Comparison

CUSTOM CAST vs PaperVN

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

Head to head
About

CUSTOM CAST

Design unique 3D characters with extensive customization options for body parts, clothing, and accessories. Save multiple creations, pose them for social media, or use them as a virtual avatar for live streaming with facial tracking and AR capabilities.

Highlights
  • Extensive character customization
  • Save multiple character designs
  • Social media sharing with stickers/frames
  • Virtual streamer functionality
  • Facial motion tracking
  • AR integration
Read full description

"Create your very own 3D character!" Choose from a variety of body parts and clothes, and create your very own 3D character from an infinite combination of parts. You can create your very own 3D character from a rich and wide variety of customization parts, such as hairstyle, clothes, skin color, face type and accessories. You can also create and save multiple 3D characters. You can use different characters, or enjoy dressing them up by changing their outfits and hairstyles. ------------------------------------------------- "Post on social media!" Take screenshots of your customized 3D characters making various expressions and poses using the app, and post them on social media! You can also decorate your screenshots with cute stickers and frames. Show off the 3D models that you created! ------------------------------------------------- "Let's stream!" You can start streaming as a virtual streamer using your created 3D character. Your face will be detected by the camera on your device, and your 3D characters will move based on your movements, such as tilting or turning your head. You can also use the gyro function to create immersive streams, and use Flicks to make your character do specific poses. The AR function is also available for iPhone X and later models to integrate the real world with your stream. Perhaps you can even become a virtual streamer in the real world...!? ------------------------------------------------- [Operating environment] iOS 15 or higher 1GB free storage or more

About

PaperVN

Discover and track visual novels with this companion app. Browse titles, learn about characters, and manage your personal library. Features daily selections, personalized recommendations, and extensive search capabilities.

Highlights
  • Discover visual novels
  • Track play progress
  • Manage personal library
  • Daily visual novel selections
  • Personalized recommendations
  • Extensive search functionality
  • Character and title details
Features
Read full description

PaperVN is a visual novel companion built for Apple devices. It helps you discover visual novels, learn more about titles and characters, and record every step of your play journey. Browse, explore, and search VNDB's public data without signing in. After signing in to your VNDB account, you can also read and edit your personal library. Coming Swiftly: Throughout its development, PaperVN has followed a “beauty first” principle. It is built entirely with SwiftUI, and every detail has been carefully considered. Today: Today presents a daily selection of visual novels worth your attention and recent events. PaperVN can also analyze your library and use machine learning to generate a “For You” list. Library: After signing in to your VNDB account, you can edit your library and update play status, played release, rating, and start or finish date. Preferences such as language, appearance, and content safety are customizable as well. Visual Novel / Character Details: PaperVN includes localizations for more than 6,000 VNDB visual novel tags and character traits, with support for Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English, Japanese, and Korean. We are also working to localize the descriptions of more than 200,000 visual novels and characters on VNDB. Search: Search visual novels, characters, releases, staff, developers, and publishers, then narrow the results with matching filter criteria. LICENSED APPLICATION END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT:https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

CUSTOM CAST4 screens
PaperVN4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: PaperVN at 100% against CUSTOM CAST's 48%. PaperVN also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.4) and ads (none vs shown). CUSTOM CAST's advantage is ratings volume (4K vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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. CUSTOM CAST sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and PaperVN sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $0.59 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PaperVN holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: CUSTOM CAST has 4K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 48% of CUSTOM CAST's written reviews are positive against 100% of PaperVN's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CUSTOM CAST ships an update every 5 weeks, PaperVN weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
CUSTOM CAST versus PaperVN: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCUSTOM CASTPaperVN
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.4 (4K ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews48.1% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings4K — better2
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksWeekly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size896 MB204 MB
Age rating12+17+
DeveloperDWANGO Co., Ltd.训杰 潘

Customer experience

CUSTOM CAST

All ratings3,980 ratings
Positive56.9%
Neutral12.1%
Negative31.0%
Written reviews1,078 reviews
Positive48.1%
Neutral16.2%
Negative35.6%

PaperVN

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

CUSTOM CAST

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Black screen issues when customizing characters
  • Glitches with clothing and accessories
  • Tracking and camera issues
  • Inconsistent performance and crashes

Requested features

6 requests
  • More free clothing and accessory options
  • Ability to customize hair color and facial features
  • More diverse body types and skin tones
  • Improved performance and reduced loading times
  • Add more male-oriented clothing and styles
Show 1 more
  • Ability to save and export character designs

PaperVN

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

6 purchases

CUSTOM CAST

One-time6
  • 160cc$0.99
  • 480cc$2.99
  • 1000cc$5.99
Show 3 more
  • 3000cc$19.99
  • 6000cc$39.99
  • 10000cc$59.99
1 purchases

PaperVN

Subscriptions1
  • PaperVN Senkou1 Month trial$0.591 Month

Questions

Is CUSTOM CAST free?
CUSTOM CAST is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PaperVN free?
PaperVN is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, CUSTOM CAST or PaperVN?
PaperVN is rated higher. CUSTOM CAST averages 3.4 out of 5 from 4K ratings, while PaperVN averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do CUSTOM CAST or PaperVN have ads?
CUSTOM CAST shows ads; PaperVN does not.
Which is updated more often, CUSTOM CAST or PaperVN?
CUSTOM CAST ships an update every 5 weeks, and PaperVN weekly. Most recently, CUSTOM CAST was updated on November 7, 2026 and PaperVN on November 6, 2026.

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