# Pastel vs Codye

The clearest difference is rating: Pastel at 4.7 against Codye's 4.0. Pastel also leads on ratings volume (1.4K vs 24) and chart position (#165 vs unranked). Codye's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs monthly) and iOS requirement (13.4 vs 18.0). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Pastel sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Codye sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Pastel holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pastel has 1.4K ratings behind it against 24, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of Pastel's written reviews are positive against 71% of Codye's.

Pastel ships an update monthly, Codye weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Pastel | Codye |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (1.4K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pastel/id413897608/reviews)** | [4.0 (24 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/codye/id1516894961/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **1.4K** | 24 |
| Positive reviews | **73.9% of reviews** | 70.5% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#165** | — |
| Size | 11 MB | 42 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **13.4** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Steven Troughton-Smith](https://appshunter.io/developer/286133549) | [Dario Roa](https://appshunter.io/developer/1252784909) |

## What reviewers say

### Pastel

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

**Currently charting:** #165 Top Grossing · 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


### Codye

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/codye/id1516894961)

Easily present code snippets in a visually appealing format. Export highlighted code to various image and document formats, with extensive customization options for themes, styling, and presentation elements. Ideal for developers and content creators needing to share code.

**Highlights:** 180+ language support, 100+ themes, Export to PNG, JPEG, HTML, RTF, Customizable window buttons, line numbers, Adjustable width, corner radius, background color, Keyboard navigation, Shortcuts integration

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlock All Features | Free | one-time |
| Codye Pro | Free | one-time |
| Codye Pro (Upgrade) | Free | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- ✨ Beautiful code presentation
- 🎨 Wide variety of themes
- ✨ Clean and intuitive UI
- 💡 Great for educational purposes
- 🚀 Time-saving tool

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Font size too small
- 🐛 Inconsistent update frequency
- 🐛 Some features feel gimmicky
- 🐛 Paid version locks essential features
- 🐛 UI can be jittery

**Reported bugs**

- Exported images have messed up parsing syntax
- Background color picker doesn't work
- Cross-platform purchase restoration issues
- Cannot auto-refresh after style adjustment
- Returns to previous style if not careful with refresh

**Requested features**

- Integrate code snippet repository functionality
- Ability to change font size
- Ability to change background color
- Add custom watermarks (user's name/logo)
- Ability to change font size


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Pastel free?

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

### Is Codye free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Pastel or Codye?

Pastel is rated higher. Pastel averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.4K ratings, while Codye averages 4.0 from 24 ratings.

### Do Pastel or Codye have ads?

Neither Pastel nor Codye shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Pastel or Codye?

Pastel ships an update monthly, and Codye weekly. Most recently, Pastel was updated on September 27, 2026 and Codye on September 26, 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.*