NCS+ vs Color Identifier
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
NCS+
Discover and select the perfect colors for your design projects. Explore vast color collections, match existing surfaces with advanced scanning, and create harmonious color combinations. Save, share, and get inspired by your favorite palettes.
- Explore standardized NCS colors
- Search colors by notation or properties
- Scan surfaces to match NCS colors
- Navigate NCS color space intuitively
- Combine colors based on similarity
- Save and share color mood boards
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Find the right colour for your next project. NCS+ helps you to succeed in any colour design. With NCS - Natural Colour System®©, developed by world-renowned colour experts, it has never been easier to find the right colour for your project. EXPLORE COLOUR THEMES In NCS+, you have access to all of the standardized NCS colours, and can explore all of the NCS Colour products, including Trend collections, the NCS Index, NCS Exterior and NCS Inspire. FIND YOUR COLOUR Search for colours in the new and innovative search panel, either through an NCS Notation (or parts of it) or filter for colours based on their hue and/or nuance. MATCH A SURFACE Using the built-in support for the Colourpin II / SE / PRO colour readers, you can easily scan any surface and find the closest matching NCS colour with the click of a button. You can also see how much the scanned surface differs from the closest matching colours with the built-in rating function and its corresponding delta E 2000 value. NAVIGATE THE NCS COLOUR SPACE The new and improved NCS Navigator brings unparallelled ease of navigating in the NCS System, through the NCS Circle selecting the prefered hue, and the NCS Triangle to select the correct nuance. The innovative beehive allows you to fine-tune your selection by modifying the selected colour in either chromaticness, blackness or whiteness, giving you exactly the colour you want. COMBINE COLOURS Through the smartness of the NCS System, you can combine colours of your choice based on colour similarities such as nuance-, hue-, blackness-, chromaticness-, whiteness and NCS lightness similarity. Basing your combination colours on these properties are one of the most certain ways of creating colour combinations that harmonize. COLOUR SAMPLE REFERENCES With unprecedented on-screen colour accuracy, you can now bring up any standard NCS colour on your mobile device. On each colour, you can also find out in which collections they are available, buy a physical sample in different sizes from the NCS Colour web shop or any NCS reseller as well as find translation values into other systems such as RGB, HEX, CMYK and Lab values. SAVE, SHARE AND INSPIRE Save your favourite colours into mood boards, upload images or take photos of your project to provide addional context to the board. You can then share the boards with friends or colleagues to inspire and collaborate.
Color Identifier
This app acts as a powerful color detection instrument, capturing live hues with your camera and extracting color details from images. It provides comprehensive color information in various formats and allows for the creation of custom color palettes.
- Live camera color picker
- Image and paint color identification
- Multiple color formats (HEX, RGB, HSL, etc.)
- Custom palette creation
- User-friendly interface
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Discover the ultimate tool for color enthusiasts, designers, photographers, and artists with Color Identifier – the premier iOS color picker and identifier! Color Identifier transforms your iOS device into a powerful color detection instrument that captures live hues with your camera, extracts color details from still images, and even identifies paint colors for your projects. With a simple tap, instantly access detailed color information including HEX codes, RGB values, HSL, HSB, and color names. Key Features: • Live Camera Color Picker – Point your device’s camera at any object or scene and instantly capture precise color details. • Image & Paint Color Identification – Upload or select images to quickly pick and identify colors, including specialized recognition for paint colors—perfect for interior design and more. • Multiple Color Formats – Receive comprehensive color data in HEX, RGB, RAL, HSL, HSB, and descriptive names. • Palette Creation – Easily build and save custom color palettes for design projects, websites, or creative inspiration. • User-Friendly Interface – Enjoy a clean, intuitive design suitable for both professionals and beginners. • Versatile & Essential – Ideal for graphic designers, UI/UX developers, digital artists, and anyone needing an accurate color reference. Optimized for iOS and meticulously engineered for fast, reliable color extraction, Color Identifier is your go-to app for bridging the gap between inspiration and creation. Enhance your design workflow, streamline your creative process, and never settle for mediocre colors again. Download Color Identifier today and unlock the full potential of your color vision on iOS. Explore, create, and share your perfect palette with the ultimate color identification tool! Note: this app requires a subscription to use, you can subscribe quickly and easily in the app (and cancel any time if you wish)! ----------------- Terms of Use https://www.yolleg.com/terms/livepicker Privacy Policy https://www.yolleg.com/privacy/livepicker
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: NCS+ at none against Color Identifier's 18. NCS+ also leads on review sentiment (33% vs 5%) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26). Color Identifier's advantage is rating (4.1 vs 3.8) and ratings volume (186 vs 5). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Color Identifier sells 17 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. NCS+ asks for nothing beyond the download.
Color Identifier holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Color Identifier has 186 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 33% of NCS+'s written reviews are positive against 5% of Color Identifier's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
NCS+ ships an update every 8 days, Color Identifier every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | NCS+ | Color Identifier |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.8 (5 ratings) | 4.1 (186 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 33.3% of reviews — better | 4.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 5 | 186 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 8 days | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Ad-supported — better | Subscription |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 26 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 91 MB | 140 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | NCS Colour AB | Yolleg Ltd |
Customer experience
NCS+
Color Identifier
In-app purchases
NCS+
No in-app purchases
Color Identifier
- Premium Week$4.997 Days
- Premium Month$9.991 Month
- Premium Month$12.991 Month
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- Premium Month 19.99$19.991 Month
- Premium Year1 Year trial$19.991 Year
- Premium Year1 Year trial$24.991 Year
- Premium 6 Months$24.996 Months
- Premium 6 Months$34.996 Months
- Premium Year1 Year trial$39.991 Year
- Premium 6 Months$39.996 Months
- Premium Year3 Days trial$39.991 Year
- Premium Year7 Days trial$39.991 Year
- Premium Year2 variants$49.991 Year
- Premium Year1 Year trial$49.991 Year
- Premium Year7 Days trial$49.991 Year
- Premium Year1 Month trial$59.991 Year
- Premium Year7 Days trial$59.991 Year
Questions
Is NCS+ free?
Is Color Identifier free?
Which has better reviews, NCS+ or Color Identifier?
Do NCS+ or Color Identifier have ads?
Which is updated more often, NCS+ or Color Identifier?
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