# Shade vs Mesh Gradients Ultimate

The clearest difference is price: Mesh Gradients Ultimate at Free against Shade's $19.99. Mesh Gradients Ultimate also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 64%) and rating (4.7 vs 4.3). Shade's advantage is chart position (#167 vs unranked) and ratings volume (126 vs 19). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Mesh Gradients Ultimate is free to download; Shade costs $19.99 up front. Shade sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Mesh Gradients Ultimate sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Mesh Gradients Ultimate holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shade has 126 ratings behind it against 19, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 64% of Shade's written reviews are positive against 100% of Mesh Gradients Ultimate's.

Shade ships an update every 6 weeks, Mesh Gradients Ultimate fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Shade | Mesh Gradients Ultimate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $19.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.3 (126 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shade/id1402522815/reviews) | **[4.7 (19 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mesh-gradients-ultimate/id6444388499/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **126** | 19 |
| Positive reviews | 63.8% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#167** | — |
| Size | 185 MB | 15 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.6** | 16.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Two Lives Left](https://appshunter.io/developer/335953314) | [Denis Chashchin](https://appshunter.io/developer/493558586) |

## What reviewers say

### Shade

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

**Currently charting:** #167 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)


### Mesh Gradients Ultimate

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mesh-gradients-ultimate/id6444388499)

Create unique and beautiful gradients for wallpapers, social media, and professional design projects. Features AI image transformation, texture settings, shape support, and multiple export options. Seamlessly integrates with popular design tools.

**Highlights:** AI image to gradient transformation, Texture settings per anchor point, Shape support (hearts, drops), Automatic blob shape generation, Multi-anchor point color adjustment, iCloud storage, Export to WebP, PNG, HEIC, SVG

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

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Gradients Pro Monthly | $1.99 | per month |
| Pro. One time purchase | $11.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Shade free?

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

### Is Mesh Gradients Ultimate free?

Mesh Gradients Ultimate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Shade or Mesh Gradients Ultimate?

Mesh Gradients Ultimate is rated higher. Shade averages 4.3 out of 5 from 126 ratings, while Mesh Gradients Ultimate averages 4.7 from 19 ratings.

### Do Shade or Mesh Gradients Ultimate have ads?

Neither Shade nor Mesh Gradients Ultimate shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Shade or Mesh Gradients Ultimate?

Shade ships an update every 6 weeks, and Mesh Gradients Ultimate fortnightly. Most recently, Shade was updated on October 26, 2026 and Mesh Gradients Ultimate on October 24, 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.*