# ArtRage vs Paintstorm Studio Lite

The clearest difference is price: Paintstorm Studio Lite at Free against ArtRage's $2.99. Paintstorm Studio Lite also leads on rating (4.0 vs 3.5). ArtRage's advantage is review sentiment (57% vs 24%) and update cadence (monthly vs every 4 months). On ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Paintstorm Studio Lite is free to download; ArtRage costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Paintstorm Studio Lite holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 171 and 262 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 57% of ArtRage's written reviews are positive against 24% of Paintstorm Studio Lite's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

ArtRage ships an update monthly, Paintstorm Studio Lite every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | ArtRage | Paintstorm Studio Lite |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $2.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [3.5 (171 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/artrage/id391432693/reviews) | **[4.0 (262 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/paintstorm-studio-lite/id1097147869/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 171 | **262** |
| Positive reviews | **57.3% of reviews** | 24.1% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Monthly** | Every 4 months |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#164** | — |
| Size | 62 MB | 103 MB |
| Requires iOS | **10.0** | 13.1 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Ambient Design Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/391432696) | [Sergei Komarov](https://appshunter.io/developer/1060632106) |

## What reviewers say

### ArtRage

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/artrage/id391432693)

**Currently charting:** #164 Top Paid · Entertainment (US App Store)

This app offers a realistic digital painting experience, simulating the behavior of real-world art supplies like oils, watercolors, and pencils. It allows for smearing, blending, and texture application, making it accessible for aspiring artists without the mess or expense of traditional materials.

**Highlights:** Realistic paint simulation (oils, watercolors, etc.), Smearing and blending capabilities, Layer support with blend modes, Import images as reference or tracing, Apple Pencil pressure and tilt support, Customizable interface

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🎨 Realistic paint simulation
- 👍 Intuitive and easy-to-use interface
- 💡 Variety of tools and customization options
- 🎨 Blending and mixing of colors works well
- 🎨 Simulates traditional media like oil, watercolor, and pastels

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- 🐛 Laggy performance, especially with larger brushes
- 🔍 Limited canvas size and resolution
- 🐛 Bugs with layer handling and saving progress
- 🔍 Missing some basic features like shapes and text

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes and loss of unsaved work
- Bugs with color picker and blending tools
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between tools

**Requested features**

- Ability to resize and rotate canvas
- Improved palm rejection and touch controls
- Larger brush sizes and more customization options
- Support for higher resolution canvases and export
- Autosave and cloud sync functionality


### Paintstorm Studio Lite

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/paintstorm-studio-lite/id1097147869)

This app offers professional digital painting tools for artists of all levels. It provides extensive brush customization, stroke correction, and intuitive controls to enhance the mobile art creation experience. Discover new possibilities for digital drawing with advanced features and Apple Pencil support.

**Highlights:** Extensive brush customization, Stroke post-correction, Apple Pencil support, Dynamic interface, Mirror drawing, Standard tools pack

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 💎 Excellent brushes and color mixing
- 🎨 Sophisticated drawing tools
- 🖌️ Advanced interface like desktop apps
- 🖥️ Powerful features on par with desktop software

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🚧 Cluttered and confusing interface
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and performance issues
- 💦 Annoying watermark on exported artwork
- 🔍 Lack of clear instructions and tutorials

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes when opening or switching between projects
- Brush settings and color wheel disappearing unexpectedly
- Inability to save or recover unsaved artwork

**Requested features**

- Remove watermark option
- Ability to import photos and images
- Better organization and customization of UI
- More intuitive brush and tool controls


## Frequently asked questions

### Is ArtRage free?

ArtRage costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Paintstorm Studio Lite free?

Paintstorm Studio Lite is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, ArtRage or Paintstorm Studio Lite?

Paintstorm Studio Lite is rated higher. ArtRage averages 3.5 out of 5 from 171 ratings, while Paintstorm Studio Lite averages 4.0 from 262 ratings.

### Do ArtRage or Paintstorm Studio Lite have ads?

Neither ArtRage nor Paintstorm Studio Lite shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, ArtRage or Paintstorm Studio Lite?

ArtRage ships an update monthly, and Paintstorm Studio Lite every 4 months. Most recently, ArtRage was updated on October 16, 2026 and Paintstorm Studio Lite on October 15, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*