# Design Lab vs A Design Kit

The clearest difference is monetization model: Design Lab at free with in-app purchases against A Design Kit's subscription. A Design Kit's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (85% vs 75%). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Design Lab sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and A Design Kit sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Design Lab against 4.7 for A Design Kit. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6.3K and 5.7K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 75% of Design Lab's written reviews are positive against 85% of A Design Kit's.

Design Lab ships an update every 2 months, A Design Kit every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Design Lab | A Design Kit |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (6.3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/design-lab-logo-graphic-maker/id688319243/reviews) | [4.7 (5.7K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/a-design-kit-collage-maker/id1292829069/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **6.3K** | 5.7K |
| Positive reviews | 75.2% of reviews | **84.8% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 6 weeks** |
| Monetization | **Free with in-app purchases** | Subscription |
| Size | 169 MB | 132 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **14.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Onelight Apps CY Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1576484147) | [Midtone LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1015059174) |

## What reviewers say

### Design Lab

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/design-lab-logo-graphic-maker/id688319243)

Create professional graphics and stunning visuals with a vast library of templates, images, and fonts. Enhance photos with filters and adjustments, and utilize advanced text and layer-based editing tools. Import your own artwork for custom branding and design.

**Highlights:** Customizable templates, Photo filters and adjustments, Advanced text tools, Free stock photography, Layer-based editing, Blend and erase tools, Vector shape creation

**Features:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Graphic Design・Content Creator | $9.99 | per month |
| DesignLab Pro - Annual | $39.99 | per year |
| One-time purchase | $79.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Intuitive interface
- 💡 Powerful editing tools
- 🎨 Variety of templates and graphics
- 🔥 Helpful for social media content creation

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 🔒 Limited access to features without subscription
- 📥 Saving issues, lost work
- 🔍 Lack of customization options

**Reported bugs**

- Crashing on launch
- Saving issues, lost work
- Glitches with gradient and text features
- Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions

**Requested features**

- Ability to save unfinished projects
- More free templates and graphics
- Improved stability and performance
- Landscape mode support for iPad
- Better text editing and manipulation tools


### A Design Kit

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/a-design-kit-collage-maker/id1292829069)

Create visually appealing social media content with a wide array of design tools. Add unique textures, fonts, stickers, and collage elements to enhance your stories and feed posts.

**Highlights:** 200+ collage scans, Realistic drawing brushes, 60+ modern fonts, 200+ pre-made designs, Large sticker library, Textured backgrounds

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ADK+ Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| ADK+ Yearly | $24.99 | per year |
| Valley Cruise | Free | one-time |
| More Food | $0.99 | one-time |
| Painted | $1.99 | one-time |
| Feelings | $1.99 | one-time |
| Hobbies | $1.99 | one-time |
| Editorial | $2.99 | one-time |
| Notebook | $2.99 | one-time |
| Lettering | $3.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 💫 Fun and creative features
- 👍 Easy to use and intuitive
- 🎨 Wide variety of fonts, brushes, and design elements
- 🔗 Seamless integration with A Color Story app
- 🤩 Excellent for making visually appealing social media content

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and loss of work
- 💰 Many features and design elements locked behind paywall
- 🔀 Cumbersome navigation between editing tools
- 🔍 Lack of zoom functionality for precise editing
- 📏 Issues with cropping for Instagram stories

**Reported bugs**

- App crashing and losing work in progress
- Inconsistent behavior when toggling between apps
- Text resizing causing displacement of elements
- Brush tools not responding as expected
- Incorrect cropping for Instagram story dimensions

**Requested features**

- Ability to save and re-edit designs
- More free design elements and fonts
- Option to add custom photos as layers
- Smoother brush stroke functionality
- Improved stability and auto-save feature


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Design Lab free?

Design Lab is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is A Design Kit free?

A Design Kit is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Design Lab or A Design Kit?

Design Lab and A Design Kit are both rated 4.7 out of 5 on the App Store, from 6.3K and 5.7K ratings respectively.

### Do Design Lab or A Design Kit have ads?

Design Lab shows ads; A Design Kit does not.

### Which is updated more often, Design Lab or A Design Kit?

Design Lab ships an update every 2 months, and A Design Kit every 6 weeks. Most recently, Design Lab was updated on October 20, 2026 and A Design Kit on October 19, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*