# Art Model vs Shade

The clearest difference is price: Art Model at $4.99 against Shade's $19.99. Art Model also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 15.6). Shade's advantage is rating (4.3 vs 3.2) and update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 17 months). On ratings volume, ads, chart position and device support there is nothing between them.

Art Model costs $4.99 and Shade $19.99 up front. Shade sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Art Model asks for nothing beyond the download.

Shade holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 56 and 126 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 51% of Art Model's written reviews are positive against 64% of Shade's.

Art Model ships an update every 17 months, Shade every 6 weeks. Both last shipped on October 26, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Art Model | Shade |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **$4.99** | $19.99 |
| Rating | [3.2 (56 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/art-model-pose-and-morph-tool/id1271805173/reviews) | **[4.3 (126 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shade/id1402522815/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 56 | **126** |
| Positive reviews | 51.0% of reviews | **63.8% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 17 months | **Every 6 weeks** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#88** | #171 |
| Size | 313 MB | 185 MB |
| Requires iOS | **10.0** | 15.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Tomi Nevalainen](https://appshunter.io/developer/1271805172) | [Two Lives Left](https://appshunter.io/developer/335953314) |

## What reviewers say

### Art Model

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/art-model-pose-and-morph-tool/id1271805173)

**Currently charting:** #88 Top Paid · Graphics & Design (US App Store)

Easily pose and morph unlimited human models with intuitive drag-and-drop controls. Create unique characters with a powerful morphing system and enhance scenes with props and background images. Ideal for artists and designers.

**Highlights:** Pose unlimited human models, Intuitive drag-and-drop posing, Powerful morphing system for unique characters, Add props and background images, Split view editing for dual angles, Realistic male and female models, Wooden mannequin reference

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Shade

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shade/id1402522815)

**Currently charting:** #171 Top Paid · Graphics & Design (US App Store)

Design complex visual effects with a node-based shader editor. Create and render real-time shader graphs with intuitive controls and extensive node options. Export your creations for use in game development and other applications.

**Highlights:** Node-based shader graph creation, Real-time rendering preview, Connection stacking and automatic swizzling, Over 100 shader nodes, Drag-and-drop image import, AR previews including Face AR, Export to Unity 3D and Codea

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 14-day Trial | Free | one-time |
| Shade Pro | Free | one-time |
| Shade Pro Upgrade | Free | one-time |
| Shade Standard | $15.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- ✨ Amazing app for shaders
- 💡 Commendable bringing shaders to iPad
- 👍 Intuitive and useful
- 🚀 Great for sketching shaders on the go
- 🌟 High quality visuals on iPad

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 🔥 Generates significant heat
- 💸 Requires payment to create/export
- ❓ Unclear pricing and trial information
- 📉 Export options limited

**Reported bugs**

- Curvature node crashes the program
- Closing function node crashes and saves incorrectly
- Failed to create new shaders
- iOS 17 crashes the app
- App crashes when opening most shaders

**Requested features**

- Edit shader code manually
- Add Mac support
- Port Blender to iOS
- Add UE4 support
- Add light node (direction, position)


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Art Model free?

Art Model costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Shade free?

Shade costs $19.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Art Model or Shade?

Shade is rated higher. Art Model averages 3.2 out of 5 from 56 ratings, while Shade averages 4.3 from 126 ratings.

### Do Art Model or Shade have ads?

Neither Art Model nor Shade shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Art Model or Shade?

Art Model ships an update every 17 months, and Shade every 6 weeks. Most recently, Art Model was updated on October 26, 2026 and Shade on October 26, 2026.

### Which is more popular, Art Model or Shade?

Art Model currently peaks at #88 in the App Store charts, and Shade at #171. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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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.*