Realistic Paint Studio vs Paint by Code
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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
Paint by Code
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Paint by Code turns your favorite photos into beautiful paint-by-numbers canvases — ready to color in the app or print at home. HOW IT WORKS 1. Add a photo from your library or camera 2. Choose your style — 8 to 24 colors, detail level, and canvas format 3. Generate your numbered canvas with a matching color legend 4. Paint in the app with Apple Pencil, or export to print FEATURES • Smart region detection — clear, paintable areas • Numbered canvas with color legend matched to your palette • Paint mode with Apple Pencil support • Colored pencil matching — see which real pencil matches each color • Export & print — A4, Letter, or square format • Save canvases locally on your device PERFECT FOR • Creative relaxation and mindfulness • Personalized gifts from your own photos • Family projects and rainy-day activities • Artists who love paint-by-numbers Everything runs on your device. Your photos stay private — no account needed, no cloud required. Start with any photo. Finish with something you made.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Paint by Code at $3.99 against Realistic Paint Studio's $11.99. Paint by Code also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 12) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 5 weeks). Realistic Paint Studio's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 26.2). On ads and device support 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
Realistic Paint Studio costs $11.99 and Paint by Code $3.99 up front. Realistic Paint Studio sells 12 one-off in-app purchases. Paint by Code asks for nothing beyond the download.
Realistic Paint Studio ships an update every 5 weeks, Paint by Code every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Realistic Paint Studio | Paint by Code |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $11.99 | $3.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.7 (765 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 67.3% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 765 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 26.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1005 MB | 17 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Aleksandr Komarov | Tom Paape |
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
Paint by Code
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Realistic Paint Studio
- Artistic brushFree
- Mechanical penFree
- Glitz penFree
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- 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
Paint by Code
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Realistic Paint Studio free?
Is Paint by Code free?
Do Realistic Paint Studio or Paint by Code have ads?
Which is updated more often, Realistic Paint Studio or Paint by Code?
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