# Pastel vs RegEx Lab

The clearest difference is price: Pastel at Free against RegEx Lab's $0.99. Pastel also leads on ratings volume (1.4K vs 172). RegEx Lab's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and review sentiment (95% vs 76%). On rating, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Pastel is free to download; RegEx Lab costs $0.99 up front. Pastel sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. RegEx Lab asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Pastel against 4.8 for RegEx Lab. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pastel has 1.4K ratings behind it against 172, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 76% of Pastel's written reviews are positive against 95% of RegEx Lab's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Pastel | RegEx Lab |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $0.99 |
| Rating | [4.7 (1.4K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pastel/id413897608/reviews) | **[4.8 (172 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/regex-lab-regular-expressions/id1252988123/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **1.4K** | 172 |
| Positive reviews | 76.2% of reviews | **95.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Monthly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | #195 | **#64** |
| Size | 12 MB | 5 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **14.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Steven Troughton-Smith](https://appshunter.io/developer/286133549) | [sovio](https://appshunter.io/developer/1397333570) |

## What reviewers say

### Pastel

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pastel/id413897608)

**Currently charting:** #195 Top Free · Developer Tools (US App Store)

Easily capture, organize, and use color palettes for your creative projects. Analyze photos to extract dominant colors, or manually select them. Seamlessly sync your library across devices and export colors in various code formats or as pixel bitmaps.

**Highlights:** Capture color palettes from photos, Manual color selection, Drag and drop colors to other apps, iCloud sync across devices, Export colors in code formats (RGB, hex, Swift), Create custom wallpapers

**Features:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pastel (One Month) | $1.99 | per month |
| Pastel (One Year) | $9.99 | per year |
| Pastel (Legacy Purchase) | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Intuitive and clean interface
- 🚀 Efficient color management
- 💡 Ability to import colors from photos
- 🎨 Great for designers and artists
- 📦 Seamless integration with Procreate

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Disappearing custom palettes
- 🔍 Lack of color picker functionality
- 🤔 Confusing widget behavior
- 🔀 Issues with rearranging colors in palettes

**Reported bugs**

- Palettes disappearing after OS updates
- Delays and freezes when using color wheel
- Inconsistent behavior on different devices/OSes

**Requested features**

- Color contrast analysis tools
- CMYK color support
- Easier way to copy/paste color codes
- Improved palette organization and management
- Integration with more design apps


### RegEx Lab

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/regex-lab-regular-expressions/id1252988123)

**Currently charting:** #64 Top Paid · Developer Tools (US App Store)

This app allows users to test and experiment with regular expressions. It offers syntax highlighting, customizable match colors, and a detailed results list. Features include a replace function, dark and light themes, and a helpful cheatsheet for quick reference.

**Highlights:** Regex syntax highlighting, Match and capture group highlighting, Customizable highlight colors, Results list view, Replace feature, Dark and light themes, Regular expression cheatsheet

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Beautifully designed UI
- 🚀 Simple and easy to use
- ⚡ Gets regular expression tasks done quickly
- 💡 Useful offline Regex tool
- 🛠️ Essential text tool for devs and writers

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Files are hidden and not found in Files app
- 🐛 Export option makes a mess
- 🐛 Mac version has no effort put into it
- 🐛 Takes a long time for load screen to go away
- 🐛 'Select this match' option often doesn't work

**Reported bugs**

- iPad's Files app cannot find the app or Regex files
- Export option creates messy files
- Mac version lacks developer effort
- Slow load screen when creating new expressions
- Select this match option is unreliable

**Requested features**

- Make app and Regex files visible in Files app
- Improve export option for Regex files
- Add a button to clear the text window
- Allow simultaneous viewing of text and replacement text
- Add a button to copy and replace text on the previous screen


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Pastel free?

Pastel is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is RegEx Lab free?

RegEx Lab costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Pastel or RegEx Lab?

RegEx Lab is rated higher. Pastel averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.4K ratings, while RegEx Lab averages 4.8 from 172 ratings.

### Do Pastel or RegEx Lab have ads?

Neither Pastel nor RegEx Lab shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Pastel or RegEx Lab?

Pastel ships an update monthly, and RegEx Lab monthly. Most recently, Pastel was updated on November 1, 2026 and RegEx Lab on November 1, 2026.

### Which is more popular, Pastel or RegEx Lab?

Pastel currently peaks at #195 in the App Store charts, and RegEx Lab at #64. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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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.*