# HuePaint vs FocalPaint

The clearest difference is price: HuePaint at Free against FocalPaint's $4.99. HuePaint also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.2) and ratings volume (164 vs 13). FocalPaint's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 6) and review sentiment (79% vs 69%). On update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

HuePaint is free to download; FocalPaint costs $4.99 up front. HuePaint sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. FocalPaint asks for nothing beyond the download.

HuePaint holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HuePaint has 164 ratings behind it against 13, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 69% of HuePaint's written reviews are positive against 79% of FocalPaint's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

HuePaint ships an update every 2 months, FocalPaint monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | HuePaint | FocalPaint |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $4.99 |
| Rating | **[4.7 (164 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/huepaint/id504653909/reviews)** | [4.2 (13 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/focalpaint/id1532688085/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **164** | 13 |
| Positive reviews | 69.4% of reviews | **78.6% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | **Free with in-app purchases** | Paid |
| Size | 23 MB | 557 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 18.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | +4 |
| Developer | [Norbyte](https://appshunter.io/developer/331310753) | [brien dieterle](https://appshunter.io/developer/1532688087) |

## What reviewers say

### HuePaint

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/huepaint/id504653909)

Create digital art with realistic brushes and dynamic stroke sizes based on fingertip pressure. Offers a user-friendly interface with customizable tools and supports advanced features like layers and photo tracing.

**Highlights:** Live-calculated brushes and strokes, Dynamic stroke size based on fingertip pressure, Adjustable parameters while painting, Left-handed toolbar option, Multiple layers, Photo tracing mode (Pro feature)

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Tip Jar: Smallest Tip | $1.00 | one-time |
| Tip Jar: Small Tip | $2.00 | one-time |
| Tip Jar: Medium Tip | $5.00 | one-time |
| Pro Upgrade | $6.00 | one-time |
| Tip Jar: Big Tip | $10.00 | one-time |
| Tip Jar: Biggest Tip | $25.00 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- ✨ Magical for digital artists
- 🎨 Feels like an artist
- 🎨 Very unique art tool
- 🎨 Great for blending and watercolor
- 🎨 User-friendly and simple layout

**What reviewers complain about**

- 👎 Lacks realistic paint mixing
- 👎 Tool sizing interface needs improvement
- 👎 Layering feature needs work
- 👎 Colors change while drawing
- 👎 Not like real paint

**Reported bugs**

- App gets rid of work
- Colors keep changing
- Inability to save
- Disappearing menu
- Low-resolution output

**Requested features**

- Improve tool sizing interface
- Improve layering feature
- Add ability to change background design
- Add vector graphics and text
- Add predefined shapes and straight lines


### FocalPaint

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/focalpaint/id1532688085)

This app offers a unique brush engine for realistic paint simulation, pigment mixing, and canvas textures. It allows for custom brush and layer creation using Metal GPU or Javascript code, with advanced features like spectral color models and Apple Pencil Pro support.

**Highlights:** Realistic paint and pigment mixing, Custom brush and layer creation, Transparent ink simulation, Apple Pencil Pro support, Spectral color model, Open source shader code library

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is HuePaint free?

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

### Is FocalPaint free?

FocalPaint costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, HuePaint or FocalPaint?

HuePaint is rated higher. HuePaint averages 4.7 out of 5 from 164 ratings, while FocalPaint averages 4.2 from 13 ratings.

### Do HuePaint or FocalPaint have ads?

Neither HuePaint nor FocalPaint shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, HuePaint or FocalPaint?

HuePaint ships an update every 2 months, and FocalPaint monthly. Most recently, HuePaint was updated on November 6, 2026 and FocalPaint on November 7, 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.*