Comparison

AtelierKit vs PaintSteps

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

Head to head
About

AtelierKit

Features
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AtelierKit is the quiet, focused toolkit that lives on your phone and serves your art practice โ€” no account, no internet, no distractions. Whether you're painting from a reference photo, sketching a portrait, or mixing colours at your easel, AtelierKit gives you the tools professional artists actually reach for. COLOUR ANALYSIS Sample any colour from a photo or your camera feed. Get precise values to help you mix accurate paints. Stop guessing โ€” start seeing. GRID OVERLAY Overlay a customisable grid over any reference image to transfer proportions with confidence. The grid method used by masters, now always in your pocket. VALUE STUDY Strip away colour and see only light and shadow. Train your eye to read tonal relationships โ€” the foundation of every great painting. CLOUD SYNC Optionally sync your projects across devices with iCloud. Your projects are always backed up and available wherever you work. BUILT FOR ARTISTS, NOT APPS โ€ข Works fully offline โ€” no Wi-Fi needed to use any tool โ€ข No account required to get started โ€ข Optional cloud sync keeps your data private and encrypted โ€ข Available in English, Arabic, French, and Spanish โ€ข Clean, distraction-free interface AtelierKit is made for painters, sketchers, illustrators, and anyone who works with physical media and wants a smarter, faster way to analyse their references. Your art. Your device. Your studio.

About

PaintSteps

Features
Read full description

Turn any photo into a practical, step-by-step painting guide. PaintSteps simplifies your reference into progressive color stages, helping you see what to paint first and what to add next. Choose your medium and painting order, then work through the image, palette, and mixing guidance at your own pace. CREATE FROM ANY PHOTO - Choose an image from your photo library - Crop and position it for your canvas - Adjust colors, steps, smoothing, and canvas ratio - Build dark-to-light, light-to-dark, or balanced PAINT WITH CLEAR GUIDANCE - Follow progressive painting steps - Use color numbers and an adjustable drawing grid - Pinch to zoom while guides stay aligned - Press and hold to compare with the original photo TRACE WITH LINE ART - Turn your painting into an outline drawing to transfer onto the canvas - Choose the level of detail, or let Auto pick a step that's easy to trace - Add a drawing grid and color numbers, then print it or share it as a PDF or PNG - With Pro, choose thin, medium, or bold lines MIX COLORS - View practical paint-mixing suggestions for every palette color - Choose from built-in paint sets - With Pro, use your own paints and palettes, calibrate tinting strength, and edit recipes SAVE AND EXPORT - Keep your painting projects in one library - Export complete PDF tutorials, including the line art page, or individual PNG step images with Pro The free version includes up to two saved paintings, tutorials with up to four steps, and line art. PaintSteps Pro unlocks unlimited paintings, up to eight steps, custom paints and palettes, recipe editing, export, and line art thickness. PaintSteps Pro is a one-time purchase. No subscription. Mixing results are estimates. Always test a small mix before painting.

Screenshots

AtelierKit4 screens
PaintSteps4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: AtelierKit at none against PaintSteps's 1. AtelierKit also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). 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. PaintSteps sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. AtelierKit asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AtelierKit ships an update every 2 weeks, PaintSteps fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
AtelierKit versus PaintSteps: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAtelierKitPaintSteps
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks โ€” betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo โ€” betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 โ€” better17.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size28 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAppcific TechnologiesJuan Tarallo

In-app purchases

None

AtelierKit

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

PaintSteps

One-time1
  • PaintSteps Pro$4.99

Questions

Is AtelierKit free?
AtelierKit is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PaintSteps free?
PaintSteps is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do AtelierKit or PaintSteps have ads?
Neither AtelierKit nor PaintSteps shows ads.
Which is updated more often, AtelierKit or PaintSteps?
AtelierKit ships an update every 2 weeks, and PaintSteps fortnightly. Most recently, AtelierKit was updated on September 29, 2026 and PaintSteps on October 7, 2026.

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