KaleidoPaint vs Second Stream
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.
Second Stream
This app consolidates all your subscribed content, including podcasts, YouTube channels, and RSS feeds, into one unified reader. AI-generated summaries help you quickly grasp key information from new episodes and articles, saving you time and reducing distractions.
- AI-generated summaries for podcasts and YouTube
- Unified reader for multiple content sources
- Curated weekly news digests
- Distraction-free reading experience
- Obsidian vault sync for bookmarks and notes
- Background feed refresh
- Shake to mark all as read
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Second Stream brings together everything you follow — podcasts, YouTube channels, RSS feeds, and curated weekly news — in a single, distraction-free reader. KNOW BEFORE YOU LISTEN AI-generated summaries surface the key points from new podcast episodes and YouTube videos the moment they publish. Decide what's worth your full attention before you press play. CURATED WEEKLY COVERAGE Subscribe to topics that matter to you and receive a digest of the week's most relevant articles — no algorithm, no noise, no doom-scrolling. YOUR FEEDS, UNIFIED One clean interface for everything you follow. No switching apps. No missing updates. BUILT FOR PRIVACY Sign in with Apple. Face ID protection. No tracking, no ads. Your subscriptions and reading history stay on your device — always. POWER USER FEATURES - Sync bookmarks and notes to your Obsidian vault - Background refresh keeps your feeds current - Shake to mark all as read Second Stream is completely free.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Second Stream at free against KaleidoPaint's paid. Second Stream also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 5 months) and review sentiment (100% vs 81%). KaleidoPaint's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (17.1 vs 26.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
KaleidoPaint ships an update every 5 months, Second Stream weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | KaleidoPaint | Second Stream |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (76 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 80.9% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 76 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.1 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 12 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jeff Weeks | Nicolas Widynski |
Customer experience
KaleidoPaint
Second Stream
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
Second Stream
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
KaleidoPaint
No in-app purchases
Second Stream
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is KaleidoPaint free?
Is Second Stream free?
Do KaleidoPaint or Second Stream have ads?
Which is updated more often, KaleidoPaint or Second Stream?
Other comparisons
