Comparison

impcat vs 3D Model Viewer

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

Head to head
About

impcat

This app simulates photorealistic painting results for gaming and tabletop miniatures. It allows users to customize miniature sections with colors they own or plan to buy, using manufacturer-promoted palettes. The simulation includes base coloring, layering, shading, and highlighting.

Highlights
  • Photorealistic painting simulation
  • Customizable miniature sections
  • Manufacturer-promoted color palettes
  • Automated color complement recommendations
  • Shopping list generator
  • Custom color creation and mixing
  • Color scheme inspiration randomizer
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

impcat (short for Interactive Miniature Painting Catalogue) is a simulator for photorealistic painting results on gaming and tabletop miniatures. This tool gives you a variety of miniature images with individually customizable body sections, that you can paint with colours you own or perhaps wish to purchase. It works with predefined colour palettes, using names and values as promoted by their manufacturers. To achieve a high quality result the system simulates a four step painting process: Base colouring, layering, shading and highlighting. Features: - A set of 6 built-in miniatures, by Artel "W", with up to nearly 30 individually paintable sections - A set of built-in colour palettes, as well as additional palettes from our DLC server (around 1000 paints to choose from, and growing) - A file handling system for importing custom image and paint templates (visit impcat.de/faq for instructions) - Access to a growing online library of free DLCs (visit impcat.de/about for full list of contents) - An automated complement recommendation mode that lets you select a base colour and then automatically applies harmonizing layer, shade and highlight paints, which you can then customize at will. - A photorealistic simulation of the applied paints. - A shopping list generator that collects the data of all applied colours and gives you the links to the corresponding shop pages - Saving and loading options for your colour configurations - A colour creating tool, for creating opaque and metallic paints of any colour you like - A colour mixing tool, for testing mix results of your paints - A randomizer, for getting colour scheme inspiration by letting impcat ramdomly distribute a set of colours across the model

About

3D Model Viewer

Explore and interact with 3D models on your mobile device. Simulate the 3D printing process to identify potential issues before committing to a print. Visualize your models in augmented reality, adjusting scale and rotation within your real-world environment.

Highlights
  • View 3D models in real-time
  • Rotate, zoom, and paint models
  • Simulate 3D printing process
  • View models in AR mode
  • Adjust scale and rotation in AR
  • Supports multiple 3D file formats
Features
Read full description

Have you ever wanted to view and interact with 3D Models? 3D Model Viewer allows you to view compatible 3D Models using your mobile device. You can even simulate 3D Printing and view your model in AR mode! -- View 3D Models Import and view your 3D models in real time, rotating, zooming and painting! -- Simulate 3D Printing Watch a simulation of your model being 3D printed from bottom to top and identify any potential problems with the model without wasting any printing material! -- AR Mode View your 3D models inserted into the real world, being able to adjust scale and rotation! -- Compatible with many formats 3D Model Viewer supports the following formats: .stl, .obj*, .abc, .ply, .usdz, .usd, .usda, .dae *.obj files can be imported with textures in the format of a .zip file 3D Model Viewer is now available for all iOS devices!

Screenshots

impcat4 screens
3D Model Viewer3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: 3D Model Viewer at Free against impcat's $2.99. 3D Model Viewer also leads on rating (4.4 vs 2.6) and update cadence (weekly vs every 18 months). impcat's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and chart position (#50 vs unranked). On ads and monetization model 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

3D Model Viewer is free to download; impcat costs $2.99 up front. 3D Model Viewer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. impcat asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

3D Model Viewer holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 2.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: 3D Model Viewer has 364 ratings behind it against 51, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 32% of impcat's written reviews are positive against 20% of 3D Model Viewer's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

impcat ships an update every 18 months, 3D Model Viewer weekly. Both last shipped on November 7, 2026.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
impcat versus 3D Model Viewer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameterimpcat3D Model Viewer
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating2.6 (51 ratings)4.4 (364 ratings) — better
Positive reviews32.1% of reviews — better20.5% of reviews
Number of ratings51364 — better
Update frequencyEvery 18 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#50 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS18.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size20 MB17 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperDesign Bench - Immersive AgencyArthur Eduardo Skaetta Alvarez Desenvolvimento de Software LTDA.

Customer experience

impcat

All ratings48 ratings
Positive31.3%
Neutral14.6%
Negative54.2%
Written reviews53 reviews
Positive32.1%
Neutral17.0%
Negative50.9%

3D Model Viewer

All ratings364 ratings
Positive84.3%
Neutral4.4%
Negative11.3%
Written reviews44 reviews
Positive20.5%
Neutral13.6%
Negative65.9%

User reviews

impcat

From 51 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great for planning paint schemes
  • 💡 Useful for visualizing colors
  • ✨ Realistic rendering
  • 🚀 Helpful community support (subreddit)
  • ✅ Good for beginners

Room to improve

  • 👎 Very limited built-in models
  • 💸 High cost for limited content
  • 🧩 Complicated import process
  • 🤷‍♂️ Lack of clear instructions
  • ⏳ App feels abandoned/no updates

3D Model Viewer

From 364 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 👍 Nice app design
  • 👍 Simple and well-designed
  • 👍 Quick viewing of models
  • 👍 Low app size

Room to improve

  • 👎 Only one free model import
  • 👎 Paywall for more models
  • 👎 Models shown at incorrect scale
  • 👎 App crashes frequently
  • 👎 Limited free version

Bugs and requests

impcat

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • In-app store not working
  • App restarts when using mixed colors
  • Update broke Apple Pencil functionality on iPad
  • File browser is annoying
  • Importing models on iOS not functional
Show 1 more
  • Touch locations for buttons are off

Requested features

12 requests
  • Add more Warhammer 40K .SVG models
  • Include Citadel paint color references
  • Permanent toggle-off for auto mode
  • Landscape mode
  • Easier way to import minis
Show 7 more
  • Add GW paint sets or equivalents
  • Improve UI/UX design
  • Add option to save work as an image
  • Add more paint manufacturers
  • Improve stability and performance
  • Add Apple Pencil support for iPad version
  • Make import process more intuitive

3D Model Viewer

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • App crashes immediately after upload
  • App crashes when importing PLY files
  • App crashes after payment
  • App crashes when importing large files
  • App crashes on iPad Pro
Show 5 more
  • VR crashes
  • Model centering limits viewing
  • Paint function assigns random color
  • Incorrect AR sizing
  • Y axis is up in AR

Requested features

11 requests
  • Allow changing background color
  • Allow changing lighting positions
  • Add axis lock object rotation
  • Add way to rotate side to side (turntable)
  • Option to slow down rotation/movements
Show 6 more
  • Add arrange by recent for downloaded STLs
  • Add ability to list most recent STL at top
  • Allow models to scale larger in AR mode
  • Add free rotation
  • Improve AR sizing accuracy
  • Use Z axis as up for AR and print sim

In-app purchases

None

impcat

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

3D Model Viewer

One-time1
  • Model Viewer Premium$1.99

Questions

Is impcat free?
impcat costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is 3D Model Viewer free?
3D Model Viewer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, impcat or 3D Model Viewer?
3D Model Viewer is rated higher. impcat averages 2.6 out of 5 from 51 ratings, while 3D Model Viewer averages 4.4 from 364 ratings.
Do impcat or 3D Model Viewer have ads?
Neither impcat nor 3D Model Viewer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, impcat or 3D Model Viewer?
impcat ships an update every 18 months, and 3D Model Viewer weekly. Most recently, impcat was updated on November 7, 2026 and 3D Model Viewer on November 7, 2026.

Other comparisons