Comparison

Planbead vs KandiCon

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

Head to head
About

Planbead

Design and create intricate beaded jewelry with this comprehensive app. It offers free drawing tools, a full Miyuki color palette, and various beading stitch options. Premium features include 3D previews, cloud sync, and PDF export.

Highlights
  • Unlimited free design creation
  • Full Miyuki color palette
  • Manage bead inventory
  • Support for Loom, Peyote, and Brick stitches
  • Dynamic on-screen weaving mode
  • Generate word charts
  • Weekly inspiration patterns
Read full description

Welcome to PlanBead, the ultimate design studio for every beading artist! Design, weave, and create stunning beaded jewelry for free. All Drawing Features are FREE! We believe creativity shouldn't have a price tag. In PlanBead, all essential drawing features are available to everyone, completely free: Unlimited Designs: Create as many patterns as you want in your personal workspace for free. Full Miyuki Color Palette: Design with the industry-standard Miyuki Delica color library. Bead Inventory: Manage your stash of beads within the app, keep track of all your beads Loom, Pyeote & Brick: Easily switch between the most popular beading stitches to perfect your patterns. currently supporting: - Loom Bracelet - Folded Leaf Earring - R-Leaf Earring - Fringe Earring - Triangle Earring - Herringobne Earring, Bracelet - Peyote Earring, Bracelet, Ring - Brick Earring, Bracelet, Ring - more beaded jewelry Revolutionary Weaving Mode: Never print a pattern again! Our dynamic weaving mode is a game-changer. Follow Along On-Screen The app highlights your current row and beads, making it easy to keep your place. Word Chart Included Generate an instant word chart for any design, perfect for complex patterns. Eco-Friendly Beading Keep the environment healthy, one sheet of paper at a time. Ditch the printer and weave directly from your device. Inspiration Delivered Weekly Stay inspired with a constant stream of new ideas! Every week, we release beautiful, professional patterns for both free and premium users. Discover new techniques and challenge your skills. Go Premium for More! Unlock powerful features with a PlanBead subscription (auto-renewing): - Unlimited 3D previews: 1-click to convert your 2D pattern to a 3D realistic preview of you beaded jewelry - Cloud Sync: Never lose your patterns again, automatically back up and sync your entire design library across all your devices - Ad-Free Experience: Enjoy a focused, uninterrupted creative workflow - Premium Patterns: Made by professional beading artists - Image Tracing: Convert an image to a beading pattern - PDF Export: Export your patterns as a printable PDF with step by step tutorial Privacy Policy: https://www.planbead.com/privacy-policy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula Download PlanBead now and bring your beading ideas to life!

About

KandiCon

Transform photos into detailed pony bead patterns with custom color matching and bead counts. Create bracelets, cuffs, and charms, or design from scratch. Share your creations with a vibrant community and learn new techniques.

Highlights
  • Photo to bead pattern conversion
  • Customizable grid design tools
  • Automatic shopping list generation
  • 3D cuff preview on wrist
  • Extensive tutorial library
  • Community feed for sharing creations
  • Live beading sessions and replays
Features
Read full description

Point KandiCon at a photo and it works out the beads. Then share what you make with a whole community of kandi makers. Kandi bracelets, rave and festival cuffs, singles and charms: if it's strung from pony beads, you can make a pattern for it here. It matches every part of the picture to a real pony bead color you can actually buy, then gives you a chart, a count of how many of each color you need, and the rows to follow while you string. Pick Simple for a 3-color charm, or Intricate for a 39-wide, 12-color cuff panel. MAKE - Photo to pattern, with an option to cut out the background so you bead the subject and not the couch - Any emoji, turned into a chart - Name and word bracelets in your own colors - A blank grid with paint, fill, eraser and undo, for when you would rather draw it yourself - Set the size in inches and it works out the bead count BEFORE YOU START - A shopping list totaled by color, so you know what to buy - Mark the colors you already own and design only from those - Spin the cuff preview, or hold your phone up and see the piece on your wrist. Nothing is recorded or uploaded LEARN - Twelve tutorials: singles, ladder stitch, X-base, rotator cuffs, multi-stitch, spikes, peyote and 3D charms - Starter patterns sorted by faces, animals, food and hearts THE COMMUNITY - A feed of real kandi from real makers: cuffs, charms, outfits and works in progress - Post what you make with photos or video, and get likes and comments - Follow the makers you love and see their new work first - Watch makers go live and bead along, with live chat and hearts, or replay a live you missed - Polls, so the community can help pick your next colors - Contests with a new theme every couple of weeks - VIP makers with the blue check, who go live and post more often - Filter the feed by beads, patterns, people and outfits Making patterns is free and works without an account. Sign in with Apple or an emailed code when you want to post. Looking for Candycon or Kandycon? It's spelled KandiCon. PLUR: Peace, Love, Unity, Respect. Every post, comment and profile can be reported or blocked, and the guidelines are short enough to actually read. KandiCon VIP is an optional monthly subscription: Go Live, post up to 10 times a day, more and longer videos, a daily shout-out and the blue verified check. It renews monthly until you cancel in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use: https://kandicon.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://kandicon.com/privacy

Screenshots

Planbead4 screens
KandiCon4 screens

Verdict

The call

Planbead and KandiCon are too close to call on the numbers: across 10 compared parameters — price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. Planbead sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and KandiCon sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Planbead holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 16 and 20 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 89% of Planbead's written reviews are positive against 82% of KandiCon's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Planbead ships an update every 5 days, KandiCon every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Planbead versus KandiCon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPlanbeadKandiCon
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (16 ratings) — better4.4 (20 ratings)
Positive reviews88.9% of reviews — better81.8% of reviews
Number of ratings1620 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size91 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlexander MonneretUnique Photo, Inc

Customer experience

Planbead

All ratings16 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews27 reviews
Positive88.9%
Neutral3.7%
Negative7.4%

KandiCon

All ratings20 ratings
Positive85.0%
Neutral5.0%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive81.8%
Neutral9.1%
Negative9.1%

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Planbead

Subscriptions2
  • Gold Membership – 1 Month14 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Platinum Membership – 1 Year$49.991 Year
One-time3
  • Planbead 5 Gems$0.99
  • Planbead 10 Gems$1.99
  • Planbead 50 Gems$7.99
1 purchases

KandiCon

Subscriptions1
  • KandiCon VIP$2.991 Month

Questions

Is Planbead free?
Planbead is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is KandiCon free?
KandiCon is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Planbead or KandiCon?
Planbead is rated higher. Planbead averages 4.6 out of 5 from 16 ratings, while KandiCon averages 4.4 from 20 ratings.
Do Planbead or KandiCon have ads?
Neither Planbead nor KandiCon shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Planbead or KandiCon?
Planbead ships an update every 5 days, and KandiCon every 4 days. Most recently, Planbead was updated on November 8, 2026 and KandiCon on November 10, 2026.

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