Comparison

Spirograph Maker vs Fractally

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Spirograph Maker

Easily create intricate spirograph patterns by adjusting gear size and pen color. Explore a variety of designs with this intuitive drawing application.

Highlights
  • Easy spirograph creation
  • Adjustable gear size
  • Customizable pen color
  • Draw various figures
  • Intuitive interface
Features
Read full description

Create mesmerizing geometric art with a single tap. Released in 2017 with over 110,000 downloads — a math-meets-art tool refined over 9 years. Spirograph Maker turns the timeless mechanical drawing toy into a digital playground for your iPhone and iPad. Choose your gears, pick your colors, and watch hypnotic patterns bloom across the screen — no drawing skill required. WHERE MATH MEETS ART The patterns Spirograph creates aren't accidents — they're governed by GCD/LCM and parametric equations. Watch how the lobe count is determined by n/gcd(n,m), see hypotrochoids and epitrochoids come alive on your screen. A visual companion for middle-school number theory and high-school parametric curves. Whether you're a curious learner, a math enthusiast, or just love beautiful patterns, this is where math becomes mesmerizing. In 2022, this app was acknowledged in an academic paper on algebraic combinatorics — the smoothness criteria for Positroid varieties (Billey & Weaver, arXiv:2207.06508). From a child's toy to cutting-edge mathematical research — that's how deep these patterns go. FOUR GEAR SHAPES Not just circles. Draw with ellipse, rounded triangle (a curve of constant width), and teardrop gears too. Change the gear's shape and the symmetry of the pattern changes with it: circles stay regular, ellipses stretch, triangles beat in threes, teardrops curve organically. A strength slider tunes each shape continuously — from nearly circular to a flat ellipse, or a sharply pointed triangle or teardrop. KEY FEATURES - Auto-draw mode: tap once and beautiful patterns appear on their own - Custom color palette with gradient mode for endless combinations - Adjustable gear shapes and sizes: circle / ellipse / rounded triangle / teardrop, plus tooth count - Save your creations directly to your Photo Library - Share to Instagram, Facebook, or anywhere - Full iPad support — a bigger canvas for finer detail - Light and Dark mode WHY SPIROGRAPH MAKER - A meditative break from a busy day — without leaving your phone - A visual bridge between middle-school math and university geometry - Inspired by the classic Spirograph toy, reimagined for modern iOS - Perfect for parents, students, artists, and math enthusiasts - Works offline, anywhere PERFECT FOR - Winding down before bed - Sparking creativity with kids - A short math meditation anytime - Making one-of-a-kind wallpapers - Sharing unique art on Instagram - A short, calm focus break during your day In Japan, downloads notably spike around the start of new school terms and summer breaks — pointing to a growing use as a learning companion. Pull out your phone, tap once, and watch sacred geometry unfold. Whether you're a designer, a doodler, a student, or just love beautiful patterns, Spirograph Maker is the simplest way to make art that mesmerizes. Free to download. Optional ad-free upgrade available.

About

Fractally

Explore and understand the intricate beauty of Mandelbrot and Julia sets through interactive zooming and scrolling. Generate high-quality fractal images, customize detail levels, and share your discoveries with others.

Highlights
  • Interactive zoom and scroll
  • Julia set evolution visualization
  • Point orbit viewer
  • Multiple color schemes
  • Adjustable detail via iteration editor
  • Save and share fractal images
  • Generate high-quality PNG images
Features
Read full description

Fractally allows you to explore beautiful Mandelbrot and Julia set images, while at the same time, helping you gain a greater understanding of what they are. * interactively zoom and scroll around the images, using standard pinch and scroll gestures. * watch to see how the Julia set changes as you pan and scroll around the Mandelbrot. * view Mandelbrot or Julia point orbits, a visual representation of how a point changes as it moves through the iteration. * many different color schemes are provided. * control the amount of detail shown through the iteration editor. Over 2,000 iterations per point are possible. * zoom into the fractals over 1,000,000,000,000 x. * save and share your favorites, in the app as well as through Messages, Mail and AirDrop. * save high quality, large or small, anti-aliased images. Note that the saved images can range in size from thumbnails to wall sized photographs, depending on the amount of memory in your device. Images are saved in the lossless PNG image format. As you find interesting images, share them with your friends. Fractally saves fractal coordinates in a fractally file. When these files are shared with others, they can use the app to explore the region you found. To help understand the images being shown, try experimenting with low iteration counts, starting at 2, and moving up in steps of 1. As you slowly increase the iteration count, watch to see how the images evolve. At the other extreme, high maximum iterations can be used to reveal great hidden detail in deep zooms. Fractally is a fresh and clean implementation of the Mandelbrot and Julia sets. No frills, just a high quality, solid, viewer and image generator. Available, and free, on iPhone, iPad and the Mac. Donations are welcome and appreciated. For more details, please visit the support website. * privacy policy: https://luckgrib.com/fractally/privacy.html * terms of use: https://luckgrib.com/fractally/terms-of-use.html * end user license agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Spirograph Maker4 screens
Fractally4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Fractally at none against Spirograph Maker's shown. Fractally also leads on review sentiment (76% vs 53%) and device support (4 vs 2). Spirograph Maker's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 25 months) and rating (4.4 vs 4.1). On price, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Spirograph Maker sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Fractally sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Spirograph Maker holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Spirograph Maker has 88 ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 53% of Spirograph Maker's written reviews are positive against 76% of Fractally's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Spirograph Maker ships an update every 2 weeks, Fractally every 25 months. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Spirograph Maker versus Fractally: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpirograph MakerFractally
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (88 ratings) — better4.1 (17 ratings)
Positive reviews52.9% of reviews76.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings88 — better17
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 25 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS18.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size20 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKYWorksCraig McPheeters

Customer experience

Spirograph Maker

All ratings88 ratings
Positive83.0%
Neutral9.1%
Negative8.0%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive52.9%
Neutral11.8%
Negative35.3%

Fractally

All ratings17 ratings
Positive76.5%
Neutral5.9%
Negative17.6%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive76.5%
Neutral11.8%
Negative11.8%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Spirograph Maker

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$3.99
9 purchases

Fractally

Subscriptions9
  • Donation level 1$0.991 Year
  • Donation level 2$1.991 Year
  • Donation level 3$2.991 Year
Show 6 more
  • Donation level 4$3.991 Year
  • Donation level 5$4.991 Year
  • Donation level 10$9.991 Year
  • Donation level 25$24.991 Year
  • Donation level 50$49.991 Year
  • Donation level 99$99.991 Year

Questions

Is Spirograph Maker free?
Spirograph Maker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Fractally free?
Fractally is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Spirograph Maker or Fractally?
Spirograph Maker is rated higher. Spirograph Maker averages 4.4 out of 5 from 88 ratings, while Fractally averages 4.1 from 17 ratings.
Do Spirograph Maker or Fractally have ads?
Spirograph Maker shows ads; Fractally does not.
Which is updated more often, Spirograph Maker or Fractally?
Spirograph Maker ships an update every 2 weeks, and Fractally every 25 months. Most recently, Spirograph Maker was updated on October 16, 2026 and Fractally on October 7, 2026.

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