Comparison

Hobby Bench vs Grey Tide

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

Head to head
About

Hobby Bench

Features
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Hobby Bench is your personal miniature painting companion. Snap a photo of your painted mini and get instant. ANALYZE YOUR WORK: Get scored on six key painting skills: coverage, contrast, edge precision, shading depth, color balance, and cleanliness. Each analysis includes personalized improvement tips so you know exactly what to work on next. TRACK YOUR PROGRESS: Build a journal of every mini you paint. Tag, annotate, and revisit past work. Watch your scores improve over time with trend charts and milestone badges. PAINT INVENTORY & RECIPES: Browse 200+ paints from Citadel, Vallejo, Army Painter, and Pro Acryl. Track which paints you own, find cross-brand equivalents, and build step-by-step paint recipes you can save as reusable templates. COLOR MATCHING: Snap a photo and Hobby Bench identifies the closest matching paints from your preferred brands. See your mini's detected color palette and get paint suggestions instantly. STUDIO INSIGHT (PRO): Unlock AI-powered coaching with detailed feedback, technique detection, style assessment, and a suggested paint recipe tailored to your mini. COMMUNITY: Share your best work, discover what others are painting, and upvote your favorites. Earn medals in weekly competitions and build your painter profile. FREE TIER โ€ข 5 analyses โ€ข 10 journal entries โ€ข Full paint database access PRO UPGRADE: โ€ข Unlimited analyses & journal entries โ€ข Studio Insight AI coaching โ€ข Recipe creation & templates โ€ข Cross-brand paint matching โ€ข Data export & import โ€ข Community medals display Not affiliated with or endorsed by any tabletop game company or paint manufacturer. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Grey Tide

Features
Read full description

Grey Tide is an app for keeping track of your miniature collection and your painting. Follow each miniature through its stages, and record exactly which paints you used and how, alongside your photos. [Features] - Collection Organize by game system and faction. Record quantity, storage location, and notes. Search works in both English and Japanese. - Painting progress Six stages: Unassembled / Assembled / Primed / In progress / Painted / Parade ready. - Photos and gallery Store multiple photos per miniature and browse them all in a fullscreen gallery. - Paint markers Pin a marker on the spot in a photo and save the paint, technique, mixing ratio (up to two paints), and your notes. - Whole-model steps Record steps applied to the whole miniature, such as primer and topcoat, in one place. They are shared across every photo and marker for that miniature. - Paint recipes Save a marker's steps under a name and apply them to other markers, base coat included. - Colour list A built-in catalogue of 236 paints. Add your own paints, and mark the ones you own to filter down to what's on your shelf. - Box scan Photograph a box (supported manufacturers only) to read the unit name and fill it into the Add miniature form. - Japanese / English This is an unofficial, fan-made app. It is not affiliated with, endorsed, or sponsored by any miniature or paint manufacturer.

Screenshots

Hobby Bench4 screens
Grey Tide4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Grey Tide at none against Hobby Bench's 2. Hobby Bench's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Hobby Bench sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Grey Tide asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hobby Bench ships an update monthly, Grey Tide every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
Hobby Bench versus Grey Tide: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHobby BenchGrey Tide
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyMonthly โ€” betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo โ€” better
DevicesiPhone, iPod โ€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 โ€” better18.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size73 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFERRAN FERNANDEZ GARRIDOHiroto Terada

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Hobby Bench

Subscriptions2
  • Hobby Bench Pro Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Hobby Bench Pro Annual$29.991 Year
None

Grey Tide

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Hobby Bench free?
Hobby Bench is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Grey Tide free?
Grey Tide is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Hobby Bench or Grey Tide have ads?
Neither Hobby Bench nor Grey Tide shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hobby Bench or Grey Tide?
Hobby Bench ships an update monthly, and Grey Tide every 5 weeks. Most recently, Hobby Bench was updated on October 7, 2026 and Grey Tide on October 24, 2026.

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