Comparison

Graintouch vs Mono Lab

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

Head to head
About

Graintouch

Create digital art with a unique printmaking aesthetic. This app simulates the look and feel of Risograph printing, allowing for layered colors, organic brush strokes, and textured effects. Export your work as clean vector stencils for print.

Highlights
  • Organic vector brush for layered colors
  • Realistic print simulation
  • Minimalist user interface
  • Curated color palette
  • Vector stencil export
Features
Read full description

Graintouch is a drawing app with the soul of print. Inspired by Risograph™ aesthetics, it lets you layer, blend, and create with the warmth of real ink—right on your screen. BOOL BRUSH A bold, organic vector brush that stacks colors like ink on paper. Blend, overlap, knockout and build rich textures with effortless strokes. PRINT SIMULATION See your artwork as if it just rolled off a risograph. Offset imperfections, layered tints, and the charm of real ink—without the mess. MINIMAL UI Nothing in your way, just pure drawing. A clean, focused space where tools feel like an extension of your hand. COLORFUL CONSTRAINTS A playful palette of 18 handpicked inks, straight from the riso universe. Instead of endless choice, you get meaningful constraints that spark creativity—just like mixing real inks on a print run. VECTOR STENCILS Every Layer becomes a crisp, resolution-independent stencil. Your drawings export as clean vector stencils, perfect for scaling, separating by color, and bringing straight to print—no loss, just pure shapes.

About

Mono Lab

Explore creative image manipulation with a focus on black and white effects. This app offers a wide range of tools for distortion, texture, and structural changes, allowing for unique artistic experimentation.

Highlights
  • 129 black and white filters
  • Sensor-based filters controlled by device movement
  • 12 dimensional surfaces and 13 lenses for 3D distortion
  • Interactive filters responding to touch
  • Raster and vector output options
  • Save directly to Files
Features
Read full description

Mono Lab is designed for exploring the unexpected. Experiment with images in black and white. From subtle relief to structural collapse, topology drift, mesh warps, fracture effects, misregistration, and controlled instability, every tool is built for focused experimentation. Responsive. Direct. Tactile. // Interactive Filters (X) Distortion that responds to you. Shift the image through movement and contact. Tilt to bend structure. Rotate to redirect tension. Touch to anchor, drag to stretch, hold to resist. Each gesture leaves a trace. Each motion reshapes the result. // 3D Surface Mode A dimensional approach to distortion. Map images across 12 surfaces and interpret them through 13 lenses. Adjust depth. Refine spatial tension. Each surface behaves differently. Each lens reshapes the outcome. Monochromatic. Structure, tone, dimension, possibility. What You Can Do • 158 filters for black and white distortion • Touch and motion control transformations • 12 surfaces. 13 lenses • Press, drag, and hold to reshape the image like a surface • Refine light, contrast, and structure • Warp topology and form • Collapse, fracture, and distort • Create raster and vector outputs • Build layered misregistrations • Adjust pressure, grain, and tone • Stack transformations • Save your favorite filters to the Index • Save directly to Files Mono Lab is for designers, artists, photographers, illustrators, and visual experimenters working in black and white.

Screenshots

Graintouch4 screens
Mono Lab4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Mono Lab at 5.0 against Graintouch's 3.7. Mono Lab also leads on review sentiment (94% vs 57%) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 months). Graintouch's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). On ratings volume, ads, monetization model and device support 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

Graintouch costs $9.99 and Mono Lab $4.99 up front. Mono Lab sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Graintouch asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Mono Lab holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 24 and 21 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 57% of Graintouch's written reviews are positive against 94% of Mono Lab's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Graintouch ships an update every 3 months, Mono Lab every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Graintouch versus Mono Lab: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGraintouchMono Lab
Price$9.99$4.99 — better
Rating3.7 (24 ratings)5.0 (21 ratings) — better
Positive reviews56.5% of reviews94.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings24 — better21
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#20#3 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size81 MB57 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIORAMA ABInner Circle

Customer experience

Graintouch

All ratings24 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral8.3%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews23 reviews
Positive56.5%
Neutral8.7%
Negative34.8%

Mono Lab

All ratings21 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive94.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.9%

In-app purchases

None

Graintouch

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Mono Lab

One-time4
  • Pheno Set$1.99
  • Print Set$1.99
  • ASCII Set$1.99
Show 1 more
  • Dither Set$1.99

Questions

Is Graintouch free?
Graintouch costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Mono Lab free?
Mono Lab costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Graintouch or Mono Lab?
Mono Lab is rated higher. Graintouch averages 3.7 out of 5 from 24 ratings, while Mono Lab averages 5.0 from 21 ratings.
Do Graintouch or Mono Lab have ads?
Neither Graintouch nor Mono Lab shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Graintouch or Mono Lab?
Graintouch ships an update every 3 months, and Mono Lab every 5 days. Most recently, Graintouch was updated on September 29, 2026 and Mono Lab on September 27, 2026.
Which is more popular, Graintouch or Mono Lab?
Graintouch currently peaks at #20 in the App Store charts, and Mono Lab at #3. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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