Comparison

Creative Beading Magazine vs Planbead

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

Head to head
About

Creative Beading Magazine

Discover beading inspiration with projects for all skill levels from top designers. Explore expert trends, tips, and tricks to elevate your jewelry-making.

Highlights
  • Beading projects for beginners and beyond
  • Projects from top jewelry designers
  • Expert trends, tips, and tricks
  • Inspiration for jewelry making
  • 7 issues per year
Features
Read full description

Be inspired by Australia's favorite beading magazine, containing projects for beginners and beyond from Australia’s top jewellery designers and expert trends, tips & tricks. Pricing for subscriptions available: • 1 year subscription = ($46.99 AUD), automatically renewed until cancelled The magazine offers 7 issues per year. When purchasing through iTunes your account will be charged at confirmation of purchase. Your subscription will auto-renew unless you turn this off 24 hours before the subscription runs out. You can turn off auto-renewal at any time from your iTunes account settings. You can manage your subscription through your account settings after purchase on your device. No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period. Terms of Service & Privacy Policy: https://sunraydirect.com/privacy-policy/

About

Planbead

Design and create intricate beaded jewelry with a comprehensive set of free drawing tools. Manage your bead inventory, explore various beading stitches, and utilize a revolutionary weaving mode that guides you on-screen. Access weekly inspiration and an optional premium subscription for advanced features like 3D previews and cloud sync.

Highlights
  • Free drawing features
  • Miyuki color palette
  • Bead inventory management
  • Multiple beading stitches
  • On-screen weaving mode
  • Weekly inspiration patterns
  • 3D previews (premium)
Read full description

Welcome to PlanBead, the ultimate design studio for every beading artist! Design, weave, and create stunning beaded jewelry for free. All Drawing Features are FREE! We believe creativity shouldn't have a price tag. In PlanBead, all essential drawing features are available to everyone, completely free: Unlimited Designs: Create as many patterns as you want in your personal workspace for free. Full Miyuki Color Palette: Design with the industry-standard Miyuki Delica color library. Bead Inventory: Manage your stash of beads within the app, keep track of all your beads Loom, Pyeote & Brick: Easily switch between the most popular beading stitches to perfect your patterns. currently supporting: - Loom Bracelet - Folded Leaf Earring - R-Leaf Earring - Fringe Earring - Triangle Earring - Herringobne Earring, Bracelet - Peyote Earring, Bracelet, Ring - Brick Earring, Bracelet, Ring - more beaded jewelry Revolutionary Weaving Mode: Never print a pattern again! Our dynamic weaving mode is a game-changer. Follow Along On-Screen The app highlights your current row and beads, making it easy to keep your place. Word Chart Included Generate an instant word chart for any design, perfect for complex patterns. Eco-Friendly Beading Keep the environment healthy, one sheet of paper at a time. Ditch the printer and weave directly from your device. Inspiration Delivered Weekly Stay inspired with a constant stream of new ideas! Every week, we release beautiful, professional patterns for both free and premium users. Discover new techniques and challenge your skills. Go Premium for More! Unlock powerful features with a PlanBead subscription (auto-renewing): - Unlimited 3D previews: 1-click to convert your 2D pattern to a 3D realistic preview of you beaded jewelry - Cloud Sync: Never lose your patterns again, automatically back up and sync your entire design library across all your devices - Ad-Free Experience: Enjoy a focused, uninterrupted creative workflow - Premium Patterns: Made by professional beading artists - Image Tracing: Convert an image to a beading pattern - PDF Export: Export your patterns as a printable PDF with step by step tutorial Privacy Policy: https://www.planbead.com/privacy-policy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula Download PlanBead now and bring your beading ideas to life!

Screenshots

Creative Beading Magazine4 screens
Planbead4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Planbead at every 5 days against Creative Beading Magazine's every 7 months. Planbead also leads on ratings volume (14 vs 1). Creative Beading Magazine's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Creative Beading Magazine sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $17.99 per 6 months and Planbead sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Creative Beading Magazine holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Planbead has 14 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Creative Beading Magazine ships an update every 7 months, Planbead every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Creative Beading Magazine versus Planbead: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCreative Beading MagazinePlanbead
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.7 (14 ratings)
Positive reviews—92.0% of reviews
Number of ratings114 — better
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size97 MB88 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperZinio ProAlexander Monneret

Customer experience

Creative Beading Magazine

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Planbead

All ratings14 ratings
Positive92.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative7.1%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive92.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative4.0%

In-app purchases

11 purchases

Creative Beading Magazine

Subscriptions2
  • 6 months subscription$17.996 Months
  • 1 year subscription$29.491 Year
One-time9
  • Volume 10-6$4.99
  • Volume 11-4$4.99
  • Volume 13 Issue 3$4.99
Show 6 more
  • Volume 14 Issue 5$4.99
  • Volume 15 issue 1$4.99
  • Volume 14 issue 6$4.99
  • Volume 15 issue 6$4.99
  • Volume 16 Issue 5$4.99
  • Volume 21 Issue 4$4.99
5 purchases

Planbead

Subscriptions2
  • Gold Membership – 1 Month3 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Platinum Membership – 1 Year$49.991 Year
One-time3
  • Planbead 5 Gems$0.99
  • Planbead 10 Gems$1.99
  • Planbead 50 Gems$7.99

Questions

Is Creative Beading Magazine free?
Creative Beading Magazine is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Planbead free?
Planbead is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Creative Beading Magazine or Planbead?
Creative Beading Magazine is rated higher. Creative Beading Magazine averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Planbead averages 4.7 from 14 ratings.
Do Creative Beading Magazine or Planbead have ads?
Neither Creative Beading Magazine nor Planbead shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Creative Beading Magazine or Planbead?
Creative Beading Magazine ships an update every 7 months, and Planbead every 5 days. Most recently, Creative Beading Magazine was updated on October 12, 2026 and Planbead on October 18, 2026.

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