Comparison

Prism vs Proref

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

Head to head
About

Prism

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Prism is a color capture tool for designers, artists, and creatives. Point your camera at anything, capture the color instantly. Pick from a photo, build palettes, and export to every format you use. CAPTURE · Live camera color detection — tap to capture · Photo color picker — tap any spot or auto-extract the dominant palette · Edit captured colors before saving · Up to 20 colors per session with Pro LIBRARY & PALETTES · Save colors with HEX, RGB, HSL, HSB, CMYK, LAB and LCH values · Auto color naming using Delta E matching · Build unlimited palettes from your saved colors · Organize everything in folders by project or mood · iCloud sync across iPhone and iPad GRADIENTS · Create linear, radial and mesh gradients from your colors · Adjust stops, angles and blending interactively · Export as PNG or SVG EXPORT · Procreate (.swatches) · Adobe Swatch Exchange (.ase) · SVG, PDF, CSS, SCSS · Share as image — Minimal, Grid or Banner template COLOR TOOLS · Color harmony — complementary, analogous, triadic, split and more · Enter any HEX code manually and save it directly PRISM PRO Unlock unlimited colors, palettes and folders, the full export library, color harmony, and the gradient creator. Cancel anytime. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Proref

Features
Read full description

Proref is where your references live while you draw — and where the finished piece goes afterwards. GATHER YOUR REFERENCES Drop everything you're looking at onto one huge canvas and arrange it into a board. Import from Photos, your camera, Files, a web link, the share sheet, or by dragging straight in from Safari. Zoom from 2% to 25,600%, so the board grows with the project. WORK BESIDE THEM Proref is built for Split View: your references on one side, your drawing app on the other. Sketch and annotate over them with Apple Pencil, with pressure. Tune brightness, contrast and saturation, or crop non-destructively — the original is always recoverable. A minimap shows where you are, and saved views jump you back to any spot in one tap. KEEP THE PIECE, AND THE LESSON When something's finished, keep it. Attach a piece to the board it came from, open it full screen, and see everything you've made on a dated timeline — as a gallery to swipe or a list to scan. Note what worked and what didn't while it's fresh, star the things to carry forward, and those notes sit in a pane on the board while you draw the next one. If you'd rather Proref stayed purely a reference app, turn the art journey off in Settings and it does. PRIVATE BY DEFAULT No accounts. No sign-in. No server. No tracking, no analytics, no ads. Your boards, your artworks and your critique notes stay on your device. FREE, WITH A ONE-TIME UNLOCK Proref is free to use with 2 boards, 10 images per board, 3 saved views, 5 finished artworks, and 3 focused critique notes per piece. Proref Pro removes those limits and unlocks every feature — a single one-time purchase, not a subscription. Buy it once and restore it on your other devices.

Screenshots

Prism4 screens
Proref4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Proref at 15.0 against Prism's 18.6. 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. Prism sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Proref sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Prism ships an update weekly, Proref every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 5 level
Prism versus Proref: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPrismProref
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB44 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMaria Camila StorckJohn Oliver Atienza

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Prism

Subscriptions2
  • Prism Pro$2.991 Month
  • Prism Pro$17.991 Year
1 purchases

Proref

One-time1
  • Proref Pro$7.99

Questions

Is Prism free?
Prism is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Proref free?
Proref is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Prism or Proref have ads?
Neither Prism nor Proref shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Prism or Proref?
Prism ships an update weekly, and Proref every 6 days. Most recently, Prism was updated on October 21, 2026 and Proref on October 19, 2026.

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