KaleidoPaint vs String Art Designer
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.
String Art Designer
Create intricate string art designs with various string types and modes. Transform photos into unique string art pieces. Offers in-app purchases for expanded features and unlimited string options.
- Math-String mode
- Cyclic string type
- Step string type
- Custom string type
- Portrait mode for photo art
- In-app purchases for advanced features
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String Art Designer makes possible to design string art with using various strings. Math-String mode Availabe string types: - cyclic string string will be hooked on pins with a specified cycle - verious step string string will be hooked on start/end pin which are moved by specified rule - custom string string will be hooked on specified pins Portrait mode make string art from photo In-App Purchase: - unlimited number strings for math-string mode - make string art from your photo (from Photo library) Note: A photo editing app would help to get better Portrait String Art
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: KaleidoPaint at 81% against String Art Designer's 0%. KaleidoPaint also leads on rating (4.6 vs 3.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). String Art Designer's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 5 months). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. String Art Designer sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. KaleidoPaint asks for nothing beyond the download.
KaleidoPaint holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: KaleidoPaint has 76 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 81% of KaleidoPaint's written reviews are positive against 0% of String Art Designer's.
KaleidoPaint ships an update every 5 months, String Art Designer every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on August 17, 2026 and September 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | KaleidoPaint | String Art Designer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (76 ratings) — better | 3.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 80.9% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 76 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| 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 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jeff Weeks | Tomoaki Yagishita |
Customer experience
KaleidoPaint
String Art Designer
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
String Art Designer
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
KaleidoPaint
No in-app purchases
String Art Designer
- Unlimited String$5.99
- PortraitArt$19.99
Questions
Is KaleidoPaint free?
Is String Art Designer free?
Which has better reviews, KaleidoPaint or String Art Designer?
Do KaleidoPaint or String Art Designer have ads?
Which is updated more often, KaleidoPaint or String Art Designer?
Other comparisons
