Comparison

Ukiyo vs Backdrops

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

Head to head
About

Ukiyo

Discover a vast collection of over 1000 Ukiyo-e masterpieces for your iPhone. These high-resolution wallpapers, inspired by renowned Japanese artists, are optimized for iOS parallax effects. Easily save, set, and share your favorites to personalize your device.

Highlights
  • 1000+ Ukiyo-e wallpapers
  • Optimized for iOS parallax
  • Save and set as home/lock screen
  • Favorites folder
  • Slideshow function
  • Share via social media and email
  • Categorized by artist and era
Features
Read full description

Over 2,000 ukiyo-e masterpieces by Katsushika Hokusai, Utagawa Hiroshige, Kitagawa Utamaro, Toshusai Sharaku and more, as high-quality wallpapers. Give your iPhone home screen and lock screen the timeless beauty of Japanese art. Every print has been carefully restored by hand, one by one, removing the creases and stains of old paper to bring back the vivid reds and indigo blues of the originals. Enjoy the works that inspired Van Gogh and the French Impressionists, right on your iPhone. WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT • Only public-domain ukiyo-e masterpieces, each restored by hand for use as a wallpaper • Over 2,000 works: beautiful women, kabuki actors, landscapes, birds and flowers, and Japanese patterns • Browse by more than 80 ukiyo-e artists or by era • One-tap saving, favorites, full-screen preview and slideshow • Share wallpapers via Messages, X, Instagram, Mail and more • Light and Dark Mode support • Push notifications when new works are added CATEGORIES • Popular / Latest • By era: 1780–1804, 1804–1868, 1868–1912, 1915–1940s • By artist: Katsushika Hokusai, Utagawa Hiroshige, Kitagawa Utamaro, Toshusai Sharaku, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, Kawase Hasui, Yoshida Hiroshi and more • Others: Japanese Patterns, Simple HOW TO SET A WALLPAPER Open a saved wallpaper in the Photos app, tap the Share button, and choose the option to use it as your wallpaper. CAN'T SAVE? Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Photos and allow this app to access your photos. AD-FREE OPTIONS Watch a short video to use the app without ads for a while, or remove ads with an in-app purchase. If you reinstall the app, tap "Restore" to get your purchase back at no charge. STAY CONNECTED We share the latest news regularly. If you enjoy the app, we'd love for you to follow us. • Official website: https://dolice.net/en/apps/ukiyoe-wallpapers/ • X: https://x.com/dolice COPYRIGHT All ukiyo-e in this app are works whose copyright has expired. Each one has been carefully edited and restored for use as an iPhone wallpaper.

About

Backdrops

Discover and download unique, original wallpapers designed in-house or contributed by the community. Explore daily new designs, save your favorites, and sync them across devices. Unlock premium collections and an ad-free experience with a Pro upgrade.

Highlights
  • Original hand-crafted wallpapers
  • Community submissions
  • Daily featured wallpapers
  • Variety of styles and themes
  • Premium and Pro collections
  • Ad-free experience (Pro)
  • Favorites and sync across devices
Features
Read full description

The only wallpapers you'll ever need. Say hello to Backdrops. • Explore Sift through hundreds of original wallpapers hand crafted in house by the the Backdrops team. Enjoy exclusive walls designed specifically for your devices. You won't find these backgrounds in any other app. • Let's Get Social Join in on the action and upload wallpapers yourself. Share your own pieces of work or photography. Only high quality original submissions will be approved for the Community tab. This ensures a full collection of photos worthy of becoming your wallpaper. The Backdrops team will be side by side with you sharing high quality public domain photos with some delicious edits. • Wall of the Day Come back every day for a new treat. This is where we showcase newly created backdrops, or just some of our favorites. Contact us if you want your own original work in the spotlight. • Variety is the Spice of Life Enjoy a wide variety of different wallpaper styles and flavors, such as material, minimal, aesthetics, patterns, scenery, outer space, earth views, abstract, photography, geometric, dark AMOLED friendly walls and much more. • Premium Collections Unlock bonus collections to gain access to even more original designs. These collections will be updated along with the Explore section. More backdrops equals a happier you. • Go Pro Going Pro unlocks a few extra features, including a completely ad-free experience, and all Pro Collections of exclusive backgrounds that we'll continuously be updating with new designs. Access to future Pro features are also covered. • Favorites Click some hearts and build a collection of your own. Have all your favorites handy for quick access. • Sync Your Favs Sign in to sync and save your collection of favorites across multiple devices. • Stunning UI Fall in love with a beautifully designed app. Open up Backdrops continually for some daily eye candy. • Updated Daily We'll be constantly designing new backdrops for you. This means new high quality content within the app every day. Follow Us on X aka Twitter: https://twitter.com/backdropsapp Please note that the Backdrops app consists of high quality wallpapers. Regular usage can use a lot of data. Please be aware that your Internet Service Provider or mobile carrier's normal rates and fees may apply to your use of Backdrops. You are solely responsible for such charges and fees, as stated in our Terms of Use. This app contains ads that can be removed with an IAP. http://backdrops.io/ Terms of Use: http://backdrops.io/terms/ Privacy Policy: http://backdrops.io/privacy/

