Comparison

PSRayTracing vs Shader Playground

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

Head to head
About

PSRayTracing

This application provides a graphical interface for a ray tracing engine, designed to render images faster than reference code. It includes features like threading and render progress visualization, based on "Ray Tracing in One Weekend" books.

Highlights
  • GUI frontend for ray tracing
  • Faster rendering than reference code
  • Threading support
  • Render progress visualization
  • Toggle-able features
  • Based on "Ray Tracing in One Weekend"
Features
Read full description

This is a GUI frontend for the PSRayTracing implementation of the "Ray Tracing in One Weekend" books by Peter Shirley (and others). Which renders the images in the book faster than the reference code, but also offers other features (e.g. threading, render progress, toggle-able and more). The source code for this program, as well as a report auditing all of the changes/improvements, is freely available at: https://github.com/define-private-public/PSRayTracing

About

Shader Playground

Features
Read full description

Shader Playground is a powerful real-time shader editor built for iPhone and iPad. Write Metal fragment shaders, see results instantly at 60 FPS, and export your creations as images or videos. REAL-TIME PREVIEW Write code and watch your shader come alive instantly. The live preview renders at 60 FPS with full support for standard uniforms: iTime, iResolution, iMouse, and iFrame. SHADER EDITOR WITH SYNTAX HIGHLIGHTING A dedicated code editor with Metal Shading Language syntax highlighting, monospace font, and smart keyboard tools — designed for comfortable coding on mobile. BUILT-IN SHADER LIBRARY Get started immediately with 10 ready-to-use shaders including plasma, Mandelbrot fractals, raymarched 3D scenes, Voronoi patterns, ocean waves, and more. Learn by exploring and modifying working examples. MULTI-PASS RENDERING Build complex effects with up to four buffer passes. Chain textures between passes to create feedback loops, blur effects, and advanced post-processing pipelines. TOUCH INPUT Map touch and drag gestures directly to shader uniforms. Create interactive visual experiences that respond to your fingertips. SAVE & LOAD PROJECTS Save your shaders locally and pick up where you left off. Build your personal library of custom effects. EXPORT Capture the perfect frame as a PNG image or render smooth MP4 videos at custom resolution, duration, and frame rate. Save directly to your Camera Roll or share anywhere. Whether you're a graphics programmer, creative coder, student learning GPU programming, or a visual artist exploring generative art — Shader Playground gives you a complete Metal shader development environment in your pocket. Thanks for your support and do visit nitrio.com for more apps for your iOS devices.

Screenshots

PSRayTracing4 screens
Shader Playground4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: PSRayTracing at Free against Shader Playground's $2.99. Shader Playground's advantage is chart position (#23 vs unranked). On ads, in-app purchases, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

PSRayTracing is free to download; Shader Playground costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
PSRayTracing versus Shader Playground: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPSRayTracingShader Playground
PriceFree — better$2.99
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 30 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
Best chart rank—#23 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBenjamin SummertonHeng Jia Liang

In-app purchases

None

PSRayTracing

No in-app purchases

None

Shader Playground

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PSRayTracing free?
PSRayTracing is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Shader Playground free?
Shader Playground costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do PSRayTracing or Shader Playground have ads?
Neither PSRayTracing nor Shader Playground shows ads.

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