# Pastello vs HDR Portrait

The clearest difference is price: HDR Portrait at $2.99 against Pastello's $29.99. HDR Portrait also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8) and review sentiment (95% vs 79%). Pastello's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (44 vs 1). On ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Pastello costs $29.99 and HDR Portrait $2.99 up front. HDR Portrait sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $0.99 per month. Pastello asks for nothing beyond the download.

HDR Portrait holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pastello has 44 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 79% of Pastello's written reviews are positive against 95% of HDR Portrait's.

Pastello ships an update every 3 months, HDR Portrait every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Pastello | HDR Portrait |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $29.99 | **$2.99** |
| Rating | [4.8 (44 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pastello/id1074343686/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hdr-portrait/id1509485271/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **44** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 78.9% of reviews | **95.2% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 months** | Every 11 months |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Size | 123 MB | 43 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 15.6 |
| Devices | iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [JixiPix, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/380605671) | [Maxim Chernousov](https://appshunter.io/developer/1129911489) |

## What reviewers say

### Pastello

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pastello/id1074343686)

Transform your photos into stunning dry media art, mimicking styles like pastel, charcoal, and colored pencil. This app offers a professional workflow with customizable layers and one-click presets for creating expressive, traditional-looking artwork.

**Highlights:** Photo to Pastel, Chalk, Charcoal, Crayon conversion, Layering of different dry media, Customizable stroke direction, size, and volume, One-click presets with customization options, Traditional sketch styles and DaVinci effect, Professional workflow for artists and photographers

**In-app purchases:** none


### HDR Portrait

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hdr-portrait/id1509485271)

Transform your photos into artistic portraits with AI-powered HDR effects. This app intelligently detects faces, applies expressive HDR to them, and enhances backgrounds with artistic blurs and bokeh. It works on various devices, utilizing advanced sensors when available for superior results.

**Highlights:** AI face detection, Expressive HDR portrait effects, Artistic background effects, Customizable blurs and bokeh, Utilizes dual cameras and TrueDepth sensors, Pre-set combinations for quick editing

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| HDR Portrait premium features | $0.99 | per month |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Pastello free?

Pastello costs $29.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is HDR Portrait free?

HDR Portrait costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Pastello or HDR Portrait?

HDR Portrait is rated higher. Pastello averages 4.8 out of 5 from 44 ratings, while HDR Portrait averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Pastello or HDR Portrait have ads?

Neither Pastello nor HDR Portrait shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Pastello or HDR Portrait?

Pastello ships an update every 3 months, and HDR Portrait every 11 months. Most recently, Pastello was updated on October 21, 2026 and HDR Portrait on October 22, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*