Comparison

PinGuy vs Datacolor ColorReader

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

Head to head
About

PinGuy

Achieve perfect pinball machine leveling with this app. Calibrate your device, place it on the playfield to align legs using visual markers, and ensure optimal play. It also supports leveling on the glass pane after setup.

Highlights
  • iPhone calibration for zero point
  • Playfield leg alignment markers
  • Visual guide for leg adjustment
  • Glass leveling mode
  • Real-time alignment check
Features
Read full description

Your tool for perfect leveling of a pinball machine. 1. Just calibrate your iPhone the first time on a perfect 0° ground as zero 2. Put your phone on the playfield of your pinball machine and watch the 4 green markers. These represent the legs of your pinball. 3. The marker should be inside the blue line. If the marker is outside the leg must be screwed in. 4. If all is perfectly aligned, all markers will be on the blue line. The moving red crosshair overlaps the green one in the middle. 5. After inserting the glass, put your iPhone on it and switch the app to glass. 6. Now you can calibrate the app on the glass pane. If you want to check later to see if your pinball is still properly aligned, simply put your iPhone on the glass.

About

Datacolor ColorReader

This app helps professionals and DIYers accurately match paint colors from walls or objects to popular paint brands. It provides color values and recommendations, saving time and ensuring job quality.

Highlights
  • Accurate paint color matching (>90%)
  • Matches to uploaded fan decks
  • Build, save, and share color palettes
  • Color measurement history
  • Color scheme recommendations
  • Get paint brand color name and number
  • Provides RGB, Hex, CIELab values
Features
Read full description

Matching paint color by eye is subjective. Job quality is not. That’s why you need the Datacolor ColorReader. It matches paint color with more than 90% accuracy. All at the push of a button. All in the brand of your choice. The ColorReader analyzes the color of a wall or object and matches it in less than a second to the closest paint color. For those who need to know paint color to do their jobs. No more matching by eye and searching through fan decks or color cards. Paint confidently. Design confidently. DIY confidently. Be confident with color. Highest Accuracy Across Popular Paint Brands • Industry leading matching with more than 90% success rate • Matches color to any uploaded fan deck • Easy to use • One-click analysis • Ultra-portable • Bluetooth®-connected • OLED display for standalone device use (ColorReader Pro only) Expanded capabilities through the mobile app: • Build, save, and share color palettes • Color measurement history • Color scheme recommendations for harmonious color flow • Get paint brand color name and number • Get color values for measurements and color matches including RGB, Hex, CIELab, and more! • QC functionality (ColorReader and ColorReader Pro only) Backed by the Leading Precision Color Company For more than 45 years, Datacolor’s passion for precision color has helped us meet the exacting needs of more than a million customers whose entire job depends on the accuracy of their colors. What People Are Saying about ColorReader? “This device is incredibly easy to use - and it’s dependable.” John Metz - Haddon Painting “I love it. It cut one hour of time off my desk.” Debbie Deutsh – Interiors by Cornerstone “In this industry, time is money. If I can’t get the exact color they want, I’m losing time and material costs. “ Jon Ipock – ProTastic Painting “I have not stopped using it in matching colors to fabric and wall covering. It has saved me so much time in trying to match with paint chips.” Vincent Wolf – Vincent Wolf Associates, Inc. “There are many contenders in this field, but this in my opinion is the only one that provides the best balance between accuracy, ease-of-use and price. Whatever color you read with your ColorReader will be matched against those fan decks and the best matching returned. This is a much better alternative to purchasing multiple paint samples and trying them out, and is in my opinion the best bang for the buck.” Amazon Customer “Bought this (the lower cost one) because it seemed there had to be a better way than trying to match paint swatches to what is on the walls now. Setup was straight forward, and the app is fairly easy to use to take readings. The device accurately identified a swatch that I had, and it was straight forward to take multiple readings of the long ago painted walls in our old house.“ Amazon Customer Terms & Conditions: https://www.datacolor.com/legal/us/terms-conditions/ Privacy Policy: http://www.datacolor.com/legal-documents/colorreader/privacy-policy/

Screenshots

PinGuy2 screens
Datacolor ColorReader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: PinGuy at 84% against Datacolor ColorReader's 25%. PinGuy also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4). Datacolor ColorReader's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.1) and ratings volume (699 vs 25). On price, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Datacolor ColorReader sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. PinGuy asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Datacolor ColorReader holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Datacolor ColorReader has 699 ratings behind it against 25, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 84% of PinGuy's written reviews are positive against 25% of Datacolor ColorReader's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
PinGuy versus Datacolor ColorReader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPinGuyDatacolor ColorReader
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (25 ratings)4.7 (699 ratings) — better
Positive reviews84.0% of reviews — better25.3% of reviews
Number of ratings25699 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS13.013
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB34 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNadine WeishaeuplDatacolor Inc.

Customer experience

PinGuy

All ratings25 ratings
Positive76.0%
Neutral8.0%
Negative16.0%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive84.0%
Neutral8.0%
Negative8.0%

Datacolor ColorReader

All ratings699 ratings
Positive93.4%
Neutral1.3%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews75 reviews
Positive25.3%
Neutral6.7%
Negative68.0%

Bugs and requests

PinGuy

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Datacolor ColorReader

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • Blank page on device registration
  • White screen during app startup
  • Calibration failed error messages
  • Device won't connect to smartphone
  • Bluetooth connectivity issues requiring multiple attempts
Show 5 more
  • Fan deck update stuck indefinitely
  • Missing read button on iPhone XS Max
  • iOS 12 compatibility broken after update
  • Inaccessible color history after fan deck removal
  • Support ticket system non-functional

Requested features

10 requests
  • Store scanned colors on phone without device connection
  • Cloud sync for color history across devices
  • Tutorial or guided walkthrough for app navigation
  • Ability to delete individual colors from history
  • Reorder colors within custom palettes
Show 5 more
  • Search by paint swatch number
  • Support for more eco-conscious paint brands
  • Expanded UK/European paint brand options
  • Separate color selection for trim and cabinets in photo mode
  • Display custom color names in detail view

In-app purchases

None

PinGuy

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Datacolor ColorReader

Subscriptions4
  • NCS Colour (monthly)$9.991 Month
  • British Standards (monthly)$14.991 Month
  • NCS Colour (yearly)$89.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • British Standards (yearly)$149.991 Year

Questions

Is PinGuy free?
PinGuy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Datacolor ColorReader free?
Datacolor ColorReader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PinGuy or Datacolor ColorReader?
Datacolor ColorReader is rated higher. PinGuy averages 4.1 out of 5 from 25 ratings, while Datacolor ColorReader averages 4.7 from 699 ratings.
Do PinGuy or Datacolor ColorReader have ads?
Neither PinGuy nor Datacolor ColorReader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PinGuy or Datacolor ColorReader?
PinGuy ships an update every 2 months, and Datacolor ColorReader every 2 months. Most recently, PinGuy was updated on September 29, 2026 and Datacolor ColorReader on October 2, 2026.

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