# Mandala Maker vs Looom

The clearest difference is price: Mandala Maker at Free against Looom's $9.99. Mandala Maker also leads on rating (4.6 vs 3.9) and update cadence (weekly vs every 4 months). Looom's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and ads (none vs shown). On device support there is nothing between them.

Mandala Maker is free to download; Looom costs $9.99 up front. Mandala Maker sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Looom asks for nothing beyond the download.

Mandala Maker holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mandala Maker has 9.6K ratings behind it against 121, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of Mandala Maker's written reviews are positive against 62% of Looom's.

Mandala Maker ships an update weekly, Looom every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Mandala Maker | Looom |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $9.99 |
| Rating | **[4.6 (9.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mandala-maker-symmetry-doodle/id1198232048/reviews)** | [3.9 (121 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/looom/id1454153126/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **9.6K** | 121 |
| Positive reviews | **73.8% of reviews** | 61.9% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 4 months |
| Monetization | **Freemium** | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | **#25** |
| Size | 71 MB | 43 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Damien Bell](https://appshunter.io/developer/668836961) | [IORAMA AB](https://appshunter.io/developer/933451747) |

## What reviewers say

### Mandala Maker

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mandala-maker-symmetry-doodle/id1198232048)

Easily create beautiful, symmetric geometric art and patterns. This app offers a relaxing way to doodle, color, and explore fractal designs, mosaics, and sacred geometry with customizable tools and a variety of stickers and brushes.

**Highlights:** Symmetric pattern art creation, Color therapy and relaxation, Customizable settings, Free-form zooming and panning, Stickers, shapes, and brushes, Mandala coloring feature, Image export

**Features:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Weekly Plan | $2.99 | per 7 days |
| Monthly Pro | $3.99 | per month |
| Weekly Pro | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| Yearly Plan | $9.99 | per year |
| Yearly Pro | $9.99 | per year |
| Yearly Plan | $12.99 | per year |
| Unlock Everything | $5.99 | one-time |
| Full Unlock | $6.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime Unlock | $29.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime Pro Unlock | $34.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🎨 Beautiful and creative mandalas
- 👍 Easy to use and intuitive
- 💡 Relaxing and therapeutic
- 🎨 Wide range of colors and tools
- 🎨 Ability to save and share creations

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Many features locked behind paywall
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
- 🔍 Limited undo/redo functionality in free version
- 🔍 Difficulty with precise controls and brush sizes

**Reported bugs**

- Mandalas disappearing after crashes
- Inconsistent behavior when zooming and panning
- Inability to save or export creations in free version

**Requested features**

- Allow importing/exporting of designs
- Add more brush types and customization options
- Improve layer management and symmetry controls
- Provide more default color palettes and templates


### Looom

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/looom/id1454153126)

**Currently charting:** #25 Top Paid · Graphics & Design (US App Store)

Create hand-drawn animations with a playful, instrument-like interface. This robust app focuses on loopable animation, offering a dynamic, non-destructive workflow for both beginners and professionals. Explore lines, shapes, and colors in a delightful environment designed for learning and experimentation.

**Highlights:** Hand-drawn animation creation, Loopable animation focus, Musical interface inspiration, Dynamic non-destructive workflow, Fluid time control, Infinite canvas, SVG native file format

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 💡 Innovative and unique animation interface
- 🎨 Intuitive drawing experience once learned
- 🎬 Real-time animation playback while drawing
- 📱 Works seamlessly on iPad and iPhone
- 🎯 Simple and minimalist design approach

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes losing user work
- 😕 Non-intuitive UI despite minimalist design
- 🎨 Limited to single color per layer/thread
- 🖌️ Only one basic brush option available
- 📤 Extremely cumbersome export process

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes mid-animation causing work loss
- Grey screen on launch preventing app opening
- Drawing not registering properly
- Frame navigation swiping goes wrong direction
- Accidental marks appearing from sensitive touch controls

**Requested features**

- Better export options (GIF, video, SVG with proper formatting)
- Increase frame limit beyond 24 frames
- More than 5 layers/threads
- Multiple colors and brush sizes per layer
- Frame duplication and copy-paste functionality


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Mandala Maker free?

Mandala Maker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Looom free?

Looom costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Mandala Maker or Looom?

Mandala Maker is rated higher. Mandala Maker averages 4.6 out of 5 from 9.6K ratings, while Looom averages 3.9 from 121 ratings.

### Do Mandala Maker or Looom have ads?

Mandala Maker shows ads; Looom does not.

### Which is updated more often, Mandala Maker or Looom?

Mandala Maker ships an update weekly, and Looom every 4 months. Most recently, Mandala Maker was updated on November 10, 2026 and Looom on November 6, 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.*