# ibis Paint vs HEAVYPAINT Classic

The clearest difference is price: HEAVYPAINT Classic at Free against ibis Paint's $15.99. HEAVYPAINT Classic also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs monthly) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). ibis Paint's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.1) and review sentiment (86% vs 54%). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

HEAVYPAINT Classic is free to download; ibis Paint costs $15.99 up front. ibis Paint sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $4.49 per month and HEAVYPAINT Classic sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ibis Paint holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ibis Paint has 4.1K ratings behind it against 179, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 86% of ibis Paint's written reviews are positive against 54% of HEAVYPAINT Classic's.

ibis Paint ships an update monthly, HEAVYPAINT Classic every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | ibis Paint | HEAVYPAINT Classic |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $15.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[4.7 (4.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ibis-paint/id441179131/reviews)** | [4.1 (179 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/heavypaint-classic/id1469848546/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **4.1K** | 179 |
| Positive reviews | **86.3% of reviews** | 54.5% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Every 5 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#5** | — |
| Size | 118 MB | 51 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **12.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | +4 | 4+ |
| Developer | [ibis inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/300834419) | [HEAVYPOLY, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1469848545) |

## What reviewers say

### ibis Paint

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ibis-paint/id441179131)

**Currently charting:** #5 Top Paid · Graphics & Design, #153 Top Paid, #155 Top Grossing · Graphics & Design (US App Store)

This app offers a comprehensive suite of tools for drawing and animation, suitable for beginners and experienced artists alike. It provides a vast array of brushes, materials, and filters, enabling the creation of illustrations, animations, and even videos with music. The ad-free experience ensures uninterrupted creativity.

**Highlights:** Over 130,000 brushes, 30,000+ materials, Frame-by-frame animation, Vector tools, 86 image filters, Time-lapse video recording

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium Membership (Monthly plan) | $4.49 | per month |
| Premium Membership (Yearly plan) | $27.99 | per year |
| Smart Credit 300pt | $2.99 | one-time |
| Smart Credit 900pt | $8.99 | one-time |
| Smart Credit 2,500pt | $23.99 | one-time |
| Smart Credit 5,000pt | $44.99 | one-time |
| Smart Credit 10,000pt | $79.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 💎 Excellent brushes and tools
- 🎨 Customizable brushes and textures
- 🔍 Helpful tutorials and guidance
- 🚀 Smooth performance and responsiveness
- 👍 Easy to use and navigate

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Premium features locked behind subscription
- 🗂️ Lack of organization tools like folders
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
- 🔍 Difficulty finding specific brushes
- 🔋 High battery consumption

**Reported bugs**

- Speedpaint feature not recording all actions
- Blurring tool causing color leakage
- Layers not working as expected on certain devices
- Crashes when opening large files

**Requested features**

- Add animation tools and features
- Implement better organization options like folders
- Improve search and filtering for brushes
- Add blending and liquify tools
- Allow importing custom brushes and textures


### HEAVYPAINT Classic

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/heavypaint-classic/id1469848546)

A streamlined painting application focused on pure colors and shapes. It offers essential tools for artists, including improved smudge and blur, layers, masking, and erasing. Ideal for quick sketches, studies, and plein air work.

**Highlights:** Improved Smudge tool, Improved Blur tool, Layers, Masking, Clipping, Erase tool

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seurat Texture Brushes | $4.99 | one-time |
| HEAVYPAINT Pro | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🎨 Unique, innovative painting tools and brushes
- 💡 Forces deliberate, decisive artistic decisions
- 🎯 Minimalist interface encourages focus on fundamentals
- 🔄 Playback feature to review artwork creation
- 🎪 Fun, experimental approach to digital art

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and data loss
- 😤 Confusing, unintuitive UI/UX
- 🔄 Inconsistent UI changes between updates
- 💰 Switched from one-time purchase to subscription model
- 🚫 Poor documentation and lack of tutorials

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes frequently, causing work loss
- Auto-save feature unreliable despite crashes
- Canvas flips upside down randomly
- Transform tool deletes paintings
- Undo button requires multiple taps

**Requested features**

- Gesture controls (2-finger undo, 3-finger redo)
- Pressure sensitivity for brush size
- Lasso tool for moving selections
- Redo button functionality
- Canvas zoom capability


## Frequently asked questions

### Is ibis Paint free?

ibis Paint costs $15.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is HEAVYPAINT Classic free?

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

### Which has better reviews, ibis Paint or HEAVYPAINT Classic?

ibis Paint is rated higher. ibis Paint averages 4.7 out of 5 from 4.1K ratings, while HEAVYPAINT Classic averages 4.1 from 179 ratings.

### Do ibis Paint or HEAVYPAINT Classic have ads?

Neither ibis Paint nor HEAVYPAINT Classic shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, ibis Paint or HEAVYPAINT Classic?

ibis Paint ships an update monthly, and HEAVYPAINT Classic every 5 days. Most recently, ibis Paint was updated on November 9, 2026 and HEAVYPAINT Classic on November 3, 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.*