Comparison

paintRack vs Hobby Codex

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

Head to head
About

paintRack

Manage your miniature paint collection digitally. Track thousands of paints from various brands, create custom sets, and find matching colors. Features include barcode scanning for quick entry and a wish list for paints you need.

Highlights
  • Extensive paint library with over 27,000 paints
  • Create custom paint sets and recipes
  • Barcode scanning for rapid paint entry
  • Wish list to track needed paints
  • Color matching tools
  • Support for numerous paint brands
Features
Read full description

FEATURES: LIBRARY: track your paints with over 30,000 paints from top brands! SETS: create custom paint SETS (or recipes) for your models WISH LIST: helps you track paints you need *RAPID SCAN: most bottles can be added by scanning barcodes on bottles *COLOR TOOLS: will help you find the best matching paint colors *Available in Full Version Supported paint lines include: - Abteilung 502 - Aero Color (Schmincke) - AK Interactive - Alclad II - AMMO by MIG Jimenez - Andrea Color - Apple Barrel - Archive-X - Army Painter (Warpaints) - Badger Minitaire - Battlefront (Colours of War) - Bear Cavalry - Citadel - Coat d'Arms - Colour Forge - Craft Smart - Createx - Cuttlefish Colors by Cephalopod Studios - CVLTCRAFT (CPOP) - Darkstar - DecoArt - Delta Ceramcoat - Dirty Down - Folk Art - Forge World - FREAKflex - FW Inks - Gaianotes - GarageKits.US - Golden - Green Stuff World - Hataka - Huge Miniatures - Humbrol - ICM - Instar - IONIC (AMMO) - Italeri - Jo Sonja's - Kaleido ColorWorks - Kimera Kolors - Lifecolor - Liquitex - Metalsmith - Mindtaker Miniatures - Mission Models - Model Master - Molotow - Mr. Hobby (Gunze) - Mr. Paint (MRP) - Nocturna - NuWorlds (Iwata-Medea) - P3 (Privateer Press) - Pactra - Pokorny (Dwarf Forge) - Pro Acryl (Monument Hobbies) - Reaper - Revell - Scale Modellers Supply - Scale75 - Secret Weapon - Splash Paints - Stynylrez - Tamiya - Testors - TTCombat - Turbo Dork - Two Thin Coats - Ultracryl - Vallejo - Villainy Inks - Warcolours - Wargames Foundry - Warhammer Colour - Winsor & Newton In-app colors are approximate, usually as provided by the brands themselves.

About

Hobby Codex

Organize your miniature painting hobby with this app. Catalog your collection, save paint recipes, manage your paint inventory, and track project progress. Designed for mobile use on your painting desk.

Highlights
  • Catalog miniatures
  • Save paint recipes
  • Manage paint inventory
  • Track project progress
  • Log painting sessions
  • Built-in paint catalog
Features
Read full description

Hobby Codex is a mobile app for miniature painters. It keeps your collection, paints, color schemes, projects, and painting journal in one place. Once boxes start piling up, notes get scattered, and you can no longer remember which paints or steps were planned, it becomes hard to keep track. Hobby Codex helps you follow a miniature from the box to the finished model. Start by scanning a box Scan its barcode, or search by name, to find its contents and add its miniatures to your collection in a few taps. No need to enter every reference one by one. The catalogue also lets you browse available factions and boxes. This feature is available with a subscription. You can also add a miniature manually, whether it comes from a box that is not in the catalogue or is a custom reference. Organize your collection Track the miniatures you own or want to buy, along with their assembly and painting progress. Add your own photos, notes, and details to keep a useful record of every model. Plan your painting - create color schemes; - break a miniature down into parts and painting steps; - keep track of the paints and techniques you use; - see which pots are missing from your inventory. Move your projects forward Group related miniatures into projects or campaigns. Track their progress and keep a clear view of what remains to be done. Keep a record of your sessions The journal records your painting sessions: time spent, miniatures worked on, calendar, and progress over time. Pick up where you left off without having to reconstruct your plans. Your collection stays on your device by default. If you create an account, you can choose to back up your data and photos to the cloud and restore them on another device. Hobby Codex is available in French and English, with no ads. Catalogue subscription Tracking features are free. Access to the box catalogue requires an account and a Hobby Codex Catalogue subscription, monthly or yearly, that renews automatically. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless it is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://nicolaslabrousse.github.io/hobby-codex-legal/privacy.html

Screenshots

paintRack4 screens
Hobby Codex4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Hobby Codex at every 6 days against paintRack's every 6 weeks. Hobby Codex also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). paintRack's advantage is ratings volume (219 vs 2). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. paintRack sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Hobby Codex sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for paintRack against 5.0 for Hobby Codex. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: paintRack has 219 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 93% of paintRack's written reviews are positive against 100% of Hobby Codex's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

paintRack ships an update every 6 weeks, Hobby Codex every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
paintRack versus Hobby Codex: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterpaintRackHobby Codex
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (219 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews92.9% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings219 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.515.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size71 MB81 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCourageous OctopusLabrousse Nicolas

Customer experience

paintRack

All ratings219 ratings
Positive97.3%
Neutral1.4%
Negative1.4%
Written reviews154 reviews
Positive92.9%
Neutral2.6%
Negative4.5%

Hobby Codex

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

Bugs and requests

paintRack

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Certain paint brands not appearing in megafilter
  • Scanning issues with some barcodes

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to upload and attach photos to paint sets/projects
  • Improved sorting and organization options for paint libraries
  • Bulk add/import functionality for entire paint ranges
  • Personal paint mixing/recipe notes section

Hobby Codex

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

paintRack

One-time1
  • Full Unlock$5.99
2 purchases

Hobby Codex

Subscriptions2
  • Box Catalog$2.991 Month
  • Box Catalog$24.991 Year

Questions

Is paintRack free?
paintRack is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Hobby Codex free?
Hobby Codex is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, paintRack or Hobby Codex?
Hobby Codex is rated higher. paintRack averages 4.9 out of 5 from 219 ratings, while Hobby Codex averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do paintRack or Hobby Codex have ads?
Neither paintRack nor Hobby Codex shows ads.
Which is updated more often, paintRack or Hobby Codex?
paintRack ships an update every 6 weeks, and Hobby Codex every 6 days. Most recently, paintRack was updated on October 26, 2026 and Hobby Codex on October 24, 2026.

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