Comparison

Dramatic Black & White vs Mextures Photo Editor

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

Head to head
About

Dramatic Black & White

Transform your photos into striking black and white images with adjustable light, contrast, and texture. Explore classic and modern styles, and use unique tools to create artistic compositions. Perfect for photographers seeking to enhance their monochrome vision.

Highlights
  • Black and white photo conversion
  • Adjustable light and contrast
  • Texture and shape controls
  • Ellipse spotlight tool
  • Classic, infrared, and HD styles
  • Grain and vignette effects
Features
Read full description

Make a Black and White Photo with Light Contrast Grit and Form --- MacWorld’s pick for the App Gems of the Year Award --- Everyone knows it doesn't get better than classic Black & White - it's the artistic soul of photography. Referencing one of our favorite Ansel Adams quotes: "Great Black & White photos aren't taken - they're made". Using Dramatic Black & White you can make your own black and white photographs, ones where light and contrast, grit and form come together to tell a story; ones where stone and sky, water and light transcend the material world and ascend to the Photographers’ Gallery. With Dramatic Black & White there are no mistakes you can't fix, no limits to your vision, no stopping until you're finished, nothing to hold you back from truly 'making your photos' and making them - Oh.My.Gosh. good! 

JixiPix's Dramatic Black & White app starts by leaving color in the rear view mirror, and enables you to make expert adjustments with easy-to-use, fully customizable controls to contrast and light, texture and shape. Before your eyes, watch your photo transform into the dramatic looks of the past and cutting-edge styles of the present.
 PHOTOGRAPHY STYLE
 • Black & White – Classic 
• Infrared Photo – Modern 
 • Dramatic Black & White – High Definition 

 FEATURES
 A one-of-a-kind ellipse spotlight tool will allow you to set up a light source on a subject in your composition. Fully customizable controls allow expert adjustments to contrast, light, texture and shape; and adjustments to spotlight size intensity. INCLUDES
 Spotlight, Black and White Filters, Grain and Vignette UNIVERSAL FEATURES
 All JixiPix Apps come with: Superior Customer Service, Support for High-Resolution Images & Output, Undo/Redo, Randomize Button, Quick Presets and the ability to create Custom Presets, Cropping with the ability to specify aspect ratio, Quick Preview, Email, Print, and the ability to post directly to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr. We also have an online art gallery and invite our user’s to display their artistic creations on it: http://www.flickr.com/groups/jixipixcreations/


 *************** 

“JixiPix turns any photo into a masterpiece. All that is required of you is the appreciation — we’ll take care of the rest! ”

JixiPix.com “Creative Tools for Creative People”
 Photography | Artistic | Graphic Apps
 MAC • iPad • iPhone

About

Mextures Photo Editor

Apply dust, film grain, textures, light leaks, and gradients to your photos quickly. Its non-destructive workflow allows for unlimited layers and adjustments at any time. Save and share your unique editing styles with others.

Highlights
  • Apply dust and film grain
  • Add textures and light leaks
  • Non-destructive editing workflow
  • Unlimited layers for blending
  • Save and share custom formulas
  • Professional photo adjustment tools
Features
Read full description

AppStore App of the year winner. Featured by Cosmopolitan Magazine, Men's Journal, Mashable, CNET, Uncrate, Cult of Mac, Fstoppers, AppAdvice, and more. Mextures is the best app for applying dust and film grain, textures, light leaks and beautiful gradients to your images in seconds. No app is faster. And with our non-destructive workflow, you can make changes to your layers at any time during your editing process. Fine-tune your edits with photo adjustments and then save and share your edit for future use. Included are over 200 beautiful formulas for 1-click editing created by some of the top iPhone photographers in the world. - OVER 150 TEXTURES - You'll find analog light leaks, dusty film scans, tasteful grunge, artifacts, element textures, and perfectly tuned gradients. Effect too strong? Easily adjust the opacity. With 12 different blending modes, every new layer adds a dynamic range of possibilities. - EDITING TOOLS: PERFECTED - Overcomplicated adjustments are for the birds. Adjust your photos with professional-grade tools like Exposure, Contrast, Tint, White Balance, Fade, Black and White, Highlights/Shadows, Sharpness, and Saturation. Included are 30 film presets that emulate popular film stocks. - CREATE & SHARE - Unlike any other app, you can save your edits for future use with our Formula workflow. Save and share as many formulas as you’d like and evolve a style that’s completely yours. And new in Mextures 2.0, our formula manager allows you to import formulas from other users. With a tap of a button, you can also share your formulas with a simple code on any social network. - INFINITE LAYERS - Stack a virtually unlimited number of layers for beautiful blending effects. You can change any edit you do at any time. Change the texture, blend mode, or rotation of a layer even if you added it 30 steps ago. Tweak each adjustment setting anytime during your editing process. Tag your images in with #Mextures on Instagram. mextures.com instagram.com/mextures

