# Values at Play vs Smarty Paints

The clearest difference is update cadence: Smarty Paints at every 11 days against Values at Play's every 5 months. Smarty Paints also leads on ratings volume (38 vs 5). Values at Play's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 78%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Values at Play sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Smarty Paints sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Values at Play holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Smarty Paints has 38 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Values at Play's written reviews are positive against 78% of Smarty Paints's.

Values at Play ships an update every 5 months, Smarty Paints every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on September 16, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Values at Play | Smarty Paints |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/values-at-play/id6449201350/reviews)** | [4.7 (38 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smarty-paints/id6472111419/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 5 | **38** |
| Positive reviews | **100.0% of reviews** | 77.8% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | **Every 11 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 8 MB | 111 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 15.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Neil Daly](https://appshunter.io/developer/1139826443) | [Neural Appworks LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1671246020) |

## What reviewers say

### Values at Play

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/values-at-play/id6449201350)

This app helps users practice identifying and analyzing values in art. It offers tools to create value studies, inspect specific color values, and find areas matching a chosen value. Users can import their own images for practice.

**Highlights:** Create value studies from images, Import custom images, Inspect Denman Ross and RGB values, Find points matching selected values, Colorized value studies, Full-screen value study viewing

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Values at Play Unlimited | $4.99 | one-time |


### Smarty Paints

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smarty-paints/id6472111419)

This app helps watercolor artists manage their paint collections, find substitute colors, and match tutorial supplies. It simplifies tracking what you own, identifying dupes, and ensuring your paints align with class or tutorial requirements.

**Highlights:** Track watercolor paint collections, Find close-enough paint dupes, Match tutorial supplies to your stash, Compare paint properties across brands, Create digital palette layouts, Searchable paint database

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pro | $12.99 | per year |
| Unlock Premium Features | $39.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Values at Play free?

Values at Play is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Smarty Paints free?

Smarty Paints is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Values at Play or Smarty Paints?

Values at Play is rated higher. Values at Play averages 5.0 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while Smarty Paints averages 4.7 from 38 ratings.

### Do Values at Play or Smarty Paints have ads?

Neither Values at Play nor Smarty Paints shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Values at Play or Smarty Paints?

Values at Play ships an update every 5 months, and Smarty Paints every 11 days. Most recently, Values at Play was updated on September 16, 2026 and Smarty Paints on September 19, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*