Comparison

Compo vs Value Study

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

Head to head
About

Compo

An intuitive app for creating dynamic and harmonious compositions using shapes and colors inspired by Bauhaus masters. Explore your creativity from a blank canvas or use a shuffle feature to generate ideas. Easily manipulate elements to express your unique style.

Highlights
  • Create compositions with shapes and colors
  • Inspired by Bauhaus masters
  • Blank canvas or shuffle feature
  • Move, rotate, copy, and overlap shapes
  • Express personal style
Features
Read full description

We imagined a fun and intuitive composition app. See shapes and colours like the Bauhaus masters and use them to create dynamic and harmonious compositions. Create from a blank canvas or use the shuffle feature to spark your creative process. Move, rotate, copy, overlap and add shapes to suit your mood or just fit your style. With Compo express yourself simply because you’re the master.

About

Value Study

This app helps artists improve their skills by analyzing light and shadow in reference images. It allows users to break down tones step-by-step, from simple black and white to more complex value ranges, aiding in the understanding of depth and form. It's a tool to enhance traditional art studies.

Highlights
  • Step-by-step tone breakdown
  • Highlighting areas of same value
  • Focus on light, shadow, and form
  • Greyscale value studies
  • Works with reference images
Features
Read full description

In art, value (or tone) refers to how light or dark a colour is. If you're learning to paint or draw, doing value studies is one of the best ways to improve. These small, loose sketches in greyscale help you understand where shadows fall and highlights appear—essential for capturing depth and form. Value Study is a simple, focused tool designed to help you see values more clearly in your reference images. Instead of just converting a photo to black and white, this app lets you break down tones step by step. Start with just black and white to map out the biggest shapes, then gradually add more values to refine your understanding. You can also highlight all areas of an image that share the same value, making it easier to see subtle shifts in tone. This is especially useful in complex references, like portraits, where different parts of the image might have the same level of shadow but look completely different in colour. Value Study isn’t here to replace traditional studies—it’s here to enhance them. Whether you're sketching, painting, or working digitally, this tool makes it easier to focus on the fundamentals of light, shadow, and form. Try it for free with all features enabled on sample images from Unsplash before deciding to unlock the full app with a low-cost yearly or lifetime purchase. All Value Study Pro upgrades count as lifetime purchase. Either option will unlock Value Study across iPhone, iPad and Mac. Annual: Auto-renews yearly. Lifetime: One-time payment, no fees. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Compo4 screens
Value Study4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Value Study at 3.3K against Compo's 5. Value Study also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 5 weeks). Compo's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 92%) and iOS requirement (12.4 vs 16.6). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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. Compo sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Value Study sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per year. 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 — 4.8 for Compo against 4.8 for Value Study. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Value Study has 3.3K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 100% of Compo's written reviews are positive against 92% of Value Study's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Compo ships an update every 5 weeks, Value Study every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Compo versus Value Study: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCompoValue Study
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (5 ratings)4.8 (3.3K ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better92.0% of reviews
Number of ratings53.3K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS12.4 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB35 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSylvain LambertDiem Limited

Customer experience

Compo

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Value Study

All ratings3,304 ratings
Positive96.7%
Neutral1.3%
Negative2.0%
Written reviews200 reviews
Positive92.0%
Neutral1.5%
Negative6.5%

Bugs and requests

Compo

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Value Study

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • App crashes or fails to launch on some devices
  • Occasional issues with image processing

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add ability to adjust value midpoint
  • Include color study/color adjustment options
  • Provide side-by-side comparison of original and simplified images
  • Add customizable grid overlay

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Compo

One-time4
  • Leaves$0.99
  • Letters$0.99
  • Coals$0.99
Show 1 more
  • Fishes$0.99
7 purchases

Value Study

Subscriptions2
  • Value Study Pro$3.991 Year
  • Value Study Pro (yearly)$6.991 Year
One-time5
  • Appreciation$2.99
  • Value Study Pro (Lifetime)$9.99
  • Generous boost$9.99
Show 2 more
  • Value Study$17.99
  • Amazing supporter$24.99

Questions

Is Compo free?
Compo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Value Study free?
Value Study is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Compo or Value Study?
Compo and Value Study are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 5 and 3.3K ratings respectively.
Do Compo or Value Study have ads?
Neither Compo nor Value Study shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Compo or Value Study?
Compo ships an update every 5 weeks, and Value Study every 2 weeks. Most recently, Compo was updated on October 1, 2026 and Value Study on October 10, 2026.

Other comparisons