Spirograph Maker vs String Art Designer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Spirograph Maker
Easily create intricate spirograph patterns by adjusting gear size and pen color. Explore a variety of designs with this intuitive drawing application.
- Easy spirograph creation
- Adjustable gear size
- Customizable pen color
- Draw various figures
- Intuitive interface
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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 sharply pointed. 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.
String Art Designer
Create intricate string art designs with various string types and modes. Transform photos into unique string art pieces. Offers in-app purchases for expanded features and unlimited string options.
- Math-String mode
- Cyclic string type
- Step string type
- Custom string type
- Portrait mode for photo art
- In-app purchases for advanced features
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String Art Designer makes possible to design string art with using various strings. Math-String mode Availabe string types: - cyclic string string will be hooked on pins with a specified cycle - verious step string string will be hooked on start/end pin which are moved by specified rule - custom string string will be hooked on specified pins Portrait mode make string art from photo In-App Purchase: - unlimited number strings for math-string mode - make string art from your photo (from Photo library) Note: A photo editing app would help to get better Portrait String Art
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Spirograph Maker at 53% against String Art Designer's 0%. Spirograph Maker also leads on rating (4.4 vs 3.0) and ratings volume (88 vs 2). String Art Designer's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.6). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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
Both are free to download. Spirograph Maker sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and String Art Designer sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Spirograph Maker holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Spirograph Maker has 88 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 53% of Spirograph Maker's written reviews are positive against 0% of String Art Designer's.
Spirograph Maker ships an update fortnightly, String Art Designer every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Spirograph Maker | String Art Designer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (88 ratings) — better | 3.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 52.9% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 88 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 25 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | KYWorks | Tomoaki Yagishita |
Customer experience
Spirograph Maker
String Art Designer
In-app purchases
Spirograph Maker
- Remove Ads$3.99
String Art Designer
- Unlimited String$5.99
- PortraitArt$19.99
Questions
Is Spirograph Maker free?
Is String Art Designer free?
Which has better reviews, Spirograph Maker or String Art Designer?
Do Spirograph Maker or String Art Designer have ads?
Which is updated more often, Spirograph Maker or String Art Designer?
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