Comparison

Diptic vs Side by Side Photos, Collages

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

Side by Side Photos, Collages

Easily create stunning photo collages and edit images for social media. Combine pictures vertically or horizontally, split them into grids, and add text or watermarks. Optimize images for Instagram with square-fit and giant square options.

Highlights
  • Create photo collages with templates
  • Watermark and add text to photos
  • Size pictures for Instagram (square-fit)
  • Stitch and combine photos vertically/horizontally
  • Split photos into multiple pictures/layouts
  • Create Giant Square photos for profiles
  • Remove photo backgrounds with AI (Premium)
Read full description

GridMatic has everything you need to edit, crop, and create beautiful photos for Instagram all in one place. Here's what you can do with GridMatic: ● Create photo collages with over 200+ easy to use built-in templates ● Watermark and add text to photos ● Size pictures perfectly for Instagram (perfect square-fit) ● Stitch and combine photos together (vertically and horizontally) ● Split photos into multiple pictures and layouts ● Create a Giant Square photo for your Instagram profile ● Save your images in High Resolution ● Use custom frames to make your collages unique ● Change the textures of your photo collage borders ● Customize the borders and shapes of your collages ● Add overlay text and emojis to your collages ———————————————————— GridMatic Premium policy: Once you sign up to GridMatic Premium, you will have full access to all of GridMatic's features. You can cancel your subscription any time and you will be sent a reminder before your GridMatic subscription begins after your trial. With GridMatic Premium, you get access to the full app: ● Create unlimited photo collages with 100+ layouts ● Stitch multiple photos together vertically or horizontally ● Splice photos into grids for your Instagram profile ● Remove the background on any photo with AI ● Add text and watermarks to photos ● No ads ● Cancel anytime GridMatic Premium options: ● GridMatic Weekly: $6.99/week ● GridMatic Yearly: 3 days free and then $69.99/year Terms of Service: https://andrewlee.ventures/terms-of-use Privacy Policy: https://andrewlee.ventures/privacy ———————————————————— Connect with us on Twitter and Instagram: @GridMaticApp Have any questions or recommendations? Feel free to reach out to me at: Andrew@AndrewLee.Ventures Privacy Policy: https://gridmaticapp.com/privacy Website: https://gridmaticapp.com

Screenshots

Diptic4 screens
Side by Side Photos, Collages4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Side by Side Photos, Collages at Free against Diptic's $2.99. Diptic's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and chart position (#50 vs unranked). On rating, review sentiment, update cadence 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

Side by Side Photos, Collages is free to download; Diptic costs $2.99 up front. Diptic sells 7 one-off in-app purchases and Side by Side Photos, Collages sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Diptic against 4.6 for Side by Side Photos, Collages. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Diptic has 3K ratings behind it against 339, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 74% of Diptic's written reviews are positive against 80% of Side by Side Photos, Collages's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Diptic ships an update every 3 months, Side by Side Photos, Collages every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Diptic versus Side by Side Photos, Collages: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDipticSide by Side Photos, Collages
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.5 (3K ratings)4.6 (339 ratings) — better
Positive reviews74.1% of reviews79.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3K — better339
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
Best chart rank#50 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB148 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRhia BucklinAndrew Lee

Customer experience

Diptic

All ratings2,997 ratings
Positive88.7%
Neutral2.3%
Negative9.0%
Written reviews1,368 reviews
Positive74.1%
Neutral7.1%
Negative18.8%

Side by Side Photos, Collages

All ratings337 ratings
Positive89.9%
Neutral2.1%
Negative8.0%
Written reviews139 reviews
Positive79.9%
Neutral1.4%
Negative18.7%

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

Side by Side Photos, Collages

From 339 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Simple and straightforward
  • 💡 Useful for creating collages
  • 🤩 Great for photo editing
  • 🎨 Lots of layout options

Room to improve

  • 🤑 Not actually free
  • 🔒 Requires subscription
  • 🙄 Deceptive about being free
  • 😒 Useless free version
  • 🤯 Bait and switch tactics

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

Side by Side Photos, Collages

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Login screen freezes
  • Incompatible with older devices
  • Crashes occasionally

Requested features

3 requests
  • Allow access to photo albums
  • Add dark mode option
  • Improve free version functionality

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
13 purchases

Side by Side Photos, Collages

Subscriptions13
  • GridMatic Premium: Weekly3 Days trial$2.997 Days
  • GridMatic Premium: 1 Week3 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • GridMatic Pro 1 Week7 Days trial2 variants$5.997 Days
Show 10 more
  • GridMatic: Premium$5.997 Days
  • GridMatic Premium: 1 Week$6.997 Days
  • GridMatic Pro 1 Week7 Days trial2 variants$8.997 Days
  • GridMatic Premium: Discounted3 Days trial$19.991 Year
  • GridMatic: Premium3 Days trial$34.991 Year
  • GridMatic: Premium3 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • GridMatic Premium: 1 Year3 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • GridMatic: Premium3 Days trial$44.991 Year
  • GridMatic: Premium3 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • GridMatic Premium: 1 Year3 Days trial$69.991 Year

Questions

Is Diptic free?
Diptic costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Side by Side Photos, Collages free?
Side by Side Photos, Collages is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Diptic or Side by Side Photos, Collages?
Side by Side Photos, Collages is rated higher. Diptic averages 4.5 out of 5 from 3K ratings, while Side by Side Photos, Collages averages 4.6 from 339 ratings.
Do Diptic or Side by Side Photos, Collages have ads?
Side by Side Photos, Collages shows ads; Diptic does not.
Which is updated more often, Diptic or Side by Side Photos, Collages?
Diptic ships an update every 3 months, and Side by Side Photos, Collages every 2 months. Most recently, Diptic was updated on October 25, 2026 and Side by Side Photos, Collages on October 24, 2026.

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