KaleidoPaint vs Spirograph Maker
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
KaleidoPaint
Create intricate, repeating designs by mirroring your brushstrokes in real-time. Offers extensive editing tools for precise control over every element of your artwork. Export your creations as tileable images or standard graphics.
- Real-time mirrored brushstrokes
- 17 symmetry patterns
- Vector graphics editing
- Curve smoothing and area fill
- Undo/Redo functionality
- Export tileable rectangles
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As you draw, KaleidoPaint mirrors your brushstrokes to create a beautiful infinitely repeating design. Image Gallery: http://www.geometrygames.org/KaleidoPaint/Gallery Features: - vector graphics - 17 symmetry patterns - scroll, rotate, zoom - curve smoothing - area fill - Edit Mode: reshape and recolor any dot, line or area - unlimited Undo/Redo - export your favorite paintings - export tileable rectangles Screenshots by Amber van Hoek.
Spirograph Maker
Easily create intricate spirograph patterns by adjusting gear size and pen color. Explore a variety of designs with this intuitive drawing application.
- Easy spirograph creation
- Adjustable gear size
- Customizable pen color
- Draw various figures
- Intuitive interface
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Create mesmerizing geometric art with a single tap. Released in 2017 with over 110,000 downloads — a math-meets-art tool refined over 9 years. Spirograph Maker turns the timeless mechanical drawing toy into a digital playground for your iPhone and iPad. Choose your gears, pick your colors, and watch hypnotic patterns bloom across the screen — no drawing skill required. WHERE MATH MEETS ART The patterns Spirograph creates aren't accidents — they're governed by GCD/LCM and parametric equations. Watch how the lobe count is determined by n/gcd(n,m), see hypotrochoids and epitrochoids come alive on your screen. A visual companion for middle-school number theory and high-school parametric curves. Whether you're a curious learner, a math enthusiast, or just love beautiful patterns, this is where math becomes mesmerizing. In 2022, this app was acknowledged in an academic paper on algebraic combinatorics — the smoothness criteria for Positroid varieties (Billey & Weaver, arXiv:2207.06508). From a child's toy to cutting-edge mathematical research — that's how deep these patterns go. FOUR GEAR SHAPES Not just circles. Draw with ellipse, rounded triangle (a curve of constant width), and teardrop gears too. Change the gear's shape and the symmetry of the pattern changes with it: circles stay regular, ellipses stretch, triangles beat in threes, teardrops curve organically. A strength slider tunes each shape continuously — from nearly circular to sharply pointed. KEY FEATURES - Auto-draw mode: tap once and beautiful patterns appear on their own - Custom color palette with gradient mode for endless combinations - Adjustable gear shapes and sizes: circle / ellipse / rounded triangle / teardrop, plus tooth count - Save your creations directly to your Photo Library - Share to Instagram, Facebook, or anywhere - Full iPad support — a bigger canvas for finer detail - Light and Dark mode WHY SPIROGRAPH MAKER - A meditative break from a busy day — without leaving your phone - A visual bridge between middle-school math and university geometry - Inspired by the classic Spirograph toy, reimagined for modern iOS - Perfect for parents, students, artists, and math enthusiasts - Works offline, anywhere PERFECT FOR - Winding down before bed - Sparking creativity with kids - A short math meditation anytime - Making one-of-a-kind wallpapers - Sharing unique art on Instagram - A short, calm focus break during your day In Japan, downloads notably spike around the start of new school terms and summer breaks — pointing to a growing use as a learning companion. Pull out your phone, tap once, and watch sacred geometry unfold. Whether you're a designer, a doodler, a student, or just love beautiful patterns, Spirograph Maker is the simplest way to make art that mesmerizes. Free to download. Optional ad-free upgrade available.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: KaleidoPaint at none against Spirograph Maker's 1. KaleidoPaint also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (81% vs 53%). Spirograph Maker's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 months). On price, rating, ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. Spirograph Maker sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. KaleidoPaint asks for nothing beyond the download.
KaleidoPaint holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 76 and 88 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 81% of KaleidoPaint's written reviews are positive against 53% of Spirograph Maker's.
KaleidoPaint ships an update every 5 months, Spirograph Maker fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on August 17, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | KaleidoPaint | Spirograph Maker |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (76 ratings) — better | 4.4 (88 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 80.9% of reviews — better | 52.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 76 | 88 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.1 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 25 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jeff Weeks | KYWorks |
Customer experience
KaleidoPaint
Spirograph Maker
Bugs and requests
KaleidoPaint
Reported bugs
10 issues- App opens files app and no files are selectable
- App opens an empty page without any controls
- App immediately opens files without allowing creation
- App doesn't work, opens files app and doesn't allow creation
- Old drawings ruined by updates
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- Fill color not changing with line color
- Color and background tabs no longer work
- Sharing button not working
- Tileable rectangle export not working
- Saving as JPG only
Requested features
28 requests- Ability to break a line from a selected point
- Eraser tool
- Export as SVG option
- More features like different brushes, blending colors, more symmetrical choices, and better stroke control
- Ability to export in a square format
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- Transparent background option
- Export function for tilable squares
- Layers
- RGB color value sliders
- Opacity, blending modes
- Selection tool
- Ability to switch mirroring on and off
- Ability to export layers to Photoshop
- More control over drawing strokes
- Adjustable stroke smoothing
- More precise color selection (e.g., RGB or HLS)
- Ability to change grid line color
- Designs that save evenly in any size for multiple tiling
- Export and import patterns within the app
- Basic block repeat option
- Zoom in color selector
- More patterns to choose from and purchase
- Ability to set custom image size
- Export .png files with a transparent background
- More symmetry options
- Line and shape tools
- Apple Pencil support
- Option to minimize tool windows
Spirograph Maker
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
KaleidoPaint
No in-app purchases
Spirograph Maker
- Remove Ads$3.99
Questions
Is KaleidoPaint free?
Is Spirograph Maker free?
Which has better reviews, KaleidoPaint or Spirograph Maker?
Do KaleidoPaint or Spirograph Maker have ads?
Which is updated more often, KaleidoPaint or Spirograph Maker?
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