Comparison

InstColor vs Color Name Recognizer Camera

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

InstColor

Instantly detect and extract colors from your surroundings using your device's camera. Get detailed color information, including names, RGB values, and color families. Explore color blending and various color translation options.

Highlights
  • Real-time camera color extraction
  • Color names, RGB, and family info
  • Dominant colors detection
  • Color blending experiments
  • RGB/HSB/HEX inter-conversions
  • Color translation schemes
  • Save favorite colors
Features
Read full description

InstColor is a powerful tool to immediately extract colors. It has following features: - Extract colors around you in your back/front camera in real-time - Color information includes color names, RGB values and color family - Dominant colors detection mode allows you to extract all primary colors in one shot in real-time! - Color blend mode is fun to explore and experiment. You can blend up to 5 colors together to get a new color - RGB/P3/HSB/HSL/HEX/CMYK/XYZ/LAB inter-conversions - Convenient/fast color translations into Complementary color, Triadic colors, Split complementary colors, Analogous colors, Tetradic colors and Monochromatic colors - Save your favorite colors for future references - Blend mode to allow you blend detected colors with other colors - Color name / RGB reference list across spectrum

About

Color Name Recognizer Camera

Instantly identify the name of any color by pointing your device's camera at it. Get detailed color values like RGB, HSV, and CIE L*a*b. Supports multiple languages and offers advanced color analysis tools.

Highlights
  • Real-time color name recognition via camera
  • Multiple color value formats (RGB, HSV, CIE L*a*b)
  • Supports up to 1500 base color names in 8 languages
  • Extract color palettes from images
  • Save and export captured colors
  • Color contrast grid display
Features
Read full description

What is the name of this color? Point your camera at an object and Color Name Recognizer Camera identifies the color in real time. Along with a human-readable name, the app shows RGB, hexadecimal, HSV, and CIE L*a*b values for the sampled color. Choose a simple color-name table for familiar names or a larger table for more specific results. Free users can select tables containing up to 50 base color names. The 100-name table requires Premium. Premium users can use multilingual tables containing up to 1,500 names. FEATURES • Recognize color names in real time with the camera • Inspect RGB, #RRGGBB hexadecimal, HSV, and CIE L*a*b values • Adjust camera zoom and the sampling-region size • Pause the camera to inspect a stable result • Magnify the sampling area • View related and similar color names • Generate complementary, analogous, monochromatic, triadic, split-complementary, and tetradic color palettes • Hear the recognized color name spoken aloud • Explore color contrast grids • Check exact WCAG contrast ratios, AA/AAA results, and accessible alternatives • Audit every color pair in a Palette Project • Describe colors by tone, intensity, temperature, and broad color family • Preview estimated protanopia, deuteranopia, tritanopia, and monochromacy appearances • Compare two colors for possible color-vision confusion • Enable optional stable spoken identification and haptic family-change alerts on the live camera • Build colors manually in RGB, HSV, and CIE L*a*b spaces • Search by color name or HEX and compare the nearest named matches • Pick a color from a photograph • Extract a dominant color palette from an image • Save colors to a local library • Revisit automatically deduplicated Recently Identified colors • Export saved colors and palettes with Premium access COLOR-NAME LANGUAGES Color-name tables are available in English, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German. The app interface also supports additional localized languages. FREE AND PREMIUM ACCESS Free: • 30- and 50-name base color tables • Core camera recognition, color values, manual tools, image tools, and saved colors • Color Harmony generation and HEX copying • Searchable Palette Projects with ordered swatches, names, notes, tags, and duplication • WCAG Contrast Checker with live previews and complete palette audits • Color Vision Assistant with descriptions, profile simulations, confusion advisories, and optional camera feedback • A limited number of similar-color results Premium: • Multilingual base color-name tables from 30 through 1,500 names • More similar-color results • Save Color Harmony palettes to Palette Projects and Saved Colors • Export palettes as CSS or JSON COLOR VALUES RGB components are shown from 0 to 255. Hexadecimal values use the #RRGGBB format. HSV shows hue, saturation, and value. CIE L*a*b uses the D65 reference white and provides a perceptual representation of color. Recognition results can vary with lighting, reflections, camera exposure, and device characteristics. The app is an identification aid and is not a calibrated colorimeter. Color Vision Assistant simulations and confusion advisories are estimates for accessibility and design review. They are not a medical test or diagnosis and do not represent every person's perception. SUBSCRIPTIONS AND PURCHASES Available products, prices, trial eligibility, and billing periods are displayed on the in-app purchase screen and confirmed by the App Store. Subscriptions automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel a subscription in your Apple Account settings. Restore Purchases is available for eligible purchases made with the same Apple Account. Privacy Policy: https://whitewhalesoft.com/APPS/ColorNameRecognizerCamera/Privacy.html Terms of Use: https://whitewhalesoft.com/APPS/ColorNameRecognizerCamera/Terms.html Questions or suggestions? zhaoxiaojian@hotmail.com

Screenshots

InstColor4 screens
Color Name Recognizer Camera4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Color Name Recognizer Camera at 4.8 against InstColor's 4.0. Color Name Recognizer Camera also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (44 vs 2). InstColor's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and update cadence (daily vs monthly). On price, review sentiment, device support and iOS requirement 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Color Name Recognizer Camera sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. InstColor asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Color Name Recognizer Camera holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Color Name Recognizer Camera has 44 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

InstColor ships an update daily, Color Name Recognizer Camera monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 12, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
InstColor versus Color Name Recognizer Camera: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterInstColorColor Name Recognizer Camera
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (2 ratings)4.8 (44 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings244 — better
Update frequencyDaily — betterMonthly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS16.016.0
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB28 MB
Age rating4++4
DeveloperLei Cao小健 赵

Customer experience

InstColor

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Color Name Recognizer Camera

All ratings44 ratings
Positive90.9%
Neutral6.8%
Negative2.3%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

InstColor

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Color Name Recognizer Camera

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly Premium Subscription$2.997 Days
  • Monthly Premium Subscription14 Days trial$5.991 Month
  • Annual Premium Subscription14 Days trial$24.991 Year
One-time1
  • Premium Access$59.99

Questions

Is InstColor free?
InstColor is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Color Name Recognizer Camera free?
Color Name Recognizer Camera is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, InstColor or Color Name Recognizer Camera?
Color Name Recognizer Camera is rated higher. InstColor averages 4.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Color Name Recognizer Camera averages 4.8 from 44 ratings.
Do InstColor or Color Name Recognizer Camera have ads?
InstColor shows ads; Color Name Recognizer Camera does not.
Which is updated more often, InstColor or Color Name Recognizer Camera?
InstColor ships an update daily, and Color Name Recognizer Camera monthly. Most recently, InstColor was updated on September 12, 2026 and Color Name Recognizer Camera on September 20, 2026.

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