Comparison

Theme Studio vs Retro Widget

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

Head to head
About

Theme Studio

Design custom app icons, widgets, and wallpapers to personalize your iPhone home screen. Create unique themes by mixing and matching styles, and save your creations for easy application.

Highlights
  • Custom app icon maker
  • Themed widget builder
  • Matching wallpaper generator
  • Icon pack library
  • Save and load custom themes
  • Live icon preview
Features
Read full description

Theme Studio is a design tool for creating custom app icons, themed widgets, and matching wallpapers for a personalized iPhone home screen aesthetic. You make everything in the app, save it to your Photos, then apply it yourself: icons through Apple's Shortcuts app, and wallpapers through the iOS Settings app. Theme Studio never changes your app icons, wallpaper, or any system setting automatically. HOW IT WORKS 1. Design a custom icon, widget, or wallpaper in the app. 2. Save the image to your Photos library. 3. For icons, open Apple's Shortcuts app and add the saved image to your Home Screen. For wallpapers, set the saved image from the iOS Settings app. The app walks you through these steps the first time. ICON PACKS Choose from a variety of icon styles: minimalist line art, bold chroma, retro pixel grids, and more. Each pack is designed to feel cohesive. Browse the collection, search by app name, or mix and match icon packs to design a custom home screen aesthetic. STUDIO: CUSTOM ICON MAKER & ICON CHANGER Studio is your in-app custom icon maker and icon changer. Customize any glyph: layer solid colors, gradients, photo backgrounds, or blurred wallpaper slices behind it. Tune position, scale, shadow, and color overlays, or upload your own PNG or JPEG. The live preview shows how each icon will look once you apply it. When you are happy with an icon, save it to your Photos and use the Shortcuts app to add it to your Home Screen. WIDGETS Build clock, weather, calendar, battery, app grid, photo, and quote widgets that match your home screen aesthetic. Pick fonts, colors, backgrounds, and styles, from minimalist to bold, or bake your wallpaper into the widget background for a transparent look. Widgets are added by you from the standard iOS widget gallery (touch and hold the Home Screen, then add a Theme Studio widget). WALLPAPERS Browse a library of curated wallpapers, or generate color-matched wallpapers from your icon palette. Save them to your Photos, then set them as your Lock Screen or Home Screen wallpaper from the iOS Settings app. SAVE YOUR THEMES Save your icon, wallpaper, and widget combinations as themes. Loading a saved theme brings all of its pieces back into the app at once, ready for you to save and apply. Build seasonal looks, mood-based aesthetics, or personalize your home screen aesthetic for any occasion. APPLYING YOUR ICONS Theme Studio is an icon changer built around Apple's built-in Shortcuts app, the standard, user-initiated workflow for icon customization on iOS. You save an icon image to your Photos, then add it to your Home Screen yourself in the Shortcuts app. Theme Studio guides you through this the first time, and does not change your app icons or Home Screen for you. Made by an indie developer focused on iPhone personalization. Questions, ideas, or bug reports? Reach out through Settings > Contact. SUBSCRIPTIONS & IN-APP PRODUCTS The free tier includes the Solid icon pack and non-Pro widgets. Theme Studio Pro unlocks additional icon packs, premium widgets, and custom PNG icon saving. Monthly, yearly, and lifetime purchase options are available in the app. Terms and pricing may vary by region. Information about the auto-renewable subscription: Subscriptions auto-renew until canceled. Cancel at any time. Manage in Account Settings. Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours before the end of the current period. For more information on how to cancel a subscription, please review - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202039 Apple's standard EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Retro Widget

Features
Read full description

RetroWidgets turns your Home Screen into a nostalgic retro display, inspired by classic devices from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Design your own look in seconds and choose from multiple handcrafted widget styles, including CRT monitor, wood TV, pocket console, flip clock, nixie clock, cassette deck, and transistor radio themes. Why you’ll love RetroWidgets: Retro-inspired, detailed widget designs Clock, calendar, and battery-focused layouts Fast customization with live preview Multiple palettes and visual styles Works fully offline No account required No tracking Privacy-first by design: RetroWidgets does not rely on external servers for widget data. Your setup is stored locally on your device for a simple, private experience. Important: RetroWidgets creates native iOS Home Screen widgets. It does not replace app icons or apply system-wide themes. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://ememes.github.io/retrowidget

Screenshots

Theme Studio4 screens
Retro Widget4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Theme Studio at weekly against Retro Widget's every 5 weeks. Theme Studio also leads on iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.5). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Theme Studio sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Retro Widget sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Theme Studio ships an update weekly, Retro Widget every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Theme Studio versus Retro Widget: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTheme StudioRetro Widget
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.5
Further details — not scored
Size66 MB20 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperInvader DigitalMUSTAFA MERT SELVI

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Theme Studio

Subscriptions2
  • Theme Studio Pro Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Theme Studio Pro Yearly$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$39.99
1 purchases

Retro Widget

One-time1
  • Retro Widget Lifetime$2.99

Questions

Is Theme Studio free?
Theme Studio is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Retro Widget free?
Retro Widget is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Theme Studio or Retro Widget have ads?
Neither Theme Studio nor Retro Widget shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Theme Studio or Retro Widget?
Theme Studio ships an update weekly, and Retro Widget every 5 weeks. Most recently, Theme Studio was updated on October 14, 2026 and Retro Widget on October 12, 2026.

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