Comparison

Kaleido vs ImgRef

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

Head to head
About

Kaleido

Create stunning symmetrical art with every brushstroke. This app offers a unique and relaxing way to generate beautiful designs, perfect for stress relief and creative expression.

Highlights
  • Symmetrical brush strokes
  • Artistic design generation
  • Stress relief tool
  • Creative expression
  • Intuitive interface
Features
Read full description

Symmetrical brush, every stroke is a piece of art.

About

ImgRef

This app is an all-in-one creative tool for mood boards, reference images, and collaging. It offers smart asset management, precise color picking, and free-form layout capabilities across multiple devices. Designed for various creative professionals, it streamlines workflows with advanced editing and import/export features.

Highlights
  • Unlimited canvas with smart caching
  • Multi-select batch processing
  • Professional workflow with keyboard shortcuts
  • Image editing and adjustments
  • Dynamic color picker
  • Cross-platform support (iOS/macOS)
  • Video frame extraction
  • GIF decomposition
Features
Read full description

「App Store Editor's Choice」 「98% 5-Star Ratings」 「Cross-Platform for iPhone/iPad/MacOS」 Redefine your creative workflow - an all-in-one tool combining mood boards, reference images, smart asset management, precise color picking, and free-form collaging across devices. Designed for UI/brand/illustration/photography/architecture/video storyboard and other creative scenarios, this is your professional reference image and inspiration board on iPhone / iPad / macOS. Core Features: 1. Unlimited Canvas: Smart caching and image management for large long-term libraries and smooth browsing. 2. Multi-Select Batch Processing: Select multiple images for adaptive scaling, smart layout, uniform size, copy, and alignment. 3. Professional Workflow: Full keyboard shortcuts (Mac / iPad keyboard) for faster frequent actions. 4. Image Editing: Rotate, crop, desaturate, flip, adjust opacity, layers, scale, and more. 5. Dynamic Eyedropper: Pick any canvas color in real time and get common color codes. 6. Video Processing: MP4 playback and 4K still extraction for faster storyboards, covers, and video references. 7. Stylized Text: Built-in fonts and styles make notes, titles, and labels clearer on the canvas. 8. Magnetic Guides: Alignment hints and smart snapping for precise layouts. 9. GIF Decomposition: Break animations into frames for clearer detail references. 10. Import & Backup: Clipboard, photos, folders, drag & drop, export, full backup. 11. Web Drag & Drop: Drag images from Pinterest / ArtStation / Midjourney / Pixiv / Instagram and more. 12. Multiple Modes: View, lock, and edit modes keep browsing and editing separate. 13. Brush Tools: Annotate and highlight key areas for more intuitive communication. 14. File Management: Grid/list views with multiple sorting options. 15. Canvas Zoom: Smooth zoom and pan for comfortable detail viewing. Enhanced Features: 1. Image/GIF/Video Notes: Add notes to capture ideas and key points. 2. Preview Mode: Switch to a clean preview for focused viewing and presentations. 3. Advanced Crop: Fit different aspect ratios and compositions faster for cleaner output. 4. Image Blur: Blur images for privacy protection and richer visual layering. 5. High-Resolution Scene Export (PNG): Export full scenes as HD PNG for sharing and delivery. 6. File Favorites: Save frequent files for quick access to key references. 7. Category Tags: Tag files by use, project, or status for faster filtering. 8. Dotted Background: Toggle a dotted background for clearer edge contrast. 9. Canvas Grayscale: Focus on tone and composition with grayscale view. 10. Image Color Analysis: Extract dominant colors to understand palette relationships. 11. Layer Panel: Preview names, reorder, and quick select for efficient layer management. 12. Scheduled Playback: Timed switching, playback controls, and countdown. 13. Layer Search: Filter by type and keyword to quickly locate target content among many layers. 14. Brush Presets: Switch stroke width, color, and opacity for annotation, highlighting, and sketching. 15. Canvas RGB Single-Channel Preview: View R/G/B channels separately to analyze color distribution, tone, and detail. 16. Link Cards: Turn webpages into cover cards pinned on the canvas; one tap to open 17. Image OCR: One tap reads the text in an image and creates text beside it, so titles, copy, and labels can be lifted without retyping. 18. Classify/Find by Color: Basic, nearby, and fine families. Group canvas images by color family, or find from an image’s color family, for clearer palette comparison. You can subscribe to ImgRef Pro. Charged to your iTunes account on confirmation. Auto-renews unless canceled 24+ hours before period end. Manage in iTunes Store. Privacy Policy: https://xunhuaref.cn/index.php/privacypolicy/ Terms of Use: https://xunhuaref.cn/index.php/privacypolicy/eula-en/ Download now and experience the smoothest creative tool in the Apple ecosystem! Thank you for reading. Contact us: Email: imgref@163.com

Screenshots

Kaleido4 screens
ImgRef4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: ImgRef at none against Kaleido's shown. ImgRef also leads on review sentiment (79% vs 50%) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Kaleido sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and ImgRef sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Kaleido ships an update every 8 days, ImgRef every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Kaleido versus ImgRef: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKaleidoImgRef
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.7 (126 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews78.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—126 — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size39 MB76 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer松 陈文荣 李

Customer experience

Kaleido

Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

ImgRef

All ratings126 ratings
Positive91.3%
Neutral0.8%
Negative7.9%
Written reviews71 reviews
Positive78.9%
Neutral4.2%
Negative16.9%

Bugs and requests

Kaleido

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

ImgRef

Reported bugs

1 issue
  • Trouble importing images from other apps

Requested features

3 requests
  • Add cropping functionality
  • Implement doodle/text feature for notes
  • Add GIF frame reading function

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Kaleido

One-time1
  • VIP$3.99
2 purchases

ImgRef

Subscriptions2
  • pro_monthly$0.991 Month
  • ImgRef Annual Subscription$5.991 Year

Questions

Is Kaleido free?
Kaleido is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ImgRef free?
ImgRef is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Kaleido or ImgRef have ads?
Kaleido shows ads; ImgRef does not.
Which is updated more often, Kaleido or ImgRef?
Kaleido ships an update every 8 days, and ImgRef every 2 days. Most recently, Kaleido was updated on October 9, 2026 and ImgRef on October 30, 2026.

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