Comparison

Pastela vs HyperRef

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

Head to head
About

Pastela

This app offers a seamless drawing and illustration experience with a spacious canvas and a variety of brushes. It features cloud-based autosave, iPad-specific customization, and integration with pixiv for easy sharing. Enhance your creative process with powerful tools and flexible options.

Highlights
  • Spacious canvas
  • Variety of brushes
  • Cloud-based autosave
  • iPad customization
  • pixiv integration
  • Layer management
  • Filters
Read full description

− Enhance your drawing experience, day by day.− With a spacious canvas, a variety of brushes, and cloud-based autosave, Pastela has everything you need for a smooth illustration process. Draw freely, anytime, anywhere. ____ Pastela features ■ An experience tailored for iPad users - Screen customization options that suit your dominant hand - Move panels to fit your creative style ■ A wide range of illustration tools - An extensive collection of brushes, including pencils, G pens, round pens, watercolors, sprays, markers, and more - Detailed brush customization options - Bucket tool: fill closed path, lasso fill - Easily set layer names from a list with one tap - Many filters including chromatic aberration and Gaussian blur ■ Cloud storage (*1) - Automatically save your work to the cloud - Restore data to any previous version - 1 GB of cloud storage included * To learn more about Pastela, please check out the official website. ■ pixiv account integration (*2) - Post your work directly to pixiv - With Pastela Plus (*3), you can even update your pixiv posts with new versions of your art. (*1) To use cloud sync, you need to log in with your pixiv account. (*2) To post your work from Pastela to pixiv, you need to log in with your pixiv account. (*3) To learn more about Pastela Plus, please check out the official website.

About

HyperRef

Create and organize your personal art reference library with powerful import and study tools. Analyze images by value, contrast, and color, and track your artistic progress with attached studies. Secure your sensitive collections with biometric protection.

Highlights
  • Web import for bulk image saving
  • Analyze images by value, contrast, color
  • Timed practice and study modes
  • Attach sketches to references
  • Biometric collection protection
  • Smart collections and organization
  • Offline access with iCloud sync
Read full description

HyperRef provides a focused, distraction-free environment with no infinite scrolling or algorithms deciding what you see. Use your own curated reference library to accelerate your drawing and painting study. Features: - Powerful Web Import: Bulk-save multiple images instantly from almost any website or app. Select exactly what you need for fast, organized importing. - Advanced Study Filters: Isolate value, contrast, and color for a deeper understanding of lighting and composition. Essential for serious art study. - Timed Practice Mode: Use customizable, distraction-free slideshows for quick figure drawing or anatomy study sessions. - Study Mode: Attach your own sketches and studies directly to reference images to track your progress over time. - Biometric Protection: Lock sensitive collections with Face ID or Touch ID for maximum privacy. - Smart Collections: Organize thousands of visual references with a gorgeous, efficient layout. - Offline First with iCloud Sync: Access your entire visual library instantly, anywhere on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Whether you're studying anatomy, lighting, composition, or preparing a detailed mood board, HyperRef keeps your visual library organized, secure, and always accessible. Start your reference library with 5 collections and 50 images free. Unlock unlimited storage and all Pro features with a single, one-time upgrade. No subscriptions, ever.

Screenshots

HyperRef4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: HyperRef at none against Pastela's shown. HyperRef also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 87%) and device support (3 vs 1). Pastela's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (98 vs 3). On price, rating, 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. Pastela sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and HyperRef sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Pastela against 4.7 for HyperRef. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pastela has 98 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 87% of Pastela's written reviews are positive against 100% of HyperRef's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pastela ships an update every 2 weeks, HyperRef every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on August 23, 2026 and June 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Pastela versus HyperRef: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPastelaHyperRef
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (98 ratings)4.7 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews86.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings98 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size209 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerpixiv Inc.Seth Kenneth Berggren

Customer experience

Pastela

All ratings98 ratings
Positive92.9%
Neutral4.1%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews174 reviews
Positive86.8%
Neutral9.8%
Negative3.4%

HyperRef

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Pastela

Subscriptions4
  • Light plan$3.991 Month
  • Standard plan$7.991 Month
  • Advanced plan$15.991 Month
Show 1 more
  • Deluxe plan$23.991 Month
1 purchases

HyperRef

One-time1
  • HyperRef Pro$4.99

Questions

Is Pastela free?
Pastela is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is HyperRef free?
HyperRef is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pastela or HyperRef?
HyperRef is rated higher. Pastela averages 4.6 out of 5 from 98 ratings, while HyperRef averages 4.7 from 3 ratings.
Do Pastela or HyperRef have ads?
Pastela shows ads; HyperRef does not.
Which is updated more often, Pastela or HyperRef?
Pastela ships an update every 2 weeks, and HyperRef every 2 months. Most recently, Pastela was updated on August 23, 2026 and HyperRef on June 9, 2026.

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