Comparison

XPaint Simple vs Kaleidoscope

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

Head to head
About

XPaint Simple

Features
Read full description

XPaint Simple is a simple and lightweight drawing app designed for quick sketches. Choose a color, adjust brush size, and draw directly on the screen. You can also undo your last action. Perfect for: • quick handwritten notes • simple drawings • sketches and drafts • capturing ideas on the go Minimalistic and easy to use — just a canvas and a brush.

About

Kaleidoscope

Create intricate symmetric mandala designs by scribbling with mirrored strokes. Explore various folding patterns, color options, and drawing tools. Save your creations to a public gallery and collaborate on others' artwork.

Highlights
  • Mirrored stroke symmetry
  • Adjustable rotation axes
  • Color spectrum options
  • Finger and Apple Pencil support
  • Public gallery for sharing
  • Collaborative drawing
  • VoiceOver accessibility
Features
Read full description

Kaleidoscope is a drawing toy. You scribble and every stroke gets mirrored across a set of rotated axes, so a few lazily drawn lines fall into a full symmetric mandala. Change how many ways the canvas folds, switch between true mirror symmetry and plain rotation, pick colors or let them run through a spectrum, and draw with your finger or an Apple Pencil (it feels the pressure). 1.2 makes it a real drawing app, and the iPad with an Apple Pencil is now the best seat in the house. The Pencil's pressure shapes every line, and you can point it at width, opacity, or both. Strokes come out smoother instead of jagged. Pinch to zoom in and work on the small details. Hover the Pencil and you'll see where every mirrored copy of your mark will land before you made it. There are layers now. Each one has its own symmetry, so you can put a 6-fold weave under a 12-fold bloom and they turn together. Reorder them, hide them, fade them, and when you save a piece the layers survive, so anyone who remixes it gets your stack and not a flattened copy. Drawing and downloading are free, no account necessary. Sign in and you can save to the gallery, where a piece gets its own link, browse what other people have made, and open someone else's to keep drawing on top of it. When you save, it'll suggest a name for the piece if you want one. It's the same gallery as kaleidoscope.ponderance.dev, so anything you make here shows up there, and the other way around. Kaleidoscope Plus is a one-time purchase if you want more room: eight layers instead of three, and no limit on how many pieces you show on the public wall. No subscription, everything else stays free. No ads. It collects nothing while you draw. Make something symmetric and see where it goes.

Screenshots

XPaint Simple3 screens
Kaleidoscope4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: XPaint Simple at none against Kaleidoscope's 1. XPaint Simple also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On price, ads 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

Both are free to download. Kaleidoscope sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. XPaint Simple asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
XPaint Simple versus Kaleidoscope: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterXPaint SimpleKaleidoscope
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—2 — better
Update frequency—Every 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size0 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDenis BlumensteinAnmol Saxena

In-app purchases

None

XPaint Simple

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Kaleidoscope

One-time1
  • Kaleidoscope Plus$4.99

Questions

Is XPaint Simple free?
XPaint Simple is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Kaleidoscope free?
Kaleidoscope is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do XPaint Simple or Kaleidoscope have ads?
Neither XPaint Simple nor Kaleidoscope shows ads.

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