Pixel Shape vs Hand Tint Pro
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pixel Shape
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Use words or shapes to remake a picture. Bored of zero-dimensional pixels, replace them with words or shapes that you choose or create your own shapes to remake your pictures with them. Non-Latin characters allowed
Hand Tint Pro
Transform your photos into timeless hand-painted art. Apply color with smart brushes, layers, and selective tools. Choose from various background effects and paper textures for unique creations.
- Smart brushes for precise coloring
- Layering system for organized editing
- Selective color tool
- Multiple background effects (B&W, Luminescent, Vintage)
- Various layer modes
- Save projects to resume later
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Colorize your photo with Tint, Tone and Color Hand Tint Pro supplies everything you need—color palettes, paper and smart brushes—for creating beautiful and timeless hand painted photography. Like all art forms, preparing a good base for hand coloring is like stretching a canvas for painting, so every imaged placed in the app is stripped of color and transformed into a classic Black & White, a dreamy Luminescent or an aged Vintage photo we call a Background Effect. To keep your painting organized and in control, we give you Layers and a handy Selective Color tool to define areas for accurate brushing. Both features are designed to keep color where you want them. FEATURES An easy workflow with a professional layering system has modes for tint, tone, color, multiply, soft paint or paint that can be changed per layer, and a powerful color selection tool to keep brushing inside isolated areas for fast colorization and accuracy. It is important to have fun while creating beautiful photo memories so a forgiving erase brush is there to wash away mistakes occurred during the painting process. If you need to stop, not a problem! Use the save project feature and return to finish when you are ready. PHOTO EFFECTS (also known as background effects) For the base of your hand tint we transform your photo into a classic Black & White, a dreamy Luminescent or an aged Vintage—the choice is yours! Black and White—turns a photo into a classic black and white with options to adjust the RGB channels. A strength slider gradually blends the photo's original colors back in, if desired, for a variety of customized looks before the tinting process begins. Luminescent—adds dreamy brightness combined with subtle texture—that you control, as you brush on color, tint or tone Vintage—ages the photo with image toning and adds distressed paper for a beautiful and unique basis of your tinting project INCLUDES 3 Photo Effects—Black & White, Luminescent & Vintage (also known as background effects, creates the base photo layer for hand tinting) 3 Layer Styles—Colorize Layer allows the original color to be brushed back in, Paint Layer allows customizable coloring using paintbrushes and color palettes, Auto Paint Layer allows original color to be removed, and a base layer called Background Effect to change photo effects styles on-the-fly without changing the hand colored layers above it—this allows you to be creative without repainting the image. Layer Modes—on every layer feature Color, Tint, Tone, Multiply, Soft Paint and Paint modes. These modes are designed to change the look of painted or colorized areas for unique and infinite variations. RGB Sliders—found on the Background Effect allow for pro mixing of light and dark areas in the Black & White and Luminescent effects. Film Grain Slider Soften Slider 6 Paper Surface Textures 25 Color Palettes—consist of multiple swatches created for seasons, hair color, eye color and skin tones plus 2 Romantic palettes for dreamy gardens and seascapes. 36 Textures for adding an aged and worn paper effect 15 One-touch customizable Presets—create the Background Effect 3 Paint Presets—with layer styles and brush colors already in place for learning and understanding the layering process. Save Project—will save your hand tint project externally, or share projects with co-workers and friends. This feature keeps all layers and brush colors in tact. Randomize Button—automatically changes the settings on the Background Effects
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Pixel Shape at Free against Hand Tint Pro's $19.99. Pixel Shape also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). Hand Tint Pro's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ads (none vs shown). On update cadence 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
Pixel Shape is free to download; Hand Tint Pro costs $19.99 up front. Pixel Shape sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Hand Tint Pro asks for nothing beyond the download.
Pixel Shape ships an update every 2 weeks, Hand Tint Pro fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pixel Shape | Hand Tint Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $19.99 |
| Rating | — | 4.1 (16 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 71.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 16 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | — | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 118 MB | 105 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Fluocode | JixiPix, LLC |
In-app purchases
Pixel Shape
- Long text and Fonts$4.99
- Shape Editor$4.99
Hand Tint Pro
No in-app purchases








