Comparison

Sandbox vs Particle

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

Head to head
About

Sandbox

Engage in a pixel art coloring experience with a vast library of images. This app offers a fun and educational activity for children and families, promoting creativity and skill development. Turn your own photos into pixel art or explore a free drawing mode.

Highlights
  • Pixel art coloring by number
  • Photo to pixel art conversion
  • Free drawing mode
  • Searchable art library
  • Magic Round Button for similar art
  • Art collections
  • Hints for interesting art
Features
Read full description

Welcome to the Sandbox Coloring Universe and be ready to become a lover of the coloring of tiny pixel art. Four facts about Sandbox: • Children feel how light, sweet and funny Sandbox is and that it's made just for them. It’s like cartoons, but they can participate in the performance, not only watch. • Parents know it’s a great way for the whole family to spend time together. No Ads. Only safe art. • Specialists know Sandbox is a great opportunity to work on your children’s or parents’ drawing and motor skills. • Teachers know Sandbox is a great way to teach their kids or students basic number recognition and how to use a legend. Features available for all: • Search whatever you want, fruits, lips, gadgets, cats or maybe easy art. Handy search feature filters all content for you. • Magic Round Button helps you to find similar art. Just try it and you'll love it. • Collections give you an opportunity to organize all your art in the app. • Free Drawing Mode lets you practice drawing pixel art. The best art will be featured. • Turning your photos from the gallery into pixel art. No words needed. • Hints highlight the most interesting art especially for you. The Sandbox membership gives you an access to all the tiny pixel art in the application. Try the 7 day trial period and if you enjoy Sandbox, do nothing and your membership automatically continues for as long as you choose to remain a member. The base subscription fee will be 2.99$/week after the 7 day trial period or 7.99$/month or 39.99$/year. Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. An account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period at the rate of your selected plan. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user’s Account Settings on the device. Terms of Service: https://sandbox.love/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://sandbox.love/privacy.html Best regards, Sandbox Team [with love]

About

Particle

Explore art, heritage, and culture through curated stories and interactive digital and phygital exhibitions. Discover new artists and galleries, and engage with artworks in a unique way.

Highlights
  • Curated art stories
  • Explore events and exhibitions
  • Phygital and digital exhibition experiences
  • Interact with artworks
  • Discover niche galleries and artists
  • Support art institutions
Features
Read full description

Join Particle and make art essential in your everyday life. From phygital experiences to serendipitous explorations, from world famous artists to off-the-beaten-track niche galleries, Particle can become your faithful chaperon to explore art, heritage and culture like never before. Wander through the Particles: Lose yourself in the never-ending flow of particles: immerse into curated stories to discover the art world at your own pace. Explore events and exhibitions: Browse exhibitions from your favorite institutions, galleries and artists or discover unexplored ones, support their activities, and take part in their events. Experience exhibitions like never before: Explore phygital and digital exhibitions with no limits of location and timing. Interact with the artworks around you and dig deeper into the exhibition topic. Share what made you fall in love, and empower the art community

Screenshots

Sandbox3 screens
Particle4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Sandbox at 4.7 against Particle's 3.0. Sandbox also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 weeks) and ratings volume (978K vs 2). Particle's advantage is monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Sandbox sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days and Particle sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Sandbox holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sandbox has 978K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sandbox ships an update every 2 days, Particle every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Sandbox versus Particle: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSandboxParticle
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (978K ratings) — better3.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews71.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings978K — better2
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB701 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlexey GrigorkinParticle Pte. Ltd.

Customer experience

Sandbox

All ratings978,018 ratings
Positive93.7%
Neutral3.6%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews2,454 reviews
Positive71.3%
Neutral7.9%
Negative20.8%

Particle

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Bugs and requests

Sandbox

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Palette not showing completed colors correctly
  • Zooming and panning issues
  • Offline mode issues

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add search bar to find specific pictures
  • Separate completed pictures from unfinished ones
  • Ability to import and color own photos
  • Progressive difficulty levels
  • Collaborative coloring with friends
Show 1 more
  • Tracking stats like total pictures colored

Particle

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Sandbox

Subscriptions5
  • Gorgeous Sandbox7 Days trial$2.997 Days
  • Monthly Sandbox.$3.491 Month
  • Pandy's Sandbox$7.991 Month
Show 2 more
  • Annual Sandbox.$19.491 Year
  • Handsome Sandbox$39.991 Year
3 purchases

Particle

One-time3
  • Off-site Route2 variants$0.99
  • Experience Page2 variants$0.99
  • Route2 variants$0.99

Questions

Is Sandbox free?
Sandbox is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Particle free?
Particle is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Sandbox or Particle?
Sandbox is rated higher. Sandbox averages 4.7 out of 5 from 978K ratings, while Particle averages 3.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Sandbox or Particle have ads?
Neither Sandbox nor Particle shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sandbox or Particle?
Sandbox ships an update every 2 days, and Particle every 3 weeks. Most recently, Sandbox was updated on October 20, 2026 and Particle on October 6, 2026.

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