Comparison

Bitrot vs SHADR

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

Head to head
About

Bitrot

Create unique, textured images with a variety of destructive and retro effects. This app offers layered editing, masking, and precise control over pixel manipulation, all processed locally on your device. Enhance your photos with film-style presets, custom text, and collage tools.

Highlights
  • Layered effect stacking
  • Masking to subject/background
  • Dither, glitch, and pixelate effects
  • VHS and CRT style looks
  • Hand-drawn warp and liquify
  • Film-style color grading
  • Collage and text tools
Features
Read full description

Bitrot turns your photos into beautiful decay. Dither, glitch, halftone, pixelate, warp, and grade your images with a stack of layered effects — all processed on your device, at full resolution. Bitrot is a hands-on editor built for texture and character, not one-tap filters. Stack effects like layers, blend them, mask them to the subject or background, and dial in exactly the look you want. NO AI. ON YOUR DEVICE. Every effect is real image processing, computed on your iPhone or iPad. No cloud, no accounts, no uploads — your photos never leave your device. EFFECTS • Destruct — Floyd–Steinberg dither, halftone, pixelate, threshold • Signature looks — CRT, VHS, glitch, datamosh, Game Boy, scanlines, halation • Warp & Liquify — bend, push, and smear pixels by hand • Adjust & Filter — levels, curves, sharpen, blur, posterize, duotone, vignette COLOR GRADE • Film-style presets with live thumbnail previews • Fine-tune intensity and add grain TEXT & COLLAGE • Dozens of fonts with weights — pixel, serif, mono, script and more • Build collages on a blank canvas or over your photo • Move, rotate, scale, and blend every layer BUILT FOR CONTROL • Layer-based editing with blend modes and opacity • Mask any effect to the subject or the background • Unlimited undo / redo • Save projects and pick them back up later • Export full-resolution images to Photos FREE FOREVER The complete editor is yours for the life of the app — no watermark, unlimited exports, local project storage. BECOME A SUPPORTER (optional) Support development and unlock: • iCloud sync across your devices • The Experimental "Lab" of new effects • The ability to request and vote on future tools PRIVACY FIRST Everything is processed privately on your device. Your photos are never uploaded. — Made by Aux Ltd. Questions or ideas? info@aux.ltd Supporter is available as a monthly or yearly auto-renewing subscription, or a one-time Lifetime purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the period; manage or cancel in your App Store account settings. Privacy Policy: https://aux.ltd/bitrot/privacy-policy Terms: https://aux.ltd/bitrot/terms-and-conditions Eula: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

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 Field, Kinetic Typography, Light Cast, Pixel Scatter, Surveillance Aesthetic, Glitch Art, Geometric Abstraction, Low Poly, Mirror Mosaic, Slice Effect, Out of Bounds, Linocut, Paper Marbling, Color Reconstruction, Contact Sheet, and Rebus. 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 - Live Photo and video output in supported tools - Local projects and reusable presets - Subject-aware treatments in selected tools Privacy Policy: https://shadr.studio/privacy Terms of Use: https://shadr.studio/terms

Screenshots

Bitrot4 screens
SHADR4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: SHADR at 5.0 against Bitrot's 4.6. Bitrot's advantage is ratings volume (5 vs 1). 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. Bitrot sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and SHADR sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SHADR holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bitrot has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Bitrot versus SHADR: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBitrotSHADR
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (5 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings5 — better1
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.018.0
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWilliam Shouldis伟滔 黄

Customer experience

Bitrot

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

SHADR

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Bitrot

Subscriptions2
  • Supporter Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Supporter Yearly$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Access$59.99
2 purchases

SHADR

Subscriptions1
  • SHADR Pro Annual$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • SHADR Pro Lifetime$24.99

Questions

Is Bitrot free?
Bitrot is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SHADR free?
SHADR is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Bitrot or SHADR?
SHADR is rated higher. Bitrot averages 4.6 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while SHADR averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Bitrot or SHADR have ads?
Neither Bitrot nor SHADR shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bitrot or SHADR?
Bitrot ships an update weekly, and SHADR weekly. Most recently, Bitrot was updated on October 24, 2026 and SHADR on October 25, 2026.

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