Painting Recognition vs ShellRef
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Painting Recognition
Instantly identify any painting by pointing your camera at it. Learn about the artist, historical context, and symbolism. Explore art history through bite-sized lessons and test your knowledge with quizzes. Save your art discoveries to a personal collection.
- Scan any painting with your camera
- Identify artist, technique, and context
- Learn art history through 13 lessons
- Discover random masterpieces
- Ask follow-up questions about art
- Save scanned paintings to personal collection
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I've always loved walking through museums, but I often felt like I was missing the story behind each painting. That's why I built ArtScan, so anyone can understand and talk about art with confidence. SCAN ANY PAINTING Point your camera at any artwork -in a museum, in a book, or online- and instantly learn the artist, technique, historical context, and hidden symbolism behind it. LEARN ART HISTORY Explore 13 bite-sized lessons covering every major movement from Renaissance to Pop Art. Each lesson includes key artists, iconic paintings, and a quiz to test your knowledge. Available in 12 languages. DISCOVERY MODE Not sure what to explore? Tap to discover a randomly selected masterpiece. You never know what painting will inspire you next. ASK ANYTHING Go deeper with any artwork. Ask follow-up questions about technique, symbolism, or the artist's life, like having a personal art historian in your pocket. YOUR ART JOURNEY Every painting you scan is saved to your personal collection, building a visual diary of your art discoveries over time. From Giotto to Banksy, ArtScan brings the story behind every canvas to your fingertips. PS: If you find Vincent van Gogh's painting in the description, you know this app is for you ;) Note: 1 free scan included. Unlimited access available with in-app purchase. Privacy Policy: https://lienmuguercia.com/PaintingScanner/legal.html Terms and Conditions: https://lienmuguercia.com/PaintingScanner/terms.html
ShellRef
This app provides an offline reference for Bash, Zsh, and terminal editors, mimicking a retro technical manual. It's ideal for quickly looking up commands, syntax, and scripting practices without needing an internet connection. Features include search, bookmarks, and customizable display themes.
- Offline Bash and Zsh reference
- Terminal editor guides (Nano, Vim, Emacs)
- Quick command lookup
- Searchable content
- Customizable themes
- Adjustable text size
- Bookmarks
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ShellRef is an offline reference for Bash, Zsh, and terminal editors, presented as a focused CRT console reference manual. It’s designed for quick lookup while you work—whether you’re writing your first shell script, checking quoting rules, reviewing Zsh behavior, or trying to remember a Vim command without opening a browser. The app includes reference sections for: • Bash fundamentals, control flow, functions, strings and arrays, file I/O, processes, and scripting practices • Zsh differences, globbing, arrays, and configuration • Common command-line tools for text processing, file operations, and system tasks • Terminal editors including Nano, Vim, and Emacs Topics are organized as short reference entries with examples, notes, warnings, and tables where they help clarify syntax and behavior. ShellRef also includes: • Offline access to the full reference library • Search across commands, topics, examples, and notes • My Quick Refs for saving frequently used entries • A CRT-inspired interface with White, Green, and Amber phosphor display modes • Optional scanlines and adjustable display glow • Reduced-effects controls for a cleaner reading experience • Adjustable text size for easier reading on iPhone and iPad ShellRef is intended for developers, sysadmins, students, and anyone who wants a readable shell reference without ads, accounts, or an internet connection.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Painting Recognition at Free against ShellRef's $0.99. Painting Recognition also leads on ratings volume (70 vs 1) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 3 weeks). ShellRef's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 3.6) and in-app purchases (none vs 6). On ads, 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
Painting Recognition is free to download; ShellRef costs $0.99 up front. Painting Recognition sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per 7 days. ShellRef asks for nothing beyond the download.
ShellRef holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Painting Recognition has 70 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Painting Recognition ships an update every 10 days, ShellRef every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 19, 2026.
| Parameter | Painting Recognition | ShellRef |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $0.99 |
| Rating | 3.6 (70 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 34.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 70 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 22 MB | 19 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Hanva,LLC | Andrew Bacon |
Customer experience
Painting Recognition
ShellRef
In-app purchases
Painting Recognition
- Weekly Plan$8.997 Days
- Weekly Plan$9.997 Days
- Annual Plan2 variants$29.991 Year
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- Annual Plan1 Year trial$29.991 Year
- Lifetime Access$9.99
ShellRef
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Painting Recognition free?
Is ShellRef free?
Which has better reviews, Painting Recognition or ShellRef?
Do Painting Recognition or ShellRef have ads?
Which is updated more often, Painting Recognition or ShellRef?
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