# HEAVYPAINT Classic vs Pocket Easel

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Pocket Easel at 100% against HEAVYPAINT Classic's 54%. Pocket Easel also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.1). HEAVYPAINT Classic's advantage is ratings volume (179 vs 10) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.6). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. HEAVYPAINT Classic sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Pocket Easel sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Pocket Easel holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HEAVYPAINT Classic has 179 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 54% of HEAVYPAINT Classic's written reviews are positive against 100% of Pocket Easel's.

HEAVYPAINT Classic ships an update every 5 days, Pocket Easel every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | HEAVYPAINT Classic | Pocket Easel |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.1 (179 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/heavypaint-classic/id1469848546/reviews) | **[4.9 (10 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pocket-easel/id6792240582/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **179** | 10 |
| Positive reviews | 54.5% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days | **Every 4 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 51 MB | 5 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 17.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [HEAVYPOLY, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1469848545) | [彬 王](https://appshunter.io/developer/6790275793) |

## 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


### Pocket Easel

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pocket-easel/id6792240582)

This app facilitates quick color studies for painting from life, offering a unique palette system that allows color mixing without leaving the canvas. It helps artists maintain color harmony by limiting palettes and provides tools to analyze values and import master palettes.

**Highlights:** Intuitive color mixing gesture, Gamut masks for palette harmony, Painterly brush textures, Value check with grayscale conversion, Import master palettes, Save and duplicate color studies, Export studies with color analysis

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pocket Easel Pro | $5.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is HEAVYPAINT Classic free?

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

### Is Pocket Easel free?

Pocket Easel is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, HEAVYPAINT Classic or Pocket Easel?

Pocket Easel is rated higher. HEAVYPAINT Classic averages 4.1 out of 5 from 179 ratings, while Pocket Easel averages 4.9 from 10 ratings.

### Do HEAVYPAINT Classic or Pocket Easel have ads?

Neither HEAVYPAINT Classic nor Pocket Easel shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, HEAVYPAINT Classic or Pocket Easel?

HEAVYPAINT Classic ships an update every 5 days, and Pocket Easel every 4 days. Most recently, HEAVYPAINT Classic was updated on November 3, 2026 and Pocket Easel on November 10, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*