Comparison

Nomad Sculpt vs Paint Codex

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

Head to head
About

Nomad Sculpt

Create 3D models with sculpting and painting tools. Features include layers, multiresolution sculpting, and PBR rendering. Supports various export formats for your digital art.

Highlights
  • Sculpting tools (clay, flatten, smooth, trim)
  • Vertex painting (color, roughness, metalness)
  • Layer system for sculpting and painting
  • Multiresolution and voxel remeshing
  • Automatic UV unwrapping
  • PBR rendering with post-processing effects
  • Export/import in glTF, OBJ, STL, PLY
Features
Read full description

• Sculpting tools Clay, flatten, smooth, mask and many other brushes will let you shape your creation. You can also use the trim boolean cutting tool with lasso, rectangle and other shapes, for hardsurface purposes. • Stroke customization Falloff, alphas, tilings, pencil pressure and other stroke parameters can be customized. You can save and load your tools preset as well. • Painting tools Vertex painting with color, roughness and metalness. You can easily manage all your material presets as well. • Layers Record your sculpting and painting operations in separate layers for easier iteration during the creation process. Both the sculpting and painting changes are recorded. • Multiresolution sculpting Go back and forth between multiple resolution of your mesh for a flexible workflow. • Voxel remeshing Remesh quickly your mesh to get a uniform level of detail. It can be used to quickly sketch a rough shape at the beginning of the creation process. • Dynamic topology Refine locally your mesh under your brush to get an automatic level of detail. You can even keep your layers, as they will be automatically updated! • Decimate Reduce the number of polygons by keeping as many details as possible. • Face Group Segment your mesh into subgroups with the face group tool. • Automatic UV unwrap The automatic UV unwrapper can use face groups to control the unwrapping process. • Baking You can transfer vertex data such as color, roughness, metalness and small scaled detail in to textures. You can also do the opposite, transfering textures data into vertex data or layers. • Primitive shape Cylinder, torus, tube, lathe and other primitives can be used to quickly start new shapes from scratch. • PBR rendering Beautiful PBR rendering by default, with lighting and shadows. You can always switch to matcap for a more standard shading for sculpting purposes. • Post processing Screen Space Reflection, Depth of Field, Ambient Occlusion, Tone mapping, etc • Export and Import Supported formats include glTF, OBJ, STL or PLY files. • Interface Easy-to-use interface, designed for mobile experience. Customization is possible as well! • Quad Remesher (separate in-app purchase only) Remesh your object automatically with a quad dominant mesh that follows the mesh curvatures. It supports guides, face groups and density painting.

About

Paint Codex

This app helps miniature and model painters document their creative process. Organize projects, record every step with custom phases, and build a personal gallery of your work. Export your progress to share with clients or the community.

Highlights
  • Create custom paint doctrines
  • Record painting steps and phases
  • Capture progress via camera/gallery
  • Export projects as .paintcodex files
  • Offline-first design for privacy
  • Personal gallery for completed work
Features
Read full description

Paint Codex, by Battle Servo Studios, is your all-in-one companion for miniature and model painters — from weekend hobbyists to professional commission artists. Document every step of your painting process, stay organized across projects, and build a personal archive of your creative journey. Features • Create detailed Paint Doctrines to record every phase of your work • Start with classic preset painting phases like Building, Priming, and Highlights — or rename, add, and reorder them to fit your own creative process and style. Paint Codex is made for hobbyists of all levels. • Capture progress directly from your camera or device gallery • Export projects as ".paintcodex" files to archive, share, or trade with other painters • Offline-first design — your data stays private on your device • Free plan supports up to 3 Doctrines; upgrade to Premium for unlimited projects, export functionality, and other Your Personal Gallery Paint Codex doubles as a showcase for everything you’ve created or collected. Scroll through your personal Gallery to revisit the models, armies, and art you’ve brought to life — or admire Paint Doctrines you’ve imported from your favorite artists. Take awesome cover photos for each project — they become your Gallery cards and visual trophies of your progress and passion. A Powerful Tool Built to Empower Artists — from Hobbyists to Professionals Beyond tracking colors and steps, Paint Codex gives artists a new creative asset. Export detailed paint breakdowns to share with clients, fans, and collectors — showing the depth of craft behind every project. Use your ".paintcodex" files as part of your professional toolkit: • Bundle them with finished models or tutorials • Share them with your community as premium educational content • Build trust and transparency with clients by revealing your process By helping painters document, share, and leverage their creativity, Paint Codex supports a more sustainable future for artists — and helps the hobby continue to grow. Built on an original system designed by Battle Servo Studios — a patent-pending framework made to preserve and share artistic workflows like never before. Subscription Details: Paint Codex Premium unlocks unlimited gallery card slots, and export functionality allowing you to share your work with your friends and collect as many Paint Doctrines as you like! Subscription options: Monthly ($2.99) or Annual ($24.99) Subscriptions automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account upon purchase. Manage or cancel your subscription in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://sites.google.com/view/battleservostudios/privacy-policy?authuser=0 Developed by Battle Servo Studios LLC Privacy-friendly • No ads • Patent pending

Screenshots

Nomad Sculpt4 screens
Paint Codex4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Paint Codex at Free against Nomad Sculpt's $19.99. Paint Codex also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8) and review sentiment (100% vs 88%). Nomad Sculpt's advantage is ratings volume (13K vs 8) and chart position (#5 vs unranked). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases 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

Paint Codex is free to download; Nomad Sculpt costs $19.99 up front. Nomad Sculpt sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Paint Codex sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Paint Codex holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Nomad Sculpt has 13K ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of Nomad Sculpt's written reviews are positive against 100% of Paint Codex's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Nomad Sculpt ships an update weekly, Paint Codex fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Nomad Sculpt versus Paint Codex: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNomad SculptPaint Codex
Price$19.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (13K ratings)5.0 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews87.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings13K — better8
Update frequencyWeekly — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
Best chart rank#5 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.016.0
Further details — not scored
Size189 MB63 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHexanomadMitch Zavala

Customer experience

Nomad Sculpt

All ratings13,348 ratings
Positive95.9%
Neutral1.8%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews748 reviews
Positive87.8%
Neutral4.1%
Negative8.0%

Paint Codex

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Nomad Sculpt

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes when importing/exporting certain file types
  • Glitches with symmetry and transform tools
  • Inconsistent performance on older iPad models

Requested features

7 requests
  • Add UV mapping and unwrapping tools
  • Implement a more robust autosave system
  • Include rigging and animation capabilities
  • Add support for more file formats (e.g., FBX)
  • Improve palm rejection and gesture controls
Show 2 more
  • Provide more brush customization options
  • Implement a timeline or layer system for sculpting

Paint Codex

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Nomad Sculpt

One-time1
  • Quad Remesher$15.99
2 purchases

Paint Codex

Subscriptions2
  • Paint Codex Premium (Monthly)$1.991 Month
  • Paint Codex Premium (Annual)$14.991 Year

Questions

Is Nomad Sculpt free?
Nomad Sculpt costs $19.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Paint Codex free?
Paint Codex is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Nomad Sculpt or Paint Codex?
Paint Codex is rated higher. Nomad Sculpt averages 4.8 out of 5 from 13K ratings, while Paint Codex averages 5.0 from 8 ratings.
Do Nomad Sculpt or Paint Codex have ads?
Neither Nomad Sculpt nor Paint Codex shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Nomad Sculpt or Paint Codex?
Nomad Sculpt ships an update weekly, and Paint Codex fortnightly. Most recently, Nomad Sculpt was updated on September 29, 2026 and Paint Codex on September 7, 2026.

Other comparisons