# Idle Painter vs Idle Pet

The clearest difference is rating: Idle Painter at 4.7 against Idle Pet's 4.2. Idle Painter also leads on ratings volume (32K vs 372). Idle Pet's advantage is update cadence (every 8 days vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Idle Painter sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Idle Pet sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Idle Painter holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Idle Painter has 32K ratings behind it against 372, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 62% of Idle Painter's written reviews are positive against 57% of Idle Pet's.

Idle Painter ships an update every 3 months, Idle Pet every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Idle Painter | Idle Pet |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (32K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/idle-painter/id1377332371/reviews)** | [4.2 (372 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/idle-pet-create-cell-by-cell/id1499958806/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **32K** | 372 |
| Positive reviews | **62.4% of reviews** | 57.1% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Every 8 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 283 MB | 238 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [SayGames LTD](https://appshunter.io/developer/1551847165) | [AA2G1 LTD](https://appshunter.io/developer/1435150054) |

## What reviewers say

### Idle Painter

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/idle-painter/id1377332371)

Create your own art studio, upgrade your tools, and master various art styles. Draw countless pictures to become a renowned artist. Enjoy a relaxing and creative drawing simulation experience.

**Highlights:** Build and upgrade art studio, Learn new art styles, Draw numerous pictures, Master art techniques, Creative and relaxing gameplay

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 100 Crystals Pack | $0.99 | one-time |
| 300 Crystals Pack | $1.99 | one-time |
| Remove Ads | $2.99 | one-time |
| 1000 Crystals Mega Pack | $4.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🎨 Beautiful and creative artwork
- 👍 Relaxing and soothing gameplay
- 🚀 Fast painting process
- 💎 Satisfying to watch pictures come to life

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔍 Limited number of pictures to paint
- 🔍 Repetitive gameplay after completing all pictures
- 🔍 Frequent and unskippable ads
- 🐛 Crashes and bugs causing lost progress

**Reported bugs**

- Paintings not showing up correctly in the top frame
- Inability to watch videos to unlock new paintings
- Game crashing when completing certain quests

**Requested features**

- More pictures and painting options
- Ability to replay favorite paintings
- Option to disable vibration after completing paintings
- Auto-sell feature to continue painting without manual interaction
- Prestige or reset system to provide more long-term progression


### Idle Pet

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/idle-pet-create-cell-by-cell/id1499958806)

Build and evolve virtual pets from their skeletal structure. Grow organs from stem cells and unlock new animal creations. Experience a unique idle tycoon game focused on biological creation.

**Highlights:** Cell-by-cell pet creation, Organ growth from stem cells, Skeleton construction, Pet evolution simulator, Idle tycoon gameplay, Cute animal creator

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

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Open Human | $0.99 | one-time |
| 60 Crystals | $1.99 | one-time |
| Open Girl | $1.99 | one-time |
| Disable Ads | $2.99 | one-time |
| 120 Crystals | $2.99 | one-time |
| 300 Crystals | $4.99 | one-time |
| Open Unicorn | $4.99 | one-time |
| Open Elephant | $4.99 | one-time |
| 700 Crystals | $8.99 | one-time |
| 2000 Crystals | $23.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 📚 Educational content about animal anatomy
- 🎮 Fun and addictive gameplay mechanics
- 🦁 Diverse animal selection to unlock
- 🎨 Good graphics and visual design
- 👶 Suitable for children learning biology

**What reviewers complain about**

- 📺 Excessive and intrusive advertisements
- 💰 Aggressive monetization strategy
- ⚠️ Forced ads even when declining rewards
- 🐛 Game crashes and won't load
- ⏳ Extremely slow progression without ads

**Reported bugs**

- Game stuck on loading screen or title screen
- Game won't load after reinstalling
- Black screen on startup
- Game crashes at 90% loading bar
- Clicking 'no ads' option still shows ads

**Requested features**

- Add lion to the game
- Add frog, raccoon, snake, and fox animals
- Add tortoise and rabbit
- Add capybara
- Replace unicorn with horse or narwhal


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Idle Painter free?

Idle Painter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Idle Pet free?

Idle Pet is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Idle Painter or Idle Pet?

Idle Painter is rated higher. Idle Painter averages 4.7 out of 5 from 32K ratings, while Idle Pet averages 4.2 from 372 ratings.

### Do Idle Painter or Idle Pet have ads?

Both Idle Painter and Idle Pet show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Idle Painter or Idle Pet?

Idle Painter ships an update every 3 months, and Idle Pet every 8 days. Most recently, Idle Painter was updated on November 10, 2026 and Idle Pet on November 3, 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.*