Comparison

Flowpaper vs ImgRef

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

Head to head
About

Flowpaper

This digital sketchbook allows users to create dynamic still or animated drawings with physics-based brushes. It offers tools for fluid art generation, drawing on existing images, and precise color selection, suitable for both beginners and professionals.

Highlights
  • Create flowing still or animated drawings
  • Master generative, physics-based brushes
  • Design fluid artwork for backgrounds
  • Draw on photos and existing artwork
  • Precise color picker and palette builder
  • Export high-resolution sketches
Features
Read full description

Transform your ideas into mesmerizing art with Flowpaper, the unique digital sketchbook that brings your drawings to life. Experience the magic of fluid, physics-based brushes that respond naturally to your touch, enjoyed by both digital art beginners and professional artists alike. Key Features: • Create stunning still or animated drawings that flow and evolve • Master unique generative brushes that make digital sketching effortless • Design fluid artwork perfect for backgrounds and sharing • Draw on photos or other artwork • Draw using rotational symmetry • Pick the perfect color with our precise color picker and palette builder • Explore endless creative possibilities with physics-based tools like gossamer, silk-like webs • Export your sketches seamlessly in high-resolution to continue in other art apps Whether you’re looking to sketch a quick idea, create mesmerizing animations, or explore new forms of digital art, Flowpaper’s intuitive tools invite endless creative possibilities. Turn your device into an infinite canvas for your imagination. Perfect for: • Digital sketching and artwork creation • Relaxing artistic exploration • Animated drawing and design • Illustration projects • Creative fluid art generation Download Flowpaper today and discover a new dimension of digital art where your creativity flows freely. PRIVACY POLICY: Our privacy policy is available at: https://flowpaper.io/privacy-policy TERMS OF SERVICE: Apple’s Standard EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

ImgRef

This app is a professional reference and inspiration tool for creatives. It combines mood boards, image management, color picking, and free-form collaging across devices. Streamline your workflow with features like unlimited canvases, batch processing, and image editing.

Highlights
  • Unlimited Canvas
  • Multi-Select Batch Processing
  • Professional Workflow with Keyboard Shortcuts
  • Image Editing Tools
  • Dynamic Eyedropper Color Picker
  • Video Processing for Storyboards
  • Magnetic Guides for Layouts
Features
Read full description

「App Store Editor's Choice」 「98% 5-Star Ratings」 「Cross-Platform for iPhone/iPad/MacOS」 Redefine your creative workflow - an all-in-one tool combining mood boards, reference images, smart asset management, precise color picking, and free-form collaging across devices. Designed for UI/brand/illustration/photography/architecture/video storyboard and other creative scenarios, this is your professional reference image and inspiration board on iPhone / iPad / macOS. Core Features: 1. Unlimited Canvas: Smart caching and image management for large long-term libraries and smooth browsing. 2. Multi-Select Batch Processing: Select multiple images for adaptive scaling, smart layout, uniform size, copy, and alignment. 3. Professional Workflow: Full keyboard shortcuts (Mac / iPad keyboard) for faster frequent actions. 4. Image Editing: Rotate, crop, desaturate, flip, adjust opacity, layers, scale, and more. 5. Dynamic Eyedropper: Pick any canvas color in real time and get common color codes. 6. Video Processing: MP4 playback and 4K still extraction for faster storyboards, covers, and video references. 7. Stylized Text: Built-in fonts and styles make notes, titles, and labels clearer on the canvas. 8. Magnetic Guides: Alignment hints and smart snapping for precise layouts. 9. GIF Decomposition: Break animations into frames for clearer detail references. 10. Import & Backup: Clipboard, photos, folders, drag & drop, export, full backup. 11. Web Drag & Drop: Drag images from Pinterest / ArtStation / Midjourney / Pixiv / Instagram and more. 12. Multiple Modes: View, lock, and edit modes keep browsing and editing separate. 13. Brush Tools: Annotate and highlight key areas for more intuitive communication. 14. File Management: Grid/list views with multiple sorting options. 15. Canvas Zoom: Smooth zoom and pan for comfortable detail viewing. Enhanced Features: 1. Image/GIF/Video Notes: Add notes to capture ideas and key points. 2. Preview Mode: Switch to a clean preview for focused viewing and presentations. 3. Advanced Crop: Fit different aspect ratios and compositions faster for cleaner output. 4. Image Blur: Blur images for privacy protection and richer visual layering. 5. High-Resolution Scene Export (PNG): Export full scenes as HD PNG for sharing and delivery. 6. File Favorites: Save frequent files for quick access to key references. 7. Category Tags: Tag files by use, project, or status for faster filtering. 8. Dotted Background: Toggle a dotted background for clearer edge contrast. 9. Canvas Grayscale: Focus on tone and composition with grayscale view. 10. Image Color Analysis: Extract dominant colors to understand palette relationships. 11. Layer Panel: Preview names, reorder, and quick select for efficient layer management. 12. Scheduled Playback: Timed switching, playback controls, and countdown. 13. Layer Search: Filter by type and keyword to quickly locate target content among many layers. 14. Brush Presets: Switch stroke width, color, and opacity for annotation, highlighting, and sketching. 15. Canvas RGB Single-Channel Preview: View R/G/B channels separately to analyze color distribution, tone, and detail. 16. Link Cards: Turn webpages into cover cards pinned on the canvas; one tap to open 17. Image OCR: One tap reads the text in an image and creates text beside it, so titles, copy, and labels can be lifted without retyping. 18. Classify/Find by Color: Basic, nearby, and fine families. Group canvas images by color family, or find from an image’s color family, for clearer palette comparison. You can subscribe to ImgRef Pro. Charged to your iTunes account on confirmation. Auto-renews unless canceled 24+ hours before period end. Manage in iTunes Store. Privacy Policy: https://xunhuaref.cn/index.php/privacypolicy/ Terms of Use: https://xunhuaref.cn/index.php/privacypolicy/eula-en/ Download now and experience the smoothest creative tool in the Apple ecosystem! Thank you for reading. Contact us: Email: imgref@163.com

