Comparison

Dot Art vs SHADR

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

Head to head
About

Dot Art

Features
Read full description

Turn any photo into bold halftone art with Dot Art — the simplest way to create pop-art prints, posters, framed pieces, and gifts straight from your camera roll. WHAT IT DOES Pick a photo, choose a color palette, and watch it transform into a halftone-dot rendering you can export at high resolution and print on anything: t-shirts, posters, postcards, framed prints, social posts, or just your lock screen. FEATURES • 30+ curated color palettes — Duotone, Black & White, vivid pop-art combos, and the unique Color In palette that renders outlined hollow rings perfect for hand-coloring printed sheets • Real-time slider tuning — drag density, contrast, and dot size to dial in the exact look in milliseconds • High-resolution PNG export at 2520×2520 (Pro) or 1260×1260 (free) • Live, on-device preview — no waiting, no upload, no compression artifacts • In-app Gallery for saving and reloading projects with your exact settings • Auto-save mode that quietly archives every export so you can revisit later HOW IT WORKS 1. Pick a photo from your library 2. Tune palette, density, and contrast with live sliders 3. Save to Photos at high resolution, or save the project for later PRIVACY-FIRST Your photos never leave your device. Dot Art renders everything locally using on-device graphics — no upload, no cloud, no account required. DOT ART PRO ($4.99, one-time) Unlock unlimited exports, all 30+ palettes, high-resolution downloads, and early access to upcoming filter modes. One-time purchase, no subscription, lifetime access. GREAT FOR Designers, photographers, art teachers, parents printing coloring sheets for kids, gift-givers, social-media creators, and anyone making birthday cards, posters, or t-shirt designs. Made under the StayBoba brand. Run and managed by Register Inc., Cary, North Carolina USA. Support: arul@stayboba.com Privacy: https://stayboba.com/privacy-dotart Terms: https://stayboba.com/terms-dotart

About

SHADR

Transform photos and blank canvases into unique visual art with a variety of creative styles. Refine your creations with expressive controls and discover new directions through generative randomization. Export still images or live photos and videos.

Highlights
  • Diverse and evolving collection of creative visual styles
  • Generative randomization for discovering new directions
  • Focused controls for refining composition, color, texture, and movement
  • Still image export at native resolution
  • Live Photo and video output
  • Local projects and reusable presets
Read full description

SHADR is a creative design toolkit for transforming photographs and blank canvases into distinctive visual artwork. Explore a growing collection of styles including ASCII art, dithering, CMYK halftone, pixel stretch, fluted glass, kaleidoscope, flow fields, kinetic typography, shader art, pixel scatter, surveillance graphics, and more. Each style is a focused creative tool inside one consistent editor. Import a photo or begin from a blank canvas where supported, generate new directions, shape the result with expressive controls, and move fluidly between different visual treatments. Features: - A diverse and evolving collection of creative visual styles - Generative randomization for quickly discovering new directions - Focused controls for refining composition, color, texture, and movement - Still image export at native resolution - Live Photo and video output in supported tools - Local projects and reusable presets - Subject-aware treatments in selected tools Five complete tools are available for free. SHADR Pro is a one-time purchase that unlocks every current and future tool. Tool parameters, projects, presets, and exports are not restricted.

Screenshots

Dot Art4 screens
SHADR4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: Dot Art at 3 against SHADR's 1. Dot Art also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Dot Art sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and SHADR sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Dot Art versus SHADR: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDot ArtSHADR
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 daysEvery 2 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size54 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperArul Prakash伟滔 黄

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Dot Art

One-time1
  • Dot Art Pro$4.99
1 purchases

SHADR

One-time1
  • SHADR Pro$9.99

Questions

Is Dot Art free?
Dot Art is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SHADR free?
SHADR is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Dot Art or SHADR have ads?
Neither Dot Art nor SHADR shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Dot Art or SHADR?
Dot Art ships an update every 2 days, and SHADR every 2 days. Most recently, Dot Art was updated on October 4, 2026 and SHADR on September 23, 2026.

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