Comparison

Photo Effects Studio vs ToonPAINT

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

Head to head
About

Photo Effects Studio

Enhance your photos with a wide array of special color effects, filters, and editing tools. You can also grab images from the web to apply creative enhancements. Have fun transforming your pictures with unique visual styles.

Highlights
  • Color balance and hue/saturation tools
  • Numerous photo filters
  • Drawing toolbox
  • Add frames and text
  • Grab images from the web
  • Special effects like color splash and illusion
Features
Read full description

Photo Effects Studio makes photo editing simple, fun, and creative. Turn everyday pictures into beautiful designs with colorful filters, stylish effects, stickers, frames, text, and drawing tools. Decorate selfies, family photos, travel pictures, pets, food photos, and social media posts in just a few taps. Add cute stickers, adjust your photo style, write captions, draw freely, and create unique images that are ready to save or share. Whether you want a clean edit, a playful design, or a creative photo makeover, Photo Effects Studio gives you easy tools for every moment. **Features** * Photo filters and visual effects * Fun stickers and decorations * Text and caption tools * Drawing and paint tools * Frames and photo borders * Easy save and share * Simple design for all ages

About

ToonPAINT

Easily transform your photos into unique cartoon-paintings. This app provides an "automagic" sketch from your image, which you can then color in like a paint-by-numbers experience. Express your creativity without needing any prior drawing skills.

Highlights
  • Import photos from device or camera
  • Automated sketch generation (MagiSketch)
  • Color-in sketches with finger painting
  • Optional ToonColor feature for automated coloring
  • Automatic session saving
  • Undo/Redo functionality
  • Pinch-zoom and pan for precise painting
Features
Read full description

ToonPAINT: Real Art. Real Creativity. No AI. The legendary photo-to-cartoon tool is back—rebuilt for the modern era. ToonPAINT transforms your photographs into high-fidelity, hand-crafted masterpieces, and ToonPAINT Premium adds video tooning too. With over 2.8 million users in our history, we’ve returned to give you the ultimate precision tool for turning life into art. HUMAN CREATIVITY, EMPOWERED In a world of generated images, ToonPAINT stands apart. We don’t use AI to guess what your art should look like—we provide professional-grade image processing tools that put you in the director’s chair. Whether you are a professional artist looking for a pipeline tool or a hobbyist creating unique gifts, ToonPAINT is designed for you. KEY FEATURES • PRECISION INK & PENCIL ENGINES: Generate crisp sketches or soft pencil art from any photo or video. • GRANULAR CONTROL: Fine-tune Edge Length (XS to XL), Coherence, and Black levels. • RESOLUTION SELECTION: Start with the right scale for your vision. The ink is repeatable—no hallucinations. • DYNAMIC COLOR MODES: Cartoon, Photo, and One Color modes for any vibe. Adjust Brightness and Saturation in real time. • THE PAINTER’S STUDIO: Manual painting with adjustable brushes and a precision color picker. Clear paint or erase marks independently. • VIDEO TOONING (PREMIUM): Apply Toon and Pencil looks across video frames with high-res export and original sound. • PROFESSIONAL WORKFLOW: Hi-Res Export, seamless importing via Photos Share extension, and automatic Session Management. PERFECT FOR • Artists speeding up their line-art pipeline. • Automotive enthusiasts turning cars into technical illustrations. • Pet lovers creating stylized portraits. • Designers needing unique, non-AI-generated illustrations. CLASSIC TOONPAINT OWNERS If you owned ToonPAINT before version 3.0, your photo tools remain unlocked. Subscribe to Premium anytime for video tooning and new features. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION ToonPAINT Premium unlocks video tooning and new Premium modes. • ToonPAINT Premium Monthly — $0.99 USD per month • ToonPAINT Premium Yearly — $9.99 USD per year (save with the annual plan!) Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://insatiablegenius.wixsite.com/insatiablegenius/privacy-policy

Screenshots

Photo Effects Studio3 screens
ToonPAINT4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: ToonPAINT at 5.0 against Photo Effects Studio's 2.5. ToonPAINT also leads on review sentiment (71% vs 33%) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 3 months). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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. Photo Effects Studio sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and ToonPAINT sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ToonPAINT holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of Photo Effects Studio's written reviews are positive against 71% of ToonPAINT's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Photo Effects Studio ships an update every 3 months, ToonPAINT every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Photo Effects Studio versus ToonPAINT: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhoto Effects StudioToonPAINT
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.5 (2 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews71.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlteru Inc.Insatiable Genius LLC

Customer experience

Photo Effects Studio

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews21 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral14.3%
Negative52.4%

ToonPAINT

Written reviews332 reviews
Positive71.1%
Neutral6.6%
Negative22.3%

Bugs and requests

Photo Effects Studio

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

ToonPAINT

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Saved images sometimes corrupted
  • Issues with uploading to social media
  • Compatibility problems on iPad

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to save work in progress
  • Auto-coloring feature
  • More brush options and size control
  • Improved zoom functionality
  • Undo/redo history

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Photo Effects Studio

One-time1
  • Photo Effects Studio Ads Free$0.99
2 purchases

ToonPAINT

Subscriptions2
  • ToonPAINT$0.991 Month
  • ToonPAINT Premium Yearly$9.991 Year

Questions

Is Photo Effects Studio free?
Photo Effects Studio is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ToonPAINT free?
ToonPAINT is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Photo Effects Studio or ToonPAINT?
ToonPAINT is rated higher. Photo Effects Studio averages 2.5 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while ToonPAINT averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Photo Effects Studio or ToonPAINT have ads?
Neither Photo Effects Studio nor ToonPAINT shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Photo Effects Studio or ToonPAINT?
Photo Effects Studio ships an update every 3 months, and ToonPAINT every 3 weeks. Most recently, Photo Effects Studio was updated on October 31, 2026 and ToonPAINT on November 1, 2026.

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