Concepts vs ChromaBay
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Concepts
This flexible vector-based sketchbook offers an infinite canvas for ideation and design. Easily sketch, take notes, and create detailed designs with editable strokes and powerful tools. Share your work in various formats for seamless collaboration and professional output.
- Infinite canvas
- Vector-based sketching
- Realistic pens, pencils, and brushes
- Editable vector elements
- Unlimited layers
- Scale and measurement tools
- Object libraries
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Think, plan & create – Concepts is a flexible vector-based sketchbook where you can take your ideas from concept to reality. Concepts reimagines the ideation process – offering a safe and dynamic workspace to iterate and explore your ideas, organize your thoughts, and experiment with designs. With our infinite canvas, you can: • Sketch plans and whiteboard ideas • Make notes, doodles, and mindmaps • Draw storyboards, product sketches and designs Concepts is vector-based, making every stroke editable and scalable. With our Nudge, Slice and Select tools, you can easily change any element of your sketch without redrawing it. Talented creators at Disney, Playstation, Philips, HP, Apple, Google, Unity and Illumination Entertainment use Concepts to develop and realize extraordinary ideas. Join us! Concepts has: • An infinite canvas with optional paper types and grids • Realistic pens, pencils and brushes that flow with pressure, tilt and velocity or create your own • A tool wheel or bar you can personalize • HSL, RGB and COPIC color wheels • Editable vector-based sketching – move, organize and edit the tool, color, size, scale, smoothing, opacity; transform or nudge lines to shape them • Unlimited layers • Scale and measurement tools that calculate real-world dimensions With Concepts, you can: • Drag + drop images + PDF files • Create, store and share vector Object libraries • Export images, vector SVG + PDFs to scale for printing or efficient flow between apps (including Procreate, Sketchbook, AutoCAD and Adobe) • Share directly to email, text, Files, cloud, photos, or your favorite social apps and present with AirPlay or a second screen • Store your work safely in your personal iCloud Drive FREE FEATURES • Infinite canvas • A selection of paper, grid types & tools to get you started • The full COPIC color spectrum, RGB and HSL color wheels • Five layers • Unlimited drawings • JPG exports PAID FEATURES Subscription: • 200+ brush and Object libraries, features, and services • Enjoy Team Sharing for smooth collaboration, including live-sharing of object libraries, color palettes & brushes, with new updates arriving all the time • Unlocks everything across platforms • TRY PREMIUM FREE FOR 7 DAYS One-time-purchases: • Buy the Essentials for life and unlock selection & editing tools, infinite layers, shape guides, custom brushes, custom grids, and exports to PNG / PSD / SVG / DXF. • Pay for advanced features as you need them – object packs & professional brushes are sold separately • Limited to the platform you purchase on Terms & Conditions: • Monthly and yearly subscription payments are charged to your iTunes account at the time of purchase. • Your plan will renew automatically at the end of the billing period unless canceled 24 hours before the billing period ends. • You can cancel or make changes to your subscription at any time in your iTunes Account settings. • Unused portions of any free trial period are forfeited if you make changes to your subscription. We’re dedicated to quality and update frequently based on your feedback. Your experience matters to us. Chat with us in-app via Ask Us Anything, email us at concepts@tophatch.com, or find us anywhere with @ConceptsApp. COPIC is the trademark of Too Corporation. Many thanks to Lasse Pekkala and Osama Elfar for the cover art!
ChromaBay
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ChromaBay turns addressable LED strips into a canvas. Build glowing, animated light with a visual node editor — no code. Chain generators and effects, dial in the look, and watch it render live before it ever reaches your lights. DESIGN • A node-based editor: start from generators (rainbow, plasma, noise, radial, moving blobs, raindrops, fire, gradients, interference, orbiting color "Venn", moving color bands, and a Wave), then stack modifiers (blur, sharpen/edge/emboss convolutions, blend, fade, glitch, hue-rotate, mirror, tile, scroll, posterize, invert, and video-style feedback for trails and tunnels). • Fill any SVG shape and spin, pulse, or drift it. • Automate any control with an LFO, noise, or random — turn a static value into living motion. PERFORM • An Interact screen with big knobs and a color wheel to play your lights live. • Make an automation's speed or range interactive, so you can jam in real time. CONTROL YOUR HARDWARE • Connect over Bluetooth to ESP32-based controllers driving addressable LEDs (WS2812/NeoPixel and friends). • Set brightness and push patterns instantly. • Sync a playlist that auto-cycles patterns in lockstep across multiple devices. • Update device firmware over the air. SHARE • Keep a personal pattern library that syncs to your account. • Share any pattern with a single link — the whole pattern travels in the URL. • Browse a community gallery and adopt others' patterns. You can explore the entire editor and live preview without any hardware — connect a device when you're ready to light up the room.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ChromaBay at none against Concepts's 13. Concepts's advantage is chart position (#186 vs unranked). 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. Concepts sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. ChromaBay asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | Concepts | ChromaBay |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (27K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 77.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 27K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Best chart rank | #186 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 267 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | TopHatch, Inc. | Grant Patterson |
Bugs and requests
Concepts
Reported bugs
4 issues- Memory issues when working with large, complex drawings
- Inconsistent behavior of the eraser tool
- Inaccuracies in the snap-to-grid and measurement tools
- Exporting issues, such as loss of data or poor quality
Requested features
5 requests- Improved text editing and formatting options
- Better color selection and customization tools
- Collaboration and real-time sharing features
- Seamless integration with other design/productivity apps
- Syncing and backup capabilities across devices
ChromaBay
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Concepts
- Everything Monthly$4.991 Month
- Everything Monthly + Trial7 Days trial$4.991 Month
- Everything Yearly$29.991 Year
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- Everything Yearly + Trial7 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Shape Library$1.99
- Pen Brush Pack$1.99
- Body Forms$1.99
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- Make Your Own Objects$3.99
- Essentials (iPhone Only)$4.99
- PDF Essentials$4.99
- Pro Pack [Legacy]$7.99
- 10 Object Packs$14.99
- Essentials$39.99
ChromaBay
No in-app purchases









