Comparison

Glow Doodle vs Bright Lights (Ape Apps)

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

Head to head
About

Glow Doodle

Create vibrant, glowing drawings with a unique neon effect. This app is praised by educators and parents for its art, educational, and fine motor skill development benefits. It offers a simple yet engaging interface with carefully curated colors and a magical "glow" button.

Highlights
  • Razor sharp light glow effect
  • Harmonious doodle colors
  • Auto-hiding toolbar
  • Erase previous stroke
  • Save drawings to photo albums
  • Apple Pencil support
Features
Read full description

A Top 5 Best Selling App^ - The original Glow Doodle. Glow Doodle is thankfully the choice of many teachers worldwide who embrace educational technology to their classroom for art, math, language lessons and fine motor skill activities^^. Glow Doodle has all it takes to make a doodling app a Top 5 App among hundred thousands of Apps: - Originality: Glow Doodle was the first to bring razor sharp neon effect from the hands of professional designers to the fingertips of everyone of every age. It lit up iPhone users' Christmas & winter nights with a magical mood like never before when Glow Doodle was introduced in winter 2009 - Quality-over-quantity & painstaking effort behind the simple to use App: While we could have allowed users to pick millions of random colors & line thickness, instead, we spent tedious effort to fine tune a few in order to maintain a harmonious & less confusing user experience for all ages. - Support from quality users: It was the overwhelming support from our users propelled Glow Doodle to TOP 5 Best Selling Paid App in the US and UK App Stores. We are grateful to our quality users including teachers, elementary teachers around the world who brought Glow Doodle to their classrooms with a creative mind & respect for originality, an invaluable message to our creative children. - Special Needs Friendly: Parents & professionals including pediatric OTs taking care of kids with special needs such as autism have also found Glow Doodle useful. In addition to the simple user interface, Glow Doodle takes the approach of "magic" button which provides cause & effect experience to enhance visual sensory & fine motor skills developments. The moment when you press the "GLOW" button, you will be amazed how a seemingly ordinary drawing turns into truly stunning Glow Doodle effect. It's a unique original experience that sets Glow Doodle apart from others who follow suit. Now updated with Nordic Ice Blue color (available via IAP) and option to draw with Apple Pencil only so that you can unleash your glowing creativity to the next level. KEY FEATURES: * Razor sharp Light Glow Effect * Harmonious Doodle Colors: Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Orange, Pink, White, Magenta * Auto-hiding toolbar (auto-hide while drawing) * Erase the previous stroke (by pressing the counter-clockwise arrow button) * Motivational Glowy Rocket may suddenly turn up * Save drawing to Photo Albums to share EDUCATION FRIENDLY SETTING: * Option to hide In-App Purchase button via Settings app APPLE PENCIL FRIENDLY SETTING: * Option to allow drawing with Apple Pencil only via Settings app NORDIC ICE BLUE EDITION (Available via In-App Purchase): * Unlocks Nordic Ice Blue color * Unlocks Rocket Sure Launch - Instead of appearing once in a while, motivational Glowy Rocket launches every time you light up your drawing * Hides IAP button ADVANCED DRAWING TIPS: You can make part of your drawing "glow" (e.g. the flame of a rocket) while other part of the drawing doesn't "glow" (e.g. the rocket body). For example, (1) draw the flame of the rocket first; (2) then press the "GLOW" button to make it glow; (3) continue to draw the rocket body without pressing the "GLOW" button. REMARKS: ^US & UK App Store; Jan 2010; Overall Paid Chart & Entertainment Paid Chart SHARE & FOLLOW: Follow us or Share with us on: Twitter https://twitter.com/GlowDoodle Pinterest http://pinterest.com/oodot/ Facebook http://www.facebook.com/CrossDisciplineTechnologyLimited Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/cdtapps/ ^^Sharing by teachers & schools: http://www.pinterest.com/oodot/glow-doodle-in-classroom-learning/

About

Bright Lights (Ape Apps)

This app lets you create colorful dot art inspired by a classic toy. Choose from various colors to draw pictures, save them to a gallery, and share with others. It's a fun, nostalgic drawing experience for all ages.

Highlights
  • Draw with colored dots
  • Save pictures to gallery
  • Share creations
  • Nostalgic gameplay
  • Suitable for all ages
Features
Read full description

Bright Lights is a unique drawing app for kids and adults of all ages. It is inspired by the classic Lite Brite toy from back in the day, and older users will instantly feel the nostalgia when they load up the app. In Bright Lights, you draw pictures by placing colored dots on the screen. There are many different colors to choose from. When you are done, you can either start over or save your picture to the gallery so you can share with your friends and family! Bright Lights is a great casual drawing game, and is a must have for any app library, especially for art lovers and those who wish to look back on their childhood days!

Screenshots

Glow Doodle4 screens
Bright Lights (Ape Apps)3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Bright Lights (Ape Apps) at Free against Glow Doodle's $0.99. Bright Lights (Ape Apps) also leads on rating (4.4 vs 2.9) and review sentiment (83% vs 67%). Glow Doodle's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 months vs every 9 months). On ratings volume, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Bright Lights (Ape Apps) is free to download; Glow Doodle costs $0.99 up front. Glow Doodle sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Bright Lights (Ape Apps) sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Bright Lights (Ape Apps) holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 2.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 10 and 19 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Glow Doodle's written reviews are positive against 83% of Bright Lights (Ape Apps)'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Glow Doodle ships an update every 3 months, Bright Lights (Ape Apps) every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Glow Doodle versus Bright Lights (Ape Apps): the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGlow DoodleBright Lights (Ape Apps)
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating2.9 (10 ratings)4.4 (19 ratings) — better
Positive reviews67.4% of reviews83.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1019 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 9 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperY LauBrandon Stecklein

Customer experience

Glow Doodle

All ratings10 ratings
Positive40.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews172 reviews
Positive67.4%
Neutral19.2%
Negative13.4%

Bright Lights (Ape Apps)

All ratings12 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral16.7%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral16.7%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Glow Doodle

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes on launch
  • Saved images lose glow effect
  • Drawing toolbar interferes with usage

Requested features

4 requests
  • More color options
  • Ability to draw on photos from library
  • Brush size and eraser tool
  • Ability to save glowing images accurately

Bright Lights (Ape Apps)

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Glow Doodle

One-time1
  • Nordic Ice Blue Edition$0.99
1 purchases

Bright Lights (Ape Apps)

One-time1
  • Advertising Removal$1.99

Questions

Is Glow Doodle free?
Glow Doodle costs $0.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Bright Lights (Ape Apps) free?
Bright Lights (Ape Apps) is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Glow Doodle or Bright Lights (Ape Apps)?
Bright Lights (Ape Apps) is rated higher. Glow Doodle averages 2.9 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while Bright Lights (Ape Apps) averages 4.4 from 19 ratings.
Do Glow Doodle or Bright Lights (Ape Apps) have ads?
Bright Lights (Ape Apps) shows ads; Glow Doodle does not.
Which is updated more often, Glow Doodle or Bright Lights (Ape Apps)?
Glow Doodle ships an update every 3 months, and Bright Lights (Ape Apps) every 9 months. Most recently, Glow Doodle was updated on October 27, 2026 and Bright Lights (Ape Apps) on October 24, 2026.

Other comparisons