Comparison

Diptic vs Distressed FX

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

Head to head
About

Diptic

Create stunning photo and video collages with a vast array of customizable layouts and editing tools. Personalize your creations with text, filters, and borders, then share them across your favorite social platforms.

Highlights
  • Photo and video collage creation
  • 194+ customizable layouts
  • Text captions with font/color options
  • 14 filters and image adjustments
  • Video editing with music
  • Import from multiple sources
  • High-resolution export
Features
Read full description

Diptic, a former App Store App of the Week, helps you create and share beautiful photo and video collages. See for yourself why millions of people have downloaded this app!

 "A simple, elegant way to use pictures to tell your story." – Macworld DIPTIC 101 • Create collages with photos and videos • Super Customizable — Tons of layouts to choose from plus tons of ways to enhance each one. Save your own customized layouts for re-use • Add text captions, filters, colored borders, textured borders & more LAYOUTS AND BORDERS • Choose from 194+ layouts (additional layouts are available as in-app purchases) • Combine up to nine photos and/or videos in each layout • Customize your layouts to better fit your video or images by sliding interior frame lines or moving joints along the line • Create rectangular Diptics (great for printing) with Expandable Layouts (in-app purchase) • Round the inner and outer borders, as well as modify thickness and color, and apply textures to videos and images IMAGE ADJUSTMENTS • Choose from 14 filters, as well as adjust brightness, contrast, hue and color saturation • Pan, rotate, mirror, flip, and zoom individual photos TEXT CAPTIONS • Personalize your Diptic photo and video creations with a text caption • Adjust the font, style, color and size of the text VIDEO ADJUSTMENTS • Add music to any video collage and adjust audio start and stop time • Pick any song from your Music library • Customize video start and stop time IMPORT/EXPORT OPTIONS • Create Diptics with photos or videos from your library, Instagram, Dropbox, Facebook or Flickr, or take a photo on the spot with the camera • Save Diptics for safe keeping or share them with friends. You can send via email, or share by uploading directly to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or any app that accepts JPGs and/or video files • High-resolution export for pixel-perfect images • Import multiple photos and videos at once and swap media between frames • Add music from your music library to any of your videos 

 Let’s connect!

 Twitter: @dipticapp
 Instagram: @dipticapp
 Facebook: facebook.com/dipticapp 
 Flickr: flickr.com/groups/diptic  Please reach out to us at support@dipticapp.com if you have any suggestions for the new video features or anything else you’d like to see... we’d love to hear from you!

About

Distressed FX

Easily transform your photos into stunning artwork using a variety of textured images and overlays. This app is perfect for adding unique artistic effects to your still life and landscape photography.

Highlights
  • Apply textured images
  • Add overlays
  • Create artwork from photos
  • Suitable for still life photography
  • Suitable for landscape photography
Features
Read full description

Creating gorgeous artwork from your photos has never been easier. With Distressed FX, simply take a photo and choose from a wide range of textured images and overlays. Transform even the most mundane photo into a work of art. See our hashtag #distressedFX on Instagram to see 100k+ examples! ** Featured by Mac Format and Black + White Photography Magazine Join us at: www.facebook.com/DistressedFX www.instagram.com/distressedfxapp/ • Particularly suited to still life and landscape photography - this app will perfectly compliment your existing collection of photo apps. Distressed FX is powered by the textures of Cheryl Tarrant, a texture artist from Tennessee. Her popular and unique style is now available in your pocket, wherever you go. • Follow Cheryl on Instagram http://instagram.com/distressedfxapp • Be our friend on Facebook www.facebook.com/DistressedFX • Follow us on Twitter : @distressedfx See examples of the Cheryl's distinctive work here: www.flickr.com/photos/jewellofdistressed/ ** Find out more about Distressed Textures at www.distressedfx.com & www.distressedtextures.com Distressed FX (tm) is a trademark of Cheryl Tarrant in the United States of America.

