# Blend Photos vs Preview mini

The clearest difference is rating: Blend Photos at 4.8 against Preview mini's 4.3. Blend Photos also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). Preview mini's advantage is review sentiment (63% vs 41%) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 6 weeks). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Blend Photos sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days and Preview mini sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Blend Photos holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 468 and 212 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 41% of Blend Photos's written reviews are positive against 63% of Preview mini's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Blend Photos ships an update every 6 weeks, Preview mini every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Blend Photos | Preview mini |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (468 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/blend-photos/id1556594831/reviews)** | [4.3 (212 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/preview-mini-image-and-pdf-tool/id1593078015/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **468** | 212 |
| Positive reviews | 40.7% of reviews | **63.2% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | **Every 10 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 183 MB | 103 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 18.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [TAPUNIVERSE LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1462862671) | [Marian Koenig](https://appshunter.io/developer/1394020504) |

## What reviewers say

### Blend Photos

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/blend-photos/id1556594831)

Easily create unique blended photo artwork with premade templates and advanced editing tools. Enhance your images with creative filters, overlays, and AI-powered background removal. Share your professional-looking creations instantly.

**Highlights:** Blend editing templates, Automatic background removal, Advanced blend mode adjustment, Shape mask for overlays, Gradient blend, Crop & rotation, HD resolution saving & sharing

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

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Blend Photos+ | $2.99 | per 7 days |
| Blend Photos+ | $19.99 | per year |
| Blend Photos+ Lifetime | $29.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 User-friendly interface
- 🎨 Variety of templates and customization options
- ✨ Impressive AI-powered results
- 🎯 Straightforward and impactful functionality
- 💪 Powerful photo composite creation tools

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Subscription-only model (no one-time purchase)
- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezing issues
- ❌ Blank screen/white screen on startup
- ⚠️ Misleading free trial billing practices
- 🔄 App becomes unresponsive during image processing

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes after updates
- Blank/white screen preventing app usage
- Freezing on progress wheel during image import
- Unable to upgrade app functionality
- Image creation feature stops working

**Requested features**

- One-time purchase option instead of subscription
- Ability to add custom overlays beyond templates
- AI-powered generative fill for blank spaces
- Additional templates (starry night sky, beach scenes)
- More advanced editing options and features


### Preview mini

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/preview-mini-image-and-pdf-tool/id1593078015)

Edit and annotate images and PDFs with a desktop-like experience on your iPhone and iPad. Offers advanced features for viewing, converting, and managing files, inspired by macOS.

**Highlights:** Image editing and cropping, PDF annotation and editing, File conversion, Drag and drop support, Keyboard shortcuts, Password protection for PDFs

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Preview mini PRO | $4.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Useful application, replaces MS Paint
- 💡 Video tutorials are helpful
- 🚀 Makes life easier
- 👍 Wonderful and powerful iPad app
- 👍 Great replacement for Preview (almost)

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Changes not saved on iPad
- 🐛 Does not export PDF as picture
- 🐛 Difficult to use on iPad
- 🐛 Crashing the app on large PDFs
- 🐛 Only allows acting on one page at a time

**Reported bugs**

- Changes not saved when attaching to email
- App errors out on large PDFs and crashes
- App shuts down during photo editing, unsaved work lost
- Cannot type the letter 'y' in documents
- Payment issues with Apple, requires new credit card data

**Requested features**

- Split-screen or slide-over capability
- Export PDF as picture (JPG, etc.)
- Ability to paste one image on top of another
- Ctrl-Z for quick undo
- Straight line option for markup


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Blend Photos free?

Blend Photos is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Preview mini free?

Preview mini is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Blend Photos or Preview mini?

Blend Photos is rated higher. Blend Photos averages 4.8 out of 5 from 468 ratings, while Preview mini averages 4.3 from 212 ratings.

### Do Blend Photos or Preview mini have ads?

Neither Blend Photos nor Preview mini shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Blend Photos or Preview mini?

Blend Photos ships an update every 6 weeks, and Preview mini every 10 days. Most recently, Blend Photos was updated on November 7, 2026 and Preview mini on November 3, 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.*