Heads Up! vs PictureIt
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Heads Up!
This is a charades-style party game where players guess words displayed on a phone held to their forehead, with friends shouting clues. It offers a wide variety of themed decks and the ability to create custom categories for endless entertainment.
- Word guessing with friends
- Themed card decks
- Custom category creation
- Tilt controls for guessing
- Record gameplay videos
- Play via Facetime
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It's the game The New York Times called a "Sensation!" and Cosmopolitan raved “Your existence is dull and meaningless without this life-changing app!” Get ready for endless fun with Heads Up!, the exhilarating charades-style party game that's taking the world by storm. Guess the words on the screen as your friends and family shout out clues. With diverse categories ranging from Celebrities to Movies and Hilarious Accents, Heads Up! guarantees hours of laughter for everyone involved. How to Play: 1. Select from over 100 themed decks or create your own custom category! 2. Hold the phone to your forehead and let the word guessing commence! 3. Tilt down for correct answers and up to pass on challenging words. 4. Keep the fun rolling with an extensive library of engaging trivia cards! Decks You’ll Get: - Celebrity Quiz - Blockbuster Movies - Animals - Accents - Superheroes - Famous Characters - And lots more! Features: - Enjoy group play with friends, team, or even hundreds of players simultaneously. - Draw new word cards with a simple tilt of your phone. - Keep priceless memories by recording gameplay videos to keep for yourself or share on social media - Entertain everyone from trivia buffs to casual players with various difficulty levels. - Updated frequently with seasonal and topical fun, plus huge brands like Harry Potter, Marvel, Seinfeld, Friends, Star Wars, and much more! Heads Up! is the ultimate party game that combines the best elements of charades, trivia, and light-hearted team competition. Whether you're looking to liven up a family gathering or a game night with friends, this app is your ticket to endless fun. It's your super-affordable way to bring joy and laughter to any occasion. Download Heads Up! now and let the unforgettable guessing games begin!
PictureIt
Engage in a fun, live drawing and guessing game with friends and family. Choose from pre-set categories or create your own for a personalized Pictionary experience. Instantly invite loved ones to join the creative fun.
- Live drawing sessions
- Variety of categories
- Custom category creation
- Instant friend invites
- Multiplayer gameplay
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Show off your artistic or not-so-artistic side by inviting your friends and family for a live game with this modern take on Pictionary. Key features include: • Play a live session • Choose from a variety of categories • Create your own categories • Instantly invite friends and family to a game Images designed by Freepik.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: PictureIt at Free against Heads Up!'s $1.99. PictureIt also leads on review sentiment (44% vs 33%). Heads Up!'s advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (300K vs 394). On update cadence, in-app purchases, monetization model 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
PictureIt is free to download; Heads Up! costs $1.99 up front. Heads Up! sells 11 one-off in-app purchases and PictureIt sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Heads Up! holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Heads Up! has 300K ratings behind it against 394, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 33% of Heads Up!'s written reviews are positive against 44% of PictureIt's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Heads Up! ships an update weekly, PictureIt every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Heads Up! | PictureIt |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (300K ratings) — better | 4.5 (394 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 32.8% of reviews | 44.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 300K — better | 394 |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #1 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 204 MB | 49 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Warner Bros. | Harold Lomotey |
Customer experience
Heads Up!
PictureIt
User reviews
Heads Up!
From 300K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🤩 Fun and engaging game
- 🎉 Great for parties and gatherings
- 👍 Fantastic family-friendly entertainment
- 💯 Highly recommended by users
Room to improve
- 💰 Expensive in-app purchases
- 🔁 Repetitive content and card decks
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and technical issues
- 🤔 Lack of customization options
PictureIt
From 394 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Fun with friends/family
- 💡 Customizable categories
- 👍 Easy to use
- 💡 Option to skip words
- 💡 Option to extend time limit
Room to improve
- 🐛 Very laggy
- 🐛 Frequent ads
- 🐛 App freezes/crashes
- 🐛 Broken paid features
- 🐛 Distorted drawings on different devices
Bugs and requests
Heads Up!
Reported bugs
3 issues- Purchased decks disappearing or not restoring
- Freezing and crashing on certain devices
- Inaccurate voice recognition and gesture detection
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to adjust game timer length
- More free content and decks
- Improved deck management and organization
- Better customer support and communication
PictureIt
Reported bugs
18 issues- Laggy performance
- App stays on white screen
- App crashes/freezes
- Paid features not working (categories)
- Distorted drawings on different devices
Show 13 moreShow fewer
- Long wait times for players to join
- Unclear instructions and game flow
- Unable to start games
- Repeated charges for categories
- Punctuation not registered
- Words with apostrophes not registered
- Unlimited skipping of words by some players
- Longer words cut off by UI elements
- Loading loop after creating a category
- Categories not saving
- Game ends too quickly
- Issues inviting users
- Pushed out of drawing role
Requested features
16 requests- Option to remove ads
- Option to play with random people
- One-on-one matches without simultaneous online presence
- Ability to mix all categories
- Option to change time limit
Show 11 moreShow fewer
- Young children's category or skip word option
- Option to turn off time limit
- Ad-free option (paid)
- Fix for punctuation not registering
- Fix for words with apostrophes
- Fix for distorted drawings on different devices
- Fix for unlimited skipping of words
- Fix for longer words being cut off
- Fix for loading loop after creating category
- Fix for not saving categories
- Fix for repeated charges for categories
In-app purchases
Heads Up!
- Just For KidsFree
- The Ellen ShowFree
- Mix It UpFree
Show 8 moreShow fewer
- Branded$1.99
- That's So 90s$1.99
- Food Fight$1.99
- Super Heroes$1.99
- Adult Supervision$1.99
- Adult Supervision 2: Even Adultier$1.99
- Happy Holidays$1.99
- Adults Only! Bundle$7.99
PictureIt
- Create Category$4.99
Questions
Is Heads Up! free?
Is PictureIt free?
Which has better reviews, Heads Up! or PictureIt?
Do Heads Up! or PictureIt have ads?
Which is updated more often, Heads Up! or PictureIt?
Other comparisons
