# FocalPaint vs Magic Paint

The clearest difference is price: Magic Paint at Free against FocalPaint's $4.99. Magic Paint also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs monthly). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Magic Paint is free to download; FocalPaint costs $4.99 up front. FocalPaint sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Magic Paint sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

FocalPaint ships an update monthly, Magic Paint every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | FocalPaint | Magic Paint |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $4.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[4.2 (13 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/focalpaint/id1532688085/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **13** | — |
| Positive reviews | 78.6% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Every 10 days** |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Size | 557 MB | 31 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | **17.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [brien dieterle](https://appshunter.io/developer/1532688087) | [Merrill Caldwell](https://appshunter.io/developer/1439757595) |

## What reviewers say

### FocalPaint

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/focalpaint/id1532688085)

This app offers a unique brush engine for realistic paint simulation, pigment mixing, and canvas textures. It allows for custom brush and layer creation using Metal GPU or Javascript code, with advanced features like spectral color models and Apple Pencil Pro support.

**Highlights:** Realistic paint and pigment mixing, Custom brush and layer creation, Transparent ink simulation, Apple Pencil Pro support, Spectral color model, Open source shader code library

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Generous Tip | $0.99 | one-time |
| Big Tip | $4.99 | one-time |
| Huge Tip | $9.99 | one-time |


### Magic Paint

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/magic-paint-elements/id6741681822)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Magic Painting | $1.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is FocalPaint free?

FocalPaint costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is Magic Paint free?

Magic Paint is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do FocalPaint or Magic Paint have ads?

Neither FocalPaint nor Magic Paint shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, FocalPaint or Magic Paint?

FocalPaint ships an update monthly, and Magic Paint every 10 days. Most recently, FocalPaint was updated on October 24, 2026 and Magic Paint on October 28, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*