Screenshots

Dramatic Black & White4 screens
Mextures Photo Editor4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Dramatic Black & White at 4.8 against Mextures Photo Editor's 3.3. Dramatic Black & White also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 7) and review sentiment (84% vs 57%). Mextures Photo Editor's advantage is chart position (#91 vs unranked) and price ($1.99 vs $2.99). On ratings volume, update cadence, 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

Dramatic Black & White costs $2.99 and Mextures Photo Editor $1.99 up front. Mextures Photo Editor sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Dramatic Black & White asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Dramatic Black & White holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 346 and 264 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 84% of Dramatic Black & White's written reviews are positive against 57% of Mextures Photo Editor's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dramatic Black & White ships an update every 4 months, Mextures Photo Editor every 3 months. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Dramatic Black & White versus Mextures Photo Editor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDramatic Black & WhiteMextures Photo Editor
Price$2.99$1.99 — better
Rating4.8 (346 ratings) — better3.3 (264 ratings)
Positive reviews84.3% of reviews — better56.6% of reviews
Number of ratings346 — better264
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank—#91 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB157 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJixiPix, LLCMEREK DAVIS COM, LLC

Customer experience

Dramatic Black & White

All ratings345 ratings
Positive95.9%
Neutral1.7%
Negative2.3%
Written reviews319 reviews
Positive84.3%
Neutral5.6%
Negative10.0%

Mextures Photo Editor

All ratings262 ratings
Positive53.4%
Neutral8.8%
Negative37.8%
Written reviews392 reviews
Positive56.6%
Neutral10.5%
Negative32.9%

User reviews

Dramatic Black & White

From 346 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great for B&W photography
  • 🎨 Lots of editing options
  • 💻 Works well on desktop
  • 🤩 Fantastic results
  • 🙌 Easy to use

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes frequently
  • 🔍 Clunky UI/UX
  • 🔍 Annoying pop-ups
  • 🔍 Slow saving process
  • 🔍 Limited features

Mextures Photo Editor

From 264 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Powerful editing capabilities
  • 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
  • 💡 Ability to create and save custom formulas
  • 👍 Wide range of textures and filters
  • 👍 Seamless integration with Instagram

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
  • 🐛 Slow performance, especially with large photo libraries
  • 🐛 Inability to edit in landscape mode
  • 🐛 Difficulty restoring purchased content
  • 🐛 Lack of customer support responsiveness

Bugs and requests

Dramatic Black & White

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Freezing on login screen
  • Incompatibility with newer devices
  • Inability to access camera

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to adjust individual color channels
  • Layers and masking tools
  • Remembering custom settings
  • Improved performance and stability

Mextures Photo Editor

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes when trying to save edited photos
  • Inability to access photo library on newer devices
  • Inconsistent performance across different iOS versions
  • Purchased content failing to download properly

Requested features

5 requests
  • Masking tool to selectively apply effects
  • Batch editing and exporting capabilities
  • Landscape mode support
  • Cloud-based syncing of custom formulas
  • More frequent content updates

In-app purchases

None

Dramatic Black & White

No in-app purchases

7 purchases

Mextures Photo Editor

One-time7
  • X-Film BundleFree
  • Outfitter Formula PackFree
  • Atmospheric Bundle$0.99
Show 4 more
  • Intensity Bundle$0.99
  • Dust and Dirt$0.99
  • Light Leaks 4$0.99
  • Anomaly Bundle$1.99

Questions

Is Dramatic Black & White free?
Dramatic Black & White costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Mextures Photo Editor free?
Mextures Photo Editor costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Dramatic Black & White or Mextures Photo Editor?
Dramatic Black & White is rated higher. Dramatic Black & White averages 4.8 out of 5 from 346 ratings, while Mextures Photo Editor averages 3.3 from 264 ratings.
Do Dramatic Black & White or Mextures Photo Editor have ads?
Neither Dramatic Black & White nor Mextures Photo Editor shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Dramatic Black & White or Mextures Photo Editor?
Dramatic Black & White ships an update every 4 months, and Mextures Photo Editor every 3 months. Most recently, Dramatic Black & White was updated on November 6, 2026 and Mextures Photo Editor on November 6, 2026.

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