the program and all the words were GONE ~poof~.

Save some time and do everything outside program if you REALLY want it to work. 

Still worth the $ but just want to warn those of the buggies.
I hope for better fixes and updates after the new year. Maybe they are spending their time updating and making updates to the ever-changing iOS that has more updates now than MS>.
~Di

### 5/5 — Professional results

*2018-12-01, version 3.1.15*

Do not dismiss this one. It does take a while to figure out the best settings for the outcome one needs to achieve but after that it works like a treat. Getting a high res png with optional transparent background is an added bonus, not offered by rival apps mentioned by other users!

### 3/5 — Surprisingly powerful

*2018-06-16, version 3.1.15*

Great functionality but terrible interface and buggy

### 5/5 — Great App! High Quality Images Are Produced

*2018-06-11, version 3.1.15*

In the word cloud, the larger words are the ones in the text with the highest frequency. This app does that perfectly. It also easily converts images in the app and they are very high quality. If you need a Vector save it as a pdf. It’s also easy to use.

## Frequently asked questions about Phoetic

### What can I create with this app?

You can create detailed photo word clouds by combining your favorite images with custom text. The app allows you to style your text, choose colors, and select shapes to make your creations artistic and unique.

### Can I use the images I create for commercial purposes?

Yes, you own the images you create with the app and can sell them for profit. The included templates can also be used commercially, but you cannot sell the templates separately.

### How can I get high-quality prints of my word clouds?

To ensure high-quality prints, save your word cloud as a PDF file. This format is a vector image, meaning it can be scaled to any size without losing quality or becoming pixelated. You can then send this file directly to a printer or export it at any desired resolution.

### What devices is this app compatible with?

This is a universal app, meaning it is compatible with iPad, iPod, and iPhone devices. It also supports the use of any font you like through integration with Fonteer.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 3.1.19 — 2020-10-08

Bugfixes:
- [Workaround] Disable dark mode within the app (UI currently does not support dark mode well)

### 3.1.18 — 2020-09-25

Bugfix:
   - App no longer crashes when selecting a color on iPad Pro with iPadOS 13

### 3.1.17 — 2020-09-21

Bugfixes:
- App no longer crashes when selecting the emoji keyboard while creating a word list manually
- Support fonts downloaded with Fonteer (and other font management apps) in iOS14

### 3.1.16 — 2018-12-14

- Use a popover for image picker on iPad (preventing issues for some users)
- Only allow portrait orientation for image picker (preventing issues for some users) 
- Improve consistency of table view interfaces

### 3.1.15 — 2018-01-30

- Fix incorrectly placed controls when importing images on iPhone X
- Minor UI improvements

## Apps similar to Phoetic

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| --- | --- | --- | --- |
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| [Phonto - Text on Photos](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/phonto-text-on-photos/id438429273) | 4.8 (120,521) | Free | Photo & Video |
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## More apps by Jack Goossen

- [Fonteer](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fonteer/id1065830434)
- [Fonteer Premium](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fonteer-premium/id1068527475)
- [Word Dance](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/word-dance/id1095257702)
- [text hipster](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/text-hipster/id1315584160)
- [Fair 'n Square](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fair-n-square/id1483074110)

All apps by Jack Goossen: https://appshunter.io/developer/546829747

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-10.*