Polagone vs Mono Lab
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Polagone
Create striking generative art and animations for posters, album covers, and motion loops. This parametric design studio allows exploration of shapes, grids, and transformations to produce endless visual compositions. Export high-resolution images and animations ready for print, video, and projection.
- Parametric design studio
- Generative art and animations
- High-resolution export (images & video)
- Vector export (SVG, PDF)
- Real-time motion and VJ visuals
- Advanced creative tools (deformers, effects)
- Seamless iCloud sync
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Polagone is a visual synthesizer for creating generative motion, patterns and real-time graphics. Build systems instead of drawing frame by frame. Combine grids, shapes, colors, effects, animation, audio reaction and MIDI control to create visuals that constantly evolve. From geometric motion loops to optical art, posters, VJ visuals and experimental design, Polagone transforms simple structures into dynamic visuals in real time. Designed for artists, designers, musicians and visual explorers. Features: • Real-time generative design • Audio-reactive & MIDI-controlled visuals • Parametric grids and shape systems • Motion loops and animation tools • Vector, image and video export • SVG, PDF, PNG, TIFF, MP4 & ProRes export • External fullscreen output • Works on Mac, iPad & iPhone No subscriptions. Just create.
Mono Lab
Explore unexpected visual transformations with a wide array of experimental filters for both black and white and color images. Manipulate images through touch and motion, mapping them across 3D surfaces for unique artistic results.
- 158 B&W distortion filters
- 40 color experimentation filters
- Touch and motion control transformations
- 3D surface mapping
- Raster and vector output
- Save custom filters
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Mono Lab is designed for exploring the unexpected. Experiment with images in black and white. (And now Color!) 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 • 40 filters for color experimentation (color also works with B&W filters as well) • 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
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Polagone at Free against Mono Lab's $4.99. Mono Lab's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.5) and chart position (#4 vs unranked). On review sentiment, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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
Polagone is free to download; Mono Lab costs $4.99 up front. Polagone sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Mono Lab sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Mono Lab holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 23 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of Polagone's written reviews are positive against 95% of Mono Lab's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Polagone ships an update every 8 days, Mono Lab weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Polagone | Mono Lab |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.5 (11 ratings) | 5.0 (23 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 94.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 11 | 23 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 8 days | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #4 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18 | 16.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 27 MB | 79 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Fingerlab | Inner Circle |
Customer experience
Polagone
Mono Lab
In-app purchases
Polagone
- Polagone Pro$9.99
Mono Lab
- Pheno Set$1.99
- Print Set$1.99
- ASCII Set$1.99
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- Dither Set$1.99