Screenshots

Ukiyo4 screens
Backdrops4 screens

Verdict

The call

Ukiyo and Backdrops both sit at 4.9 stars, but that hides the real split: 93% of Ukiyo's written reviews are positive against 60% of Backdrops's. Backdrops's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 8 months) and ratings volume (1.6K vs 498). On price, rating, 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. Ukiyo sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Backdrops sells 16 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Ukiyo holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 498 and 1.6K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 93% of Ukiyo's written reviews are positive against 60% of Backdrops's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ukiyo ships an update every 8 months, Backdrops every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Ukiyo versus Backdrops: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUkiyoBackdrops
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (498 ratings) — better4.7 (1.6K ratings)
Positive reviews93.5% of reviews — better59.7% of reviews
Number of ratings4981.6K — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size47 MB64 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMasaki HirokawaChristopher Morales

Customer experience

Ukiyo

All ratings498 ratings
Positive97.4%
Neutral2.0%
Negative0.6%
Written reviews184 reviews
Positive93.5%
Neutral2.7%
Negative3.8%

Backdrops

All ratings1,621 ratings
Positive92.1%
Neutral2.3%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews397 reviews
Positive59.7%
Neutral10.8%
Negative29.5%

User reviews

Ukiyo

From 498 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Beautiful and stunning artwork collection
  • 👍 Intuitive and seamless user interface
  • 🖼️ High-quality Ukiyo-e prints and images
  • 💰 Worth the price/good value
  • 🎯 Easy navigation and organization

Room to improve

  • 📢 Obnoxious advertising
  • 🐢 App performance not smooth
  • 🧩 Confusing panel-to-panel navigation
  • 📐 No clear borders between images
  • 🗂️ Poor organization and categorization

Backdrops

From 1.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 High quality wallpapers
  • 🚀 Simple and intuitive interface
  • 💰 Free with optional paid pro version
  • 🎨 Variety of wallpaper styles and themes

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Forced to watch ads to download wallpapers
  • 🔒 Pro version has limited additional content
  • 🐛 Occasional app crashes and loading issues
  • 🔋 High battery consumption

Bugs and requests

Ukiyo

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Navigation between panels is confusing
  • Messy layout due to lack of image borders
  • App performance/smoothness issues

Requested features

6 requests
  • Artist names displayed on images
  • Additional category filters (Geisha, Warriors, snow scenes, mountains, water, animals)
  • Unformatted image saving to camera roll
  • Better organization system
  • More kanji and older version photos
Show 1 more
  • Smoother software performance

Backdrops

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Sign in with Apple not working
  • Paid pro version not recognized
  • Unable to return to main menu after viewing wallpaper

Requested features

4 requests
  • Full-screen wallpaper preview
  • Landscape support for iPad
  • More frequent updates to pro wallpapers
  • Dark mode icon

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Ukiyo

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$6.99
16 purchases

Backdrops

One-time16
  • Acid Pop Collection$1.99
  • 10 Coins - Starter Pack$1.99
  • Horizon Vice Collection$2.99
Show 13 more
  • Macro Mode Collection$2.99
  • Elevations Collection$2.99
  • Animal Riot Collection$2.99
  • Optic Odysseys Collection$2.99
  • Synth Wavez Collection$2.99
  • Lost in the Void Collection$2.99
  • Shades of Saturn Collection$2.99
  • Dunes Day Collection$2.99
  • 25 Coins - Deluxe Pack$3.99
  • Backdrops Pro$4.99
  • Backdrops Pro + Big Tip$6.99
  • Backdrops Pro + Huge Tip$8.99
  • 100 Coins - Ultimate Pack$9.99

Questions

Is Ukiyo free?
Ukiyo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Backdrops free?
Backdrops is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Ukiyo or Backdrops?
Ukiyo is rated higher. Ukiyo averages 4.9 out of 5 from 498 ratings, while Backdrops averages 4.7 from 1.6K ratings.
Do Ukiyo or Backdrops have ads?
Both Ukiyo and Backdrops show ads.
Which is updated more often, Ukiyo or Backdrops?
Ukiyo ships an update every 8 months, and Backdrops every 2 months. Most recently, Ukiyo was updated on November 1, 2026 and Backdrops on November 3, 2026.

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