# Real Halftone 2 vs Mono Lab

The clearest difference is price: Real Halftone 2 at Free against Mono Lab's $4.99. Real Halftone 2 also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4). Mono Lab's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months) and chart position (#5 vs unranked). On rating, ratings volume, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Real Halftone 2 is free to download; Mono Lab costs $4.99 up front. Mono Lab sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Real Halftone 2 asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Real Halftone 2 against 5.0 for Mono Lab. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 23 and 23 respectively.

Real Halftone 2 ships an update every 3 months, Mono Lab weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Real Halftone 2 | Mono Lab |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $4.99 |
| Rating | [4.9 (23 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/real-halftone-2/id1632423711/reviews) | **[5.0 (23 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mono-lab/id6759029184/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 23 | 23 |
| Positive reviews | — | 94.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | **#5** |
| Size | 15 MB | 79 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **16.4** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Tomoki Kobayashi](https://appshunter.io/developer/323485927) | [Inner Circle](https://appshunter.io/developer/367838600) |

## What reviewers say

### Real Halftone 2

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/real-halftone-2/id1632423711)

This app generates halftone dots for photomechanical printing. Users can select dot shapes and adjust CMYK color screen angles to create unique halftone photographs, faithfully reproducing moiré patterns.

**Highlights:** Generates halftone dots, Adjustable CMYK color screen angles, Faithful moiré pattern reproduction, Selectable dot shapes, Adjust CMY gray replacement with black

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### Mono Lab

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mono-lab/id6759029184)

**Currently charting:** #5 Top Paid · Graphics & Design, #123 Top Paid (US App Store)

Explore unexpected visual transformations with a wide array of experimental filters for both black and white and color images. Manipulate images through touch and motion, mapping them across 3D surfaces for unique artistic results.

**Highlights:** 158 B&W distortion filters, 40 color experimentation filters, Touch and motion control transformations, 3D surface mapping, Raster and vector output, Save custom filters

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

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pheno Set | $1.99 | one-time |
| Print Set | $1.99 | one-time |
| ASCII Set | $1.99 | one-time |
| Dither Set | $1.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Real Halftone 2 free?

Real Halftone 2 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Mono Lab free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Real Halftone 2 or Mono Lab?

Mono Lab is rated higher. Real Halftone 2 averages 4.9 out of 5 from 23 ratings, while Mono Lab averages 5.0 from 23 ratings.

### Do Real Halftone 2 or Mono Lab have ads?

Neither Real Halftone 2 nor Mono Lab shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Real Halftone 2 or Mono Lab?

Real Halftone 2 ships an update every 3 months, and Mono Lab weekly. Most recently, Real Halftone 2 was updated on November 3, 2026 and Mono Lab on November 7, 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.*