Comparison

Pastel vs Dev Utils

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

Head to head
About

Pastel

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
Read full description

Capture and collect color palettes with Pastel! Pastel is an app for amateur developers & artists (like us!) that lets you build up a library of color palettes to use in your projects. With drag & drop on iPad, drag colors out into other apps that support dropped colors, like Pages and Keynote, or many third-party apps from your favorite developers, so you can use your Pastel library as your master color collection across apps. Seamlessly sync your library across devices with iCloud. Analyze photos from the photo library or from Files to determine their dominant colors — choosing specific colors manually if you wish — and save their color palettes to Pastel. Includes a variety of color pickers, like wheel, RGB sliders, and crayons, or pick named colors from your color library that you curate yourself. On iPad, drag and drop from the sidebar to any palette. Copy a variety of developer-focused code representations, like RGB, hex, Objective-C, Swift and SwiftUI. Paste hex codes into the sliders color picker. Copy a pixel bitmap representation of a palette to paste into your favorite pixel editor, share a screen-sized version to set as your wallpaper or Apple Watch face, or export a palette to Procreate®. Create beautiful, colorful wallpapers in various different 2D & 3D styles using Pastel's wallpaper creator. In the free version, try out the built-in library, and add your own palettes up to a limit of 8 items total. Upgrade to the unlimited version using in-app purchase. --- Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy policy: https://www.highcaffeinecontent.com/privacy

About

Dev Utils

This app provides mobile developers with essential tools to streamline their workflow. It offers timely notifications for OS and Xcode releases, accessibility features, device information, and a reference for HTTP status codes. Customize your experience with themes and app icons.

Highlights
  • OS and Xcode release notifications
  • System font and color comparison
  • Device information lookup
  • HTTP status code reference
  • Light/dark themes
  • Customizable app icons
Features
Read full description

Dev Utils is the ultimate toolkit for mobile developers. With features designed to streamline your workflow and increase productivity, Dev Utils is the essential companion for building amazing mobile apps. Stay Up-to-Date with the Latest Releases and Betas - Get notified about the latest betas and full releases of Apple's operating systems (iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS) and Xcode. - Easily check release notes for the latest Xcode. See the macOS requirements and view included SDKs for iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS. - Stay informed with the latest developer news and important information about App Store Connect, TestFlight, and more. Ensure Your App is Accessible to All Users - Compare system fonts and colors with adjustable sizing and dark mode support. Get Device Information Quickly and Easily - Check which versions of Apple's operating systems (iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS) are currently supported on any device. - Quickly view your device's type, storage, connectivity, cameras, and more. Easily share device info with others. Additional Tools - Quickly search and learn about HTTP status codes with a comprehensive reference guide. Customize Your Experience - Enjoy light and dark themes and customize your home screen with alternate app icons. Download Dev Utils now and elevate your mobile development to the next level!

Screenshots

Pastel4 screens
Dev Utils4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Dev Utils at none against Pastel's 3. Dev Utils also leads on review sentiment (92% vs 76%) and chart position (#118 vs unranked). Pastel's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (1.4K vs 101). On price, rating, ads and device support 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

Both are free to download. Pastel sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Dev Utils asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Pastel against 4.7 for Dev Utils. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pastel has 1.4K ratings behind it against 101, 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 92% of Dev Utils's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pastel ships an update monthly, Dev Utils every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Pastel versus Dev Utils: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPastelDev Utils
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (1.4K ratings)4.7 (101 ratings)
Positive reviews76.2% of reviews92.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.4K — better101
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank—#118 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision ProiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSteven Troughton-SmithRyan Fielder

Customer experience

Pastel

All ratings1,441 ratings
Positive92.9%
Neutral2.8%
Negative4.3%
Written reviews202 reviews
Positive76.2%
Neutral10.4%
Negative13.4%

Dev Utils

All ratings101 ratings
Positive93.1%
Neutral2.0%
Negative5.0%
Written reviews53 reviews
Positive92.5%
Neutral1.9%
Negative5.7%

User reviews

Pastel

From 1.4K App Store ratings

What we love

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

Room to improve

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

Dev Utils

From 101 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Very useful app
  • 👍 Good device info
  • 👍 Helpful for developers
  • 👍 Excellent UI/UX
  • 👍 User-friendly

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Needs update for releases
  • 🐛 Data not up-to-date
  • 🐛 Potential privacy concerns
  • 🐛 Accusations of hacking
  • 🐛 Blocked on M series Macs

Bugs and requests

Pastel

Reported bugs

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

Requested features

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

Dev Utils

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Unknown errors
  • Find my iPhone error
  • Apple ID locked
  • Privacy concerns
  • Being attacked

Requested features

6 requests
  • Update release notes/version numbers
  • Adapt to iOS 26 and dark icon
  • Update data promptly
  • Allow development usage
  • More access to watch design UI
Show 1 more
  • Enable installation on Mac M series

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Pastel

Subscriptions2
  • Pastel (One Month)14 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Pastel (One Year)14 Days trial$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pastel (Legacy Purchase)$19.99
None

Dev Utils

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pastel free?
Pastel is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Dev Utils free?
Dev Utils is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Pastel or Dev Utils?
Pastel and Dev Utils are both rated 4.7 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1.4K and 101 ratings respectively.
Do Pastel or Dev Utils have ads?
Neither Pastel nor Dev Utils shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pastel or Dev Utils?
Pastel ships an update monthly, and Dev Utils every 4 months. Most recently, Pastel was updated on October 13, 2026 and Dev Utils on October 12, 2026.

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