Comparison

Realistic Paint Studio vs HyperRef

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

Head to head
About

Realistic Paint Studio

This digital art software offers a familiar art station experience with realistic brushes, pencils, and markers. It allows users to create art in drawing, watercolor, and oil painting styles with a unique color engine and diverse canvas textures. Step-by-step tutorials and live demonstrations guide users through the creative process.

Highlights
  • Realistic color engine
  • Drawing, Watercolor, Oil Painting styles
  • Realistic brushes and tools
  • Realistic canvases with diverse textures
  • Live demonstration of drawing methods
  • Step-by-step tutorials
Read full description

Realistic Paint Studio is a unique digital art software. The program combines the simplicity of traditional tools and pioneering innovations in digital art. No special education is required to work in Realistic Paint Studio. The interface is designed to show a familiar art station with real paper, brushes, pencils, pens, and markers, etc. instead of a complicated and hard-to-understand graphic editor. With Realistic Paint Studio you will forget that you are using a digital editor, being completely absorbed in the art process! Easy-to-use, yet powerful engine allows to draw and paint in any desirable style! - "Realistic color" - Unique color engine! - 3 creative styles: Drawing, Watercolor, Oil Painting "Realistic brushes" carefully designed to convey all the nuances of real brushes, pencils, pens, markers, etc. - “Realistic showcase” - You can instantly have a look at your picture within a beautiful scene - “Realistic Canvases” - 15 types of sketchbooks, paper sheets, and canvases with 45 different textures scanned from real materials. - “Realistic palettes” - Most of the brushes have their own palette's presets. - “Live demonstration” - Instant demonstration of drawing methods for the selected tool - Live liquid watercolor drops - Step by step tutorials - Сoloring with the edge control function

About

HyperRef

Create and organize your personal art reference library with powerful import and study tools. Analyze images by value, contrast, and color, and track your artistic progress with attached studies. Secure your sensitive collections with biometric protection.

Highlights
  • Web import for bulk image saving
  • Analyze images by value, contrast, color
  • Timed practice and study modes
  • Attach sketches to references
  • Biometric collection protection
  • Smart collections and organization
  • Offline access with iCloud sync
Read full description

HyperRef provides a focused, distraction-free environment with no infinite scrolling or algorithms deciding what you see. Use your own curated reference library to accelerate your drawing and painting study. Features: - Powerful Web Import: Bulk-save multiple images instantly from almost any website or app. Select exactly what you need for fast, organized importing. - Advanced Study Filters: Isolate value, contrast, and color for a deeper understanding of lighting and composition. Essential for serious art study. - Timed Practice Mode: Use customizable, distraction-free slideshows for quick figure drawing or anatomy study sessions. - Study Mode: Attach your own sketches and studies directly to reference images to track your progress over time. - Biometric Protection: Lock sensitive collections with Face ID or Touch ID for maximum privacy. - Smart Collections: Organize thousands of visual references with a gorgeous, efficient layout. - Offline First with iCloud Sync: Access your entire visual library instantly, anywhere on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Whether you're studying anatomy, lighting, composition, or preparing a detailed mood board, HyperRef keeps your visual library organized, secure, and always accessible. Start your reference library with 5 collections and 50 images free. Unlock unlimited storage and all Pro features with a single, one-time upgrade. No subscriptions, ever.

Screenshots

HyperRef4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: HyperRef at Free against Realistic Paint Studio's $11.99. HyperRef also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 67%) and device support (3 vs 1). Realistic Paint Studio's advantage is ratings volume (735 vs 3) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 18.6). On rating, update cadence, 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

HyperRef is free to download; Realistic Paint Studio costs $11.99 up front. Realistic Paint Studio sells 12 one-off in-app purchases and HyperRef sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. 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 — 4.7 for Realistic Paint Studio against 4.7 for HyperRef. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Realistic Paint Studio has 735 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 67% of Realistic Paint Studio's written reviews are positive against 100% of HyperRef's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Realistic Paint Studio ships an update every 5 weeks, HyperRef every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and June 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Realistic Paint Studio versus HyperRef: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRealistic Paint StudioHyperRef
Price$11.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (735 ratings) — better4.7 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews67.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings735 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS11.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size1005 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAleksandr KomarovSeth Kenneth Berggren

Customer experience

Realistic Paint Studio

All ratings735 ratings
Positive92.8%
Neutral4.4%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews343 reviews
Positive67.3%
Neutral16.3%
Negative16.3%

HyperRef

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Realistic Paint Studio

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes when using the camera feature
  • Inconsistent behavior with the undo/redo function
  • Issues with the color mixing in the palette
  • Delayed response and lag when using Apple Pencil

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for PSD export with layers
  • Implement canvas rotation and resizing options
  • Allow for more brush customization and pressure sensitivity
  • Improve color picker and palette functionality
  • Introduce a simple, distraction-free canvas mode

HyperRef

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Realistic Paint Studio

One-time12
  • Artistic brushFree
  • Mechanical penFree
  • Glitz penFree
Show 9 more
  • Glass penFree
  • Fountain penFree
  • Calligraphy brushFree
  • Hieroglyph brushFree
  • Diamond brushFree
  • Album with six color sheetsFree
  • All brushes from the VIP boxFree
  • Dragon brush$0.99
  • Crystal brush$0.99
1 purchases

HyperRef

One-time1
  • HyperRef Pro$4.99

Questions

Is Realistic Paint Studio free?
Realistic Paint Studio costs $11.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is HyperRef free?
HyperRef is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Realistic Paint Studio or HyperRef?
Realistic Paint Studio is rated higher. Realistic Paint Studio averages 4.7 out of 5 from 735 ratings, while HyperRef averages 4.7 from 3 ratings.
Do Realistic Paint Studio or HyperRef have ads?
Neither Realistic Paint Studio nor HyperRef shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Realistic Paint Studio or HyperRef?
Realistic Paint Studio ships an update every 5 weeks, and HyperRef every 2 months. Most recently, Realistic Paint Studio was updated on September 20, 2026 and HyperRef on June 9, 2026.

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