Comparison

Muddy Waters vs Chrooma Colors

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

Head to head
About

Muddy Waters

Features
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Muddy Waters helps you mix watercolor paints using real pigment behaviour, not digital approximations. Many artists reach a point where color mixing becomes frustrating. You add more paint, adjust ratios, and still end up with muddy results. This app is designed to give you a clearer path forward. Using scientific colour values and high end math, Muddy Waters focuses on how watercolor actually behaves, helping you make better mixing decisions using YOUR paints before committing pigment to paper. Key features • Mix colors using your own palette, not generic examples • Explore how pigments combine, including non-linear behaviour • Generate gradients to understand transitions between colors • Match colors from images and find the closest achievable mix • Identify the closest matching pigment in the library • Save favourites for the next time you go shopping for art supplies Images and barcodes are processed on your device. No photos are uploaded or stored externally. No personal data collected. Designed for real painting decisions Watercolour mixing is not predictable or linear. Lighting, dilution, paper colour, and pigment behaviour all affect the result. This app helps you navigate those variables so you can start with the right base colours. Use your own paints Build your palette from the pigments you actually own. The app works with your materials, not an idealised set from a book or tutorial. Simple and focused No accounts, no distractions. The app is designed to support your painting process without getting in the way. Keep exploring Nothing replaces hands-on experimentation, but with better guidance you can avoid common mixing mistakes and make more confident choices. Muddy Waters is free to use with an 8-slot palette. Two optional upgrades unlock more: Premium (one-time purchase) — unlocks palettes to hold any number of paints, in-app camera capture, and Backup & Restore so your palettes, favourites and Shopping List stay safe across devices. Pro (monthly subscription) — adds the Palette Adviser (tells you which paints to swap for a stronger palette), the Light & Shadow engine, Paint Check (compare any paint against everything you already own before you buy), and unlimited palettes.

About

Chrooma Colors

Features
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Play with colors. See what you've been missing. Chrooma uses real color science, not RGB shortcuts. Extract a palette from any photo and understand immediately why those colors work together: which harmonies are present, where they sit in Munsell space, what temperature balance they create. Or mix your own colors with spectral calculations that model how pigments actually behave. PHOTO ANALYSIS Pull a palette from any photo and understand it immediately: • Unlimited extraction from camera or library • Harmony detection, temperature mapping, balance analysis • Dedicated fullscreen modal with one-tap export • See what Pro analysis unlocks before you buy EXPLORE — 23 Interactive Challenges Put your color vision to the test for real. Sort Munsell value steps, identify simultaneous contrasts, reconstruct palettes from memory. Scoring uses CIEDE2000 perceptual difference. You'll discover where your perception is sharp and where it isn't. COMPOSE — 56 Generative Styles Turn any palette into shareable art. Geometric tiles, flow fields, Voronoi cells, aurora gradients, Albers-style overlays. Export as PNG or animated MP4. EXPLAIN — Color Theory You Can See 10 interactive pages: Itten's 7 contrasts, Munsell notation, Goethe's color theory, 460+ color names with etymology and history, gamut visualization, harmony rules, light physics. Not a textbook. Every concept is something you interact with. MIX — Paint Recipes with Spectral Physics Kubelka-Munk theory models how light scatters through pigment layers. Blue + yellow produces a muted olive, not bright green, because that's what real paint does. Spectral reflectance curves from 24 real pigments (Golden Heavy Body Acrylics, measured with a spectrophotometer). Separate engines for paint, light, and colorant. COLOR COMPARE Pick two colors and see exactly how they relate. Perceptual distance (Ī”E₀₀), WCAG contrast ratio, harmony type, temperature delta, Itten contrasts. MORE • Gradient comparison across 4 color spaces (HSL, Lab, OKLCh, sRGB) • Color of the Day with a new curated color every morning • Weekly palettes tied to seasons and weather • Your Color Imprint, a personality profile that evolves monthly • Palette management with unlimited palettes • Works offline, no account required WHO USES CHROOMA? Painters who want to understand why their mixes don't turn out as expected. Art students studying Itten and Munsell. If you're decorating a room and need to pull a palette from a photo, it does that. And if you just want more than a hex picker, the challenges alone are worth it. PRICING Free to explore. One purchase unlocks everything. No subscription, no ads, ever. PRIVACY No account. Your palettes stay on your device. Optional anonymous analytics, adjustable in Settings.

Screenshots

Muddy Waters4 screens
Chrooma Colors4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Muddy Waters at every 5 days against Chrooma Colors's every 11 days. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Muddy Waters sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Chrooma Colors sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Muddy Waters ships an update every 5 days, Chrooma Colors every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference Ā· 5 level
Muddy Waters versus Chrooma Colors: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMuddy WatersChrooma Colors
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 11 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB53 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSTUART JOHN FRENCHJulien Brun

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Muddy Waters

Subscriptions2
  • Muddy Waters Pro Monthly3 Months trial$1.991 Month
  • Muddy Waters Pro Annual$8.991 Year
One-time1
  • Muddy Waters Premium$5.99
1 purchases

Chrooma Colors

One-time1
  • Chrooma Colors Pro$6.99

Questions

Is Muddy Waters free?
Muddy Waters is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chrooma Colors free?
Chrooma Colors is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Muddy Waters or Chrooma Colors have ads?
Neither Muddy Waters nor Chrooma Colors shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Muddy Waters or Chrooma Colors?
Muddy Waters ships an update every 5 days, and Chrooma Colors every 11 days. Most recently, Muddy Waters was updated on October 8, 2026 and Chrooma Colors on October 10, 2026.

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