# HEAVYPAINT Classic vs VizRef

The clearest difference is price: HEAVYPAINT Classic at Free against VizRef's $3.99. HEAVYPAINT Classic also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 months) and device support (3 vs 1). VizRef's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and review sentiment (70% vs 54%). On rating, ratings volume, ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

HEAVYPAINT Classic is free to download; VizRef costs $3.99 up front. HEAVYPAINT Classic sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. VizRef asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.1 for HEAVYPAINT Classic against 4.1 for VizRef. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 179 and 301 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 54% of HEAVYPAINT Classic's written reviews are positive against 70% of VizRef's.

HEAVYPAINT Classic ships an update every 5 days, VizRef every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | HEAVYPAINT Classic | VizRef |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $3.99 |
| Rating | **[4.1 (179 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/heavypaint-classic/id1469848546/reviews)** | [4.1 (301 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vizref/id1482680568/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 179 | **301** |
| Positive reviews | 54.5% of reviews | **69.8% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 days** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 51 MB | 4 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 13.2 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [HEAVYPOLY, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1469848545) | [Studio Pixanoh](https://appshunter.io/developer/1482680567) |

## What reviewers say

### HEAVYPAINT Classic

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/heavypaint-classic/id1469848546)

A streamlined painting application focused on pure colors and shapes. It offers essential tools for artists, including improved smudge and blur, layers, masking, and erasing. Ideal for quick sketches, studies, and plein air work.

**Highlights:** Improved Smudge tool, Improved Blur tool, Layers, Masking, Clipping, Erase tool

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

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seurat Texture Brushes | $4.99 | one-time |
| HEAVYPAINT Pro | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🎨 Unique, innovative painting tools and brushes
- 💡 Forces deliberate, decisive artistic decisions
- 🎯 Minimalist interface encourages focus on fundamentals
- 🔄 Playback feature to review artwork creation
- 🎪 Fun, experimental approach to digital art

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and data loss
- 😤 Confusing, unintuitive UI/UX
- 🔄 Inconsistent UI changes between updates
- 💰 Switched from one-time purchase to subscription model
- 🚫 Poor documentation and lack of tutorials

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes frequently, causing work loss
- Auto-save feature unreliable despite crashes
- Canvas flips upside down randomly
- Transform tool deletes paintings
- Undo button requires multiple taps

**Requested features**

- Gesture controls (2-finger undo, 3-finger redo)
- Pressure sensitivity for brush size
- Lasso tool for moving selections
- Redo button functionality
- Canvas zoom capability


### VizRef

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vizref/id1482680568)

This app allows artists and animators to create visual reference boards using images and GIFs from various sources. It integrates with popular drawing applications, offering tools to organize and refine inspiration for creative projects.

**Highlights:** Create visual reference boards, Import images and GIFs from web, cloud, photos, Companion app for Procreate, Adobe Fresco, etc., Organize inspiration with thumbnails, Animated GIF support with frame-by-frame playback, Image editing tools: crop, greyscale, flip, rotate, Drag and drop from web, batch import

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Simple and intuitive interface
- 🚀 Smooth and fast performance
- 🎨 Helpful for organizing references
- 💡 Useful for artists and creatives
- 🔍 Convenient for gathering inspiration

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
- 🔒 Lack of backup/sync options
- 🖌️ No annotation or note-taking features
- 🔀 Difficulty rearranging/moving images
- 💾 Limited image storage capacity

**Reported bugs**

- Crashing when opening new boards
- Issues with exporting boards and images
- Losing images from boards unexpectedly
- Limits on number of images per board

**Requested features**

- Add text/drawing tools for annotations
- Implement cloud sync and backup options
- Allow multi-select and batch operations
- Provide more flexible image manipulation
- Add folders/organization for boards


## Frequently asked questions

### Is HEAVYPAINT Classic free?

HEAVYPAINT Classic is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is VizRef free?

VizRef costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, HEAVYPAINT Classic or VizRef?

HEAVYPAINT Classic is rated higher. HEAVYPAINT Classic averages 4.1 out of 5 from 179 ratings, while VizRef averages 4.1 from 301 ratings.

### Do HEAVYPAINT Classic or VizRef have ads?

Neither HEAVYPAINT Classic nor VizRef shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, HEAVYPAINT Classic or VizRef?

HEAVYPAINT Classic ships an update every 5 days, and VizRef every 3 months. Most recently, HEAVYPAINT Classic was updated on October 25, 2026 and VizRef 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.*