Comparison

Real Paint mixing tools vs Hex Color Picker

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

Head to head
About

Real Paint mixing tools

This app helps painters compute opaque paint mixing recipes from images for various commercial brands. It supports multiple color spaces and offers different mixing strategies for precise color creation, reducing paint waste.

Highlights
  • Compute paint mixing recipes from images
  • Supports multiple commercial paint brands
  • Includes various color spaces (sRGB, CMYK, Lab, etc.)
  • Offers multiple mixing strategies
  • Exact and rounded recipe options
  • Import Optishade images for dental colors
Read full description

Painters can load an image, pick colors and obtain OPAQUE paint mixing recipes for several commercial paint brands. This is useful for art students, painters with color vision difficulties, and professionals working in painting conservation and restoration. It can also help reduce paint, time, and money waste. Optishade images can be imported directly from the Optishade by StyleItaliano app and used by technicians to create gum or dental colors for mockups. RealPaint includes many color spaces: sRGB, Display P3, CMYK, HSL, HSV/B, Lab, Lch-ab, Luv, Lch-uv, XYZ, xyY, and Munsell coordinates. Munsell coordinates are calculated from the original and extrapolated Renotation Data with high precision, even near the neutral axis. You can also check the color transformation error for full control over conversions. RealPaint includes one Ideal Paint set and many measured Paint Sets from well-known manufacturers: Createx, Daler-Rowney, Ferrario, Gamblin, Grumbacher-Chartpak, Golden, Liquitex, Maimeri, Royal Talens, Schmincke, Sennelier, Vallejo, and Winsor & Newton. Each Paint Set includes 8 paint bases. Once you select a Paint Line, you can purchase the 8 bases wherever you prefer and use them for all your paintings. The 6 colored bases in each Paint Set are optimized to cover the widest possible opaque color space, providing as many mixable colors as possible. Some sets also include phthalocyanine pigments because they offer a wider mixing gamut, although they may be more difficult for beginners. The apps in the “Real Paint mixing tools” family use measured spectral data from painted samples. A large portion of the RGB/P3 space can be mixed, but not every RGB/P3 color is physically achievable with real paints. This is not an app limitation, but a consequence of paint physics. However, many colors outside the RGB/P3 color space can also be mixed by manually adjusting paint amounts on the “Mixing” page. Paint recipes can be generated with several Mixing Strategies: “B and W + 2 Colors”: Black and White first create a gray, then 2 colored bases adjust Hue and Saturation. “B or W + 3 Colors”: 3 colored bases set Hue and Saturation, while either Black or White sets the Value. “At least one opaque”: shows all possible opaque mixing combinations. “No Black used”: shows opaque combinations without Black. “All bases at once”: calculates one recipe using all bases together. The result is usually not unique and opacity is not guaranteed, but it can be useful for color gamut testing. Each recipe can be Exact or Rounded: “Exact recipe” calculates each base amount with 0.01-unit precision. To obtain percentage values, enter 100 as the total amount. This is useful for weight-based measurements with a scale. “Rounded recipe” expresses each base amount as an integer and uses the smallest possible total amount. It is useful for volume-based measurements, such as drops, spoons, or squared paper with paint squeezed directly from tubes. Digital images usually do not fit entirely within the gamut of real paint sets. RealPaint can estimate an approximate desaturation value to adapt an image to the selected Paint Set and current mixing parameters. This heuristic value is approximate, but usually provides very good results. Please note that paint color may vary within the same tube or jar, between different batches, and when manufacturers change formulations over time. Always mix small test amounts first to make sure the computed recipes meet your needs! To learn how to use the app, watch the video tutorials on YouTube by searching for “Real Paint mixing tools”.

About

Hex Color Picker

Easily identify and extract color codes from images, your camera, or the web. Supports multiple formats like HEX, RGB, HSL, and CMYK, with options for palettes, gradients, and project management.

Highlights
  • Image, camera, and web color picking
  • Multiple color code formats (HEX, RGB, HSL, CMYK)
  • Color palettes and gradients
  • Export options (PNG, SVG)
  • Color history and library
  • Project management
Features
Read full description

Features: • Simple UI with Convenient UX • Images, Camera, Web Color Picker • Hex,RGB(A), HSL(A), CMYK and Name Formats • Color Palettes, Color Gradients, PNG, SVG export • Color History, Library • Projects Privacy Policy : https://sites.google.com/view/colorpicker-privacy-policy/home Terms of Use : https://sites.google.com/view/color-picker-terms/home

Screenshots

Real Paint mixing tools4 screens
Hex Color Picker4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Real Paint mixing tools at 82% against Hex Color Picker's 20%. Real Paint mixing tools also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 11) and rating (4.2 vs 3.8). Hex Color Picker's advantage is price (Free vs $12.99) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 4 months). On ratings volume, ads 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

Hex Color Picker is free to download; Real Paint mixing tools costs $12.99 up front. Hex Color Picker sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Real Paint mixing tools asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Real Paint mixing tools holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 19 and 44 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 82% of Real Paint mixing tools's written reviews are positive against 20% of Hex Color Picker's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Real Paint mixing tools ships an update every 4 months, Hex Color Picker every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Real Paint mixing tools versus Hex Color Picker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReal Paint mixing toolsHex Color Picker
Price$12.99Free — better
Rating4.2 (19 ratings) — better3.8 (44 ratings)
Positive reviews82.4% of reviews — better20.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1944 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#85 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.512.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB61 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAI4res srlHleb Kuznetsov

Customer experience

Real Paint mixing tools

All ratings17 ratings
Positive82.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative17.6%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive82.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative17.6%

Hex Color Picker

All ratings44 ratings
Positive63.6%
Neutral11.4%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive20.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative80.0%

In-app purchases

None

Real Paint mixing tools

No in-app purchases

11 purchases

Hex Color Picker

Subscriptions10
  • Pro - Weekly$1.997 Days
  • Color Picker Pro$1.991 Month
  • Color Kit Pro$5.991 Year
Show 7 more
  • Premium$7.997 Days
  • Color Picker Pro$9.991 Year
  • Premium3 Days trial$14.991 Year
  • Color Kit Pro1 Month trial$17.991 Year
  • Premium3 Days trial$19.991 Year
  • Color Picker Pro$24.991 Year
  • Yearly7 Days trial$24.991 Year
One-time1
  • Color Kit Pro (Lifetime)$49.99

Questions

Is Real Paint mixing tools free?
Real Paint mixing tools costs $12.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Hex Color Picker free?
Hex Color Picker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Real Paint mixing tools or Hex Color Picker?
Real Paint mixing tools is rated higher. Real Paint mixing tools averages 4.2 out of 5 from 19 ratings, while Hex Color Picker averages 3.8 from 44 ratings.
Do Real Paint mixing tools or Hex Color Picker have ads?
Neither Real Paint mixing tools nor Hex Color Picker shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Real Paint mixing tools or Hex Color Picker?
Real Paint mixing tools ships an update every 4 months, and Hex Color Picker every 10 days. Most recently, Real Paint mixing tools was updated on October 29, 2026 and Hex Color Picker on October 30, 2026.

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