Paint vs Retro Art Studio
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Paint
This drawing application offers a simple interface for creating artwork. Users can draw, edit photos, add characters, and create wallet photos. It supports precise line drawing, color filling, shadow effects, and includes various stamps for creative expression.
- Simple user interface
- Scrollable tool menu
- Photo editing and enhancement
- Precise line drawing
- Color filling and shapes
- Shadow effects
- Stamp collection
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A Paint application for drawing Start with a blank canvas or import a photo from your library. Draw with your finger, choose different brush colors, erase mistakes, add shapes, write text, and place stickers anywhere you like. The app includes many fun sticker categories, including stars, hearts, animals, fruits, glasses, vegetables, trees, sun, moon, and flowers. Move, resize, rotate, and place stickers freely to make every photo unique. Perfect for kids, students, families, and anyone who wants an easy creative tool without complicated controls. Features: * Draw on a blank canvas * Import and decorate photos * Add stickers anywhere * Use stars, hearts, animals, fruits, flowers, and more * Add text to photos and drawings * Choose brush colors and sizes * Erase and edit easily * Save and export your artwork * Simple, colorful, beginner-friendly design Create, decorate, and share your imagination with Paint
Retro Art Studio
Unleash your creativity with three classic-inspired art tools. Design pixel art, create vibrant peg-style designs, or sketch with playful dial controls. This app offers a simple, satisfying, and mess-free way to make art for all ages.
- Pixel art creation
- Peg-style artwork
- Dial doodle sketching
- Intuitive grid interface
- Distraction-free design
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Super Retro Art Studio Create. Play. Relax. Super Retro Art Studio brings together three classic-inspired creative tools in one simple, satisfying app. Whether you want to unwind, experiment, or just make something fun, it’s all here—no pressure, no mess. Three Ways to Create Pixel Painter Design colorful pixel art with an intuitive grid. Tap, fill, and bring your ideas to life : one square at a time. LED Lights Create vibrant peg-style artwork inspired by classic light boards. Bright, bold, and instantly rewarding. Dial-A-Doodle Twist your way to playful sketches with classic dial controls. No undo-just pure creative flow. Features • Simple, satisfying creative tools • Draw, fill, erase, and experiment freely • Clean, distraction-free design • Designed for all ages Make something from yesterday today.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Paint at none against Retro Art Studio's shown. Paint also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Retro Art Studio's advantage is review sentiment (34% vs 24%) and ratings volume (3 vs 1). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases 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. Paint sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Retro Art Studio sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Paint holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 3 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 24% of Paint's written reviews are positive against 34% of Retro Art Studio's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Paint ships an update every 7 months, Retro Art Studio every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Paint | Retro Art Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 4.7 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 23.7% of reviews | 34.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 3 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | Every 4 months — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 148 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Alteru Inc. | Six Foot Three Foot |
Customer experience
Paint
Retro Art Studio
User reviews
Paint
From 1 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎨 Fun stamps and decorative elements for creative expression
- 💰 Affordable price point (under $1)
- 👶 Good for young children aged 3-8
- 🖼️ Ability to import and draw on photos
- 🌈 Color variety and selection options
Room to improve
- 🐌 Severe lag and performance issues across devices
- 🎯 Poor drawing precision and accuracy
- ❌ Missing eraser/clear screen functionality
- 🔧 Limited and poorly organized tools
- 📐 No fill bucket tool for large areas
Retro Art Studio
From 3 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎨 Good for pixel art
- 🕹️ Nostalgic feel
- 👍 Simple and easy to use
- 🖼️ Clear saving to gallery
- 💡 Good for educational purposes (K-2)
Room to improve
- 💥 Frequent crashes
- 📉 Low quality etch-a-sketch
- 🤏 Tiny icons
- 🚫 Too many ads
- ❌ No undo feature
Bugs and requests
Paint
Reported bugs
12 issues- Extreme lag when drawing, especially on iPhone 4/4S and iPad
- Drawing lines appear after lifting finger from screen
- Images saved off-center or misaligned
- Orientation not preserved when saving imported photos
- Entire background deleted when removing first mark
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- Accidental coloring book page covers entire painting and cannot be undone
- Finger tracking problems on certain devices
- App crashes and freezes frequently
- Menu items don't function properly
- Stamps lag and stutter
- Poor image quality when importing photos
- Auto-fit feature cuts off portions of images
Requested features
16 requests- Eraser tool or clear screen button
- Fill bucket/paint pot tool
- Text tool for adding text to images
- Ability to resize and move objects
- Zoom in/magnifying glass feature
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- Rotate image and inserted objects
- Undo/redo functionality improvements
- Better brush selection and variety
- Smooth curve drawing tool
- Full screen drawing mode
- Better image import and cropping
- Ability to create custom stamps
- More stamp variety and options
- Improved menu organization and larger buttons
- Better image quality on save/export
- Brightness and contrast adjustments
Retro Art Studio
Reported bugs
16 issues- Constantly crashes
- Crashed on save, lost drawing
- Won't load
- Not opening on iPad 2
- Can't open the stupid thing
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- Won't even open
- Doesn't open on iPods
- Kept on crashing
- Wont even open on my iPhone 5
- Couldn't even open it! Crash Crash Crash!
- App acts like I have an iPhone 5
- Buttons on the bottom are too small
- Error saving photo
- App closes out when trying to open pixel painter
- Facebook button does not work
- Save an image is a screenshot of the whole screen
Requested features
15 requests- More art settings
- Update to fix crashing
- More colors
- Zoom functionality
- Color Spectrum Pad
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- Dropper Tool
- Templates
- Online community for sharing creations/forum
- Fix buttons on bottom being too small
- Fix saving issues
- Add more things to do
- More brushes
- Fix app acting like it's on iPhone 5 when it's not
- Fix update issues
- Add more colors
In-app purchases
Paint
- Paint Ads Free$2.99
Retro Art Studio
- Remove Ads$2.99
Questions
Is Paint free?
Is Retro Art Studio free?
Which has better reviews, Paint or Retro Art Studio?
Do Paint or Retro Art Studio have ads?
Which is updated more often, Paint or Retro Art Studio?
Other comparisons