Screenshots

Diptic4 screens
Distressed FX4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Distressed FX at Free against Diptic's $2.99. Distressed FX also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and review sentiment (86% vs 74%). Diptic's advantage is chart position (#67 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 17.6). On ratings volume, update cadence, 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

Distressed FX is free to download; Diptic costs $2.99 up front. Diptic sells 7 one-off in-app purchases and Distressed FX sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Distressed FX holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3K and 5.3K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of Diptic's written reviews are positive against 86% of Distressed FX's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Diptic ships an update every 3 months, Distressed FX every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Diptic versus Distressed FX: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDipticDistressed FX
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.5 (3K ratings)4.8 (5.3K ratings) — better
Positive reviews74.0% of reviews86.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3K5.3K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#67 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS11.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB48 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRhia BucklinWe Are Here

Customer experience

Diptic

All ratings2,997 ratings
Positive88.7%
Neutral2.3%
Negative9.0%
Written reviews1,370 reviews
Positive74.0%
Neutral7.2%
Negative18.8%

Distressed FX

All ratings5,258 ratings
Positive96.5%
Neutral2.4%
Negative1.1%
Written reviews766 reviews
Positive86.0%
Neutral5.2%
Negative8.7%

User reviews

Diptic

From 3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 👍 Versatile and creative
  • 👍 Useful for various purposes
  • 👍 Straightforward interface
  • 👍 Great for photo collages

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Freezes and crashes
  • 🐛 Photos not loading properly
  • 🐛 Exporting/saving issues
  • 🔒 Watermark removal requires in-app purchase
  • 🔒 Paid features not worth the cost

Distressed FX

From 5.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🎨 Variety of creative effects
  • 💡 Unique textures and overlays
  • 🚀 Fast and efficient
  • 🎨 Ability to layer effects

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes after selecting photos
  • 🔒 Restore purchases not working
  • 🔍 Lack of clear instructions
  • 🔍 Confusing interface for switching packs
  • 🔍 Limited control over effects

Bugs and requests

Diptic

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Inability to select multiple photos
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
  • Inconsistent performance across devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • More layout options and flexibility
  • Ability to save and edit previous collages
  • Improved text editing capabilities
  • Direct social media sharing
  • Removal of watermark without additional cost

Distressed FX

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Purchased effects not carrying over to new devices
  • Filters disappearing after updates

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to mask or brush on effects
  • Higher output resolution
  • Bundled pricing for all effects
  • More advanced editing tools
  • Landscape mode support

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Diptic

One-time7
  • Expandable Layouts$0.99
  • Diamond + Triangles Layout Pack$0.99
  • Alphabet Layout Pack$0.99
Show 4 more
  • Numbers Layout Pack$0.99
  • Party Texture Pack$0.99
  • Fun Times Texture Pack$0.99
  • Video Watermark Removal$0.99
10 purchases

Distressed FX

One-time10
  • Obscure Texture Pack$1.99
  • Sky Beauty Texture Pack$1.99
  • Artist Beginnings Texture Pack$1.99
Show 7 more
  • Old World Gallery Texture Pack$1.99
  • Bokeh Illusions Overlay$1.99
  • The Lights Overlay Pack$1.99
  • The Neutrals Texture Pack$1.99
  • The Heavens Overlay Pack$1.99
  • Painterly Grunge$1.99
  • Beyond Skies Overlay Pack$1.99

Questions

Is Diptic free?
Diptic costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Distressed FX free?
Distressed FX is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Diptic or Distressed FX?
Distressed FX is rated higher. Diptic averages 4.5 out of 5 from 3K ratings, while Distressed FX averages 4.8 from 5.3K ratings.
Do Diptic or Distressed FX have ads?
Neither Diptic nor Distressed FX shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Diptic or Distressed FX?
Diptic ships an update every 3 months, and Distressed FX every 4 months. Most recently, Diptic was updated on October 31, 2026 and Distressed FX on October 29, 2026.

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