Screenshots

Flowpaper4 screens
ImgRef4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: ImgRef at every 2 days against Flowpaper's every 8 days. ImgRef also leads on device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Flowpaper sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days and ImgRef sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Flowpaper against 4.7 for ImgRef. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 326 and 127 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 78% of Flowpaper's written reviews are positive against 79% of ImgRef's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Flowpaper ships an update every 8 days, ImgRef every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Flowpaper versus ImgRef: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFlowpaperImgRef
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (326 ratings)4.7 (127 ratings) — better
Positive reviews77.5% of reviews79.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings326 — better127
Update frequencyEvery 8 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size68 MB76 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBotto Studio LLC文荣 李

Customer experience

Flowpaper

All ratings326 ratings
Positive91.7%
Neutral5.2%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews347 reviews
Positive77.5%
Neutral9.8%
Negative12.7%

ImgRef

All ratings127 ratings
Positive91.3%
Neutral0.8%
Negative7.9%
Written reviews72 reviews
Positive79.2%
Neutral4.2%
Negative16.7%

User reviews

Flowpaper

From 326 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Beautiful and mesmerizing visuals
  • 🎨 Unique and creative drawing experience
  • 🎨 Great for making wallpapers and abstract art
  • 🎨 Relaxing and meditative to use
  • 🎨 Fun for all ages

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes when trying to save images
  • 🐛 Controls and settings not always responsive
  • 🔒 Limited features without paid upgrade
  • 🔒 Lack of customization options
  • 🔒 Outdated for newer devices

ImgRef

From 127 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great alternative to Vizref
  • 👍 Simple and intuitive
  • 👍 Lots of features Vizref doesn't have
  • 👍 Satisfying image compilation
  • 👍 Lovely app and intuitive

Room to improve

  • 👎 Monotonous image selection and movement
  • 👎 Unappealing UI

Bugs and requests

Flowpaper

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Saving high-quality images causes crashes
  • Settings menu not functioning properly
  • Incompatibility issues with newer iPads
  • Drawing controls not responsive at times

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add undo/redo functionality
  • Implement a color picker and custom brush options
  • Allow importing of background images
  • Optimize for latest iOS devices and screen sizes
  • Provide more brush styles and drawing tools

ImgRef

Reported bugs

1 issue
  • Trouble importing images from other apps

Requested features

3 requests
  • Add cropping functionality
  • Implement doodle/text feature for notes
  • Add GIF frame reading function

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Flowpaper

Subscriptions3
  • Flowpaper Plus Weekly$1.997 Days
  • Flowpaper Plus Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Flowpaper Plus Annual$5.991 Year
One-time1
  • Flowpaper Plus Lifetime$7.99
2 purchases

ImgRef

Subscriptions2
  • pro_monthly$0.991 Month
  • ImgRef Annual Subscription$5.991 Year

Questions

Is Flowpaper free?
Flowpaper is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ImgRef free?
ImgRef is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Flowpaper or ImgRef?
ImgRef is rated higher. Flowpaper averages 4.7 out of 5 from 326 ratings, while ImgRef averages 4.7 from 127 ratings.
Do Flowpaper or ImgRef have ads?
Neither Flowpaper nor ImgRef shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Flowpaper or ImgRef?
Flowpaper ships an update every 8 days, and ImgRef every 2 days. Most recently, Flowpaper was updated on November 1, 2026 and ImgRef on November 5, 2026.

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