Comparison

RefCanvas vs HEAVYPAINT

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

RefCanvas

This app helps artists and designers organize visual references for their projects. Import images and GIFs, arrange them on a canvas, add notes, and export your creations.

Highlights
  • Import images and GIFs
  • Add text notes
  • Move, scale, and rotate references
  • Group references with nodes
  • Supports split screen and pop-up view
  • Export boards as SVG or images
Features
Read full description

RefCanvas is an intuitive tool for artists and designers who need a comprehensive reference app to bring their creative vision to life. Key Features: - Import images and gifs. - Notes - Add text notes. - Move, scale and rotate references to create the perfect layout. - Multi selection - edit multiple references at one. - Nodes - Useful for grouping references. - Drag and drop - Drag and drop files from others apps like the gallery. - Paste files from the clipboard. - Supports split screen and pop-up view: Use it as a companion app with your favorite drawing app like Ibis Paint or Infinite Painter. - Save your progress as boards for future use. - Auto set thumbnails for boards after saving. - Eye dropper - Tap and hold to pick a color from your references as a hex code. - Drawing. Animated GIF support: - Reference your favorite animated gifs. - Pause animation and play frame by frame to better understand referenced animations. - Animation timeline gives you an interactive visual breakdown of all the frames. Easy to use reference tools: - Grayscale toggle. - Flip horizontally and vertically. - Add link - allows you to visit the source of your reference. Export: Export boards to share. Export board as SVG. Export Images/Gifs as files. Using RefCanvas to make reference boards & mood boards is easy, simply import your images or gifs, and move them around the canvas to arrange them in the layout that works best for your project. You can adjust their size, rotation and position to your liking, giving you maximum control over your creative process.

About

HEAVYPAINT

This app offers a raw digital painting experience with unique tools for creating textured art and quick studies. It's designed for artists who embrace digital chaos and seek a streamlined, mobile art studio.

Highlights
  • Unique digital brushes
  • Color Jitter for texture
  • Fast color blocking tools
  • Line Blend for gradients
  • Liquify tool
  • Minimalist interface
  • Gallery for creations
Features
Read full description

Raw digital painting with unique brushes & color chaos. The painter's painting app that celebrates digital chaos. HEAVYPAINT is unapologetically digital and a bit unhinged. It’s a celebration of digital impressionism. Whether you're sketching on the train, painting outdoors, or creating quick color studies, this is your pocket art studio. Unique Digital Tools Color Jitter: Unleash beautiful digital chaos and texture Fan Fill and Lasso Fill for fast color blockins, textured foliage, notan, organic shapes. Rake tool for softening up edges in a graphic way Line Blend for instant gradients
Liquify to adjust proportions and shapes Built for Speed & Mobility Perfect pochade box replacement for pleinair painting. Great for quick paintings on public transit, many will finger paint on their phones. Streamlined interface.Focus on pure color and shape without digital clutter. Streamlined Experience Minimalist interface puts painting first Customizable tools that adapt to your style Strong shape design tools for bold, crisp artwork Gallery to review and organize your creations + Plein air painters who want to ditch heavy supplies + Quick color studies and concept sketches + Figure painting and gesture drawing + Artists wanting to rediscover digital painting joy + Anyone seeking a uniquely digital aesthetic HEAVYPAINT balances professional capabilities with unhinged creativity. Embrace procedural randomness / crunchiness / glitchiness that digital enables. Touch grass. Ideal for pleinair painting and quick studies This app is subject to Apple's standard EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

RefCanvas4 screens
HEAVYPAINT4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: HEAVYPAINT at 4.0 against RefCanvas's 2.3. HEAVYPAINT also leads on update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 17 months) and review sentiment (58% vs 43%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. RefCanvas sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and HEAVYPAINT sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

HEAVYPAINT holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 2.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HEAVYPAINT has 65 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 43% of RefCanvas's written reviews are positive against 58% of HEAVYPAINT's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RefCanvas ships an update every 17 months, HEAVYPAINT every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 15, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
RefCanvas versus HEAVYPAINT: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRefCanvasHEAVYPAINT
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.3 (7 ratings)4.0 (65 ratings) — better
Positive reviews42.9% of reviews58.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings765 — better
Update frequencyEvery 17 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size131 MB35 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developeryoucef boukitHEAVYPOLY, Inc.

Customer experience

RefCanvas

All ratings7 ratings
Positive28.6%
Neutral14.3%
Negative57.1%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive42.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative57.1%

HEAVYPAINT

All ratings65 ratings
Positive67.7%
Neutral13.8%
Negative18.5%
Written reviews77 reviews
Positive58.4%
Neutral15.6%
Negative26.0%

Bugs and requests

RefCanvas

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

HEAVYPAINT

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Gallery crashes
  • Artwork files not saving properly
  • Eyedropper tool not working as expected

Requested features

3 requests
  • Improved layer management
  • More customization options
  • Better color controls and eyedropper tool

In-app purchases

2 purchases

RefCanvas

One-time2
  • Pro version$2.99
  • Pro version2 variants$3.99
3 purchases

HEAVYPAINT

Subscriptions2
  • Gallery Sync Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Gallery Sync Yearly$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Unlock Full Version$9.99

Questions

Is RefCanvas free?
RefCanvas is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is HEAVYPAINT free?
HEAVYPAINT is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, RefCanvas or HEAVYPAINT?
HEAVYPAINT is rated higher. RefCanvas averages 2.3 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while HEAVYPAINT averages 4.0 from 65 ratings.
Do RefCanvas or HEAVYPAINT have ads?
Neither RefCanvas nor HEAVYPAINT shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RefCanvas or HEAVYPAINT?
RefCanvas ships an update every 17 months, and HEAVYPAINT every 6 weeks. Most recently, RefCanvas was updated on September 15, 2026 and HEAVYPAINT on September 26, 2026.

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