Nonogram Ultra vs Shadepix
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Nonogram Ultra
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Nonogram Ultra is Nonogram puzzles the way it should be — clean, calm, and quietly addictive. Reveal the hidden picture by using the number clues along each row and column. Every puzzle has one logical solution, so there's no guessing — just you, the grid, and that satisfying click when it all falls into place. No third-party ads. No pop-ups. No clutter. Just tasteful, well-crafted puzzles. THREE WAYS TO MARK THE BOARD • Fill the cells that make up the picture • Cross Out the cells you know are empty • Maybe — drop a tentative "?" pencil mark when you're not sure yet; it never counts as a mistake Drag to paint several cells at once, undo any step, or spend a hint to reveal one correct cell. FOUR WAYS TO PLAY • Quick (5×5) — a perfect coffee-break solve • Casual (5×10) — a taller board that's still bite-sized • Standard (10×10) — the classic sweet spot • Expert (10×15) — for when you want a real challenge A NEW PUZZLE EVERY DAY Take on the Daily Challenge and keep your streak alive. The same puzzle for everyone, every day — come back daily to reach 7, 30 and 100-day milestones. 5 SPACE-INSPIRED THEMES Set the mood with Midnight, Nebula, Aurora, Galaxy or Eclipse — each with its own colour palette and a gently animated cosmic backdrop. Light, Dark and System appearance supported throughout. PLAY YOUR WAY • Live scoring rewards speed and precision • Chase Perfect Solves with zero mistakes and no hints • Subtle sound and haptics you can turn off anytime COMPETE & COLLECT • Game Center leaderboards for every mode and the Daily Challenge • Achievements for perfect runs, expert clears, speed solves, daily streaks and night-owl sessions BUILT WITH CARE • Super clean, minimal interface — designed to disappear so the puzzle can shine • Plays fully offline • No third-party ads Whether you've got two minutes or twenty, Nonogram is a tasteful, relaxing little corner of logic to come back to.
Shadepix
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Fill the squares, reveal the picture. Shadepix is a classic nonogram (picross) game with a calm dark board, one-finger drag painting, and pictures worth finishing. Every number tells you the length of a run of filled squares — read the clues, mark what must stay empty, and a hidden pixel picture appears. A DAILY PUZZLE FOR EVERYONE One puzzle a day, the same board for every player in the world, generated from the calendar date itself — no server required. The daily is how you earn diamonds: it pays more for every consecutive day, and every seventh day of a streak refills your energy for free. 330 HAND-DRAWN PICTURES Ten picture packs — Starter, Animals, Everyday Icons, Food, Space, Music, Vehicles, Sports, Nature and Weather — plus five advanced packs: Landmarks, Dinosaurs, Mythical Creatures, Deep Sea and Retro Tech, where one giant 20x20 picture is solved as four boards in a row. STAGES, ONE PICTURE AT A TIME Every pack is a 30-stage journey: clear a stage to open the next. Boards grow from quick 5x5 warm-ups to 15x15, and the advanced packs push to 20x20 — pinch to zoom on the big ones. MISTAKES CANNOT RUIN THE PICTURE A wrongly filled square is corrected to an × for you, so the picture never comes out wrong. But three mistakes end the board: continue for 60 diamonds, or start over for free. MEDALS AND LEADERBOARDS Bronze, silver and gold medals for pictures solved, packs completed, daily streaks and flawless clears — earned as Game Center achievements, with worldwide leaderboards for pictures solved and best streak. ENERGY INSTEAD OF ADS Starting a puzzle costs 1 energy from a bar of 5, and the bar refills on its own, one point every 15 minutes. The Daily never costs energy, and replaying a picture you have already solved is free. If you would rather not wait, a full refill costs 100 diamonds. BUILT TO BE PLEASANT - Drag across a row or column to fill several squares at once - Haptic feedback you can switch off - Works completely offline, on a plane or underground - Fully localized in 30 languages NO ADS. EVER. No banners, no interstitials, no rewarded video, no account, no tracking. Diamonds come from the daily puzzle, and optional diamond packs exist only if you want hints, unlocks or a refill sooner.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Shadepix at Free against Nonogram Ultra's $1.99. Shadepix also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.0). Nonogram Ultra's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 months). On ads 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
Shadepix is free to download; Nonogram Ultra costs $1.99 up front. Shadepix sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Nonogram Ultra asks for nothing beyond the download.
Nonogram Ultra ships an update every 4 days, Shadepix every 2 months. Both last shipped on November 10, 2026.
| Parameter | Nonogram Ultra | Shadepix |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 27 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jonathan Clarke | Toru Kitajima |
In-app purchases
Nonogram Ultra
No in-app purchases
Shadepix
- Handful of Diamonds$1.99
- Pouch of Diamonds$4.99
- Chest of Diamonds$9.99
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- Vault of Diamonds$19.99
- Diamond Mine$49.99
Questions
Is Nonogram Ultra free?
Is Shadepix free?
Do Nonogram Ultra or Shadepix have ads?
Which is updated more often, Nonogram Ultra or Shadepix?
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