# PaintBox Basic vs Polyreader

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PaintBox Basic at none against Polyreader's 1. PaintBox Basic also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.6). Polyreader's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (monthly vs every 7 months). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Polyreader sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month. PaintBox Basic asks for nothing beyond the download.

PaintBox Basic ships an update every 7 months, Polyreader monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 8, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | PaintBox Basic | Polyreader |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[2.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/paintbox-basic/id737396215/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **1** | — |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | — |
| Size | 17 MB | 4 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 17.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Kouichi Hayashi](https://appshunter.io/developer/1809037541) | [Naftali Beder](https://appshunter.io/developer/925387752) |

## What reviewers say

### PaintBox Basic

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/paintbox-basic/id737396215)

This is a basic paint application offering various brushes and auto-save functionality. Users can easily share their creations via email or social media platforms. It includes banner ads and lacks advanced features like undo/redo.

**Highlights:** 8 types of brushes, Auto save image, Transfer to Mac via iTunes file sharing, Share images via email, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Banner ads displayed

**In-app purchases:** none


### Polyreader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/polyreader-read-it-later/id6740188169)

**Features:** Safari Extension, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium | $1.99 | per month |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is PaintBox Basic free?

PaintBox Basic is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Polyreader free?

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

### Do PaintBox Basic or Polyreader have ads?

PaintBox Basic shows ads; Polyreader does not.

### Which is updated more often, PaintBox Basic or Polyreader?

PaintBox Basic ships an update every 7 months, and Polyreader monthly. Most recently, PaintBox Basic was updated on September 8, 2026 and Polyreader on September 21, 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.*