Comparison

Pastel vs C++ Shell

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

C++ Shell

Compile and run C++ code directly on your mobile device. This app provides a command-line environment with support for basic Linux commands, Python, and Lua. It features code highlighting, split-screen display, and customizable themes for an enhanced coding experience.

Highlights
  • C++ code compilation and execution
  • Linux command-line interface
  • Integrated Python and Lua
  • Code highlighting
  • Split-screen display
  • Customizable themes and fonts
Features
Read full description

A software development tool for compiling and running C++ on mobile devices, with built-in basic environment integrating Python and Lua. Support the execution of Linux basic commands on the console. The implementation principle adopts the compilation mode of llvm and clang. https://github.com/phoenixlabcn/llvm-project Function introduction: The code is highlighted, which is more intuitive Split screen display is supported in horizontal screen mode Console output and input, supporting the output of specific error stack information Theme and font size setting, moving cursor, convenient reading and simple operation Supported Linux commands include: ls,lli,ifconfig,ping,readlink,chmod,clang,telnet,host,du,link,dig,egrep,bc,date,gzip,nslookup,python2,fgrep,mv,md5,say,luac,ssh-keygen,xargs,diff,cd,tee,chksum,lua,touch,dc,tar,chflags,rm,sort,uniq,awk,printenv,chgrp,find,mkdir,tail,df,pwd,opt,chown,gunzip,compress,llvm-link,nc,uptime,sed,setenv,stat,uname,sum,head,wc,cat,echo,unsetenv,unlink,rmdir,uncompress,curl,ln,cp,whoami,rlogin,tr,env,whois,python,grep,nm,clear,sh,exit,open,python3 ------------------------------------------------ C++ Shell Month Unlock 【Unlimited code runs】 【Unlimited use of console】 【Unlimited use of modules】 【Support custom theme setting】 【Continuous access to more advanced functions】 Support free trial for 3 days. After the trial period, this subscription will be renewed automatically for $[4.49]/month unless you actively close or cancel the subscription. You will be charged in your local currency at the prevailing exchange rate as defined by iTunes .The account will confirm and charge you for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current subscription period. Payment will be deducted from iTunes account upon confirmation of subscription. You can cancel your subscription at any time. You can cancel it at least 24 hours before the trial period or the end of the subscription period to avoid deduction. Any unused part of the trial period after payment will be discarded. After purchase, you can go to the AppStore account settings to manage or cancel your subscription. Privacy policy: https://phoenixlab.ltd/protocols/en/PrivacyStatement.html Terms of Use: https://phoenixlab.ltd/protocols/en/TermsOfUse.html

Screenshots

Pastel4 screens
C++ Shell4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Pastel at free with in-app purchases against C++ Shell's subscription. Pastel also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.2) and review sentiment (74% vs 58%). C++ Shell's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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 and C++ Shell sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pastel holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pastel has 1.4K ratings behind it against 224, 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 58% of C++ Shell's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pastel ships an update monthly, C++ Shell every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Pastel versus C++ Shell: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPastelC++ Shell
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (1.4K ratings) — better4.2 (224 ratings)
Positive reviews73.9% of reviews — better57.9% of reviews
Number of ratings1.4K — better224
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
Best chart rank#177 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS18.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB153 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSteven Troughton-SmithPhoenix Lab Technology Co., Ltd.

Customer experience

Pastel

All ratings1,434 ratings
Positive93.0%
Neutral2.8%
Negative4.2%
Written reviews165 reviews
Positive73.9%
Neutral10.9%
Negative15.2%

C++ Shell

All ratings224 ratings
Positive79.9%
Neutral4.5%
Negative15.6%
Written reviews38 reviews
Positive57.9%
Neutral13.2%
Negative28.9%

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

C++ Shell

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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
1 purchases

C++ Shell

Subscriptions1
  • C++ Shell Advanced Version3 Days trial$4.491 Month

Questions

Is Pastel free?
Pastel is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is C++ Shell free?
C++ Shell is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pastel or C++ Shell?
Pastel is rated higher. Pastel averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.4K ratings, while C++ Shell averages 4.2 from 224 ratings.
Do Pastel or C++ Shell have ads?
Neither Pastel nor C++ Shell shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pastel or C++ Shell?
Pastel ships an update monthly, and C++ Shell every 3 months. Most recently, Pastel was updated on September 24, 2026 and C++ Shell on September 21, 2026.

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