Thirty vs TangledString
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Thirty
Create and share simple black and white pixel art drawings within a 32x32 grid. Features include zoom, undo/redo, symmetry tools, and pixel selection for easy editing. Share your creations across various platforms and even view them on Apple Watch.
- 32x32 pixel grid drawing
- Black and white or grayscale colors
- Pinch to zoom with preview
- Undo/redo toolbar
- Symmetrical drawing modes
- Pixel selection and movement
- Sharing extensions and AirDrop
Read full descriptionHide full description
Thirty-Two: Black and white and square all over. Thirty-Two is a simple way to create and share drawings. Other than food and shelter there is no other need more powerful than the need to make small grayscale drawings. Old age is a myth, billions of people throughout history have simply died from lack of drawing in grids.* Thirty-Two is the solution!§ Features • Draw anything, as long as it fits in a thirty-two by thirty-two square! • Kick it 1-bit old school and draw with only black and white, or get ultra modern and use a plethora of grays!‡. • Duplicate a drawing, now duplicate a drawing! • Pinch to zoom while drawing, we know your chubby little fingers can't hit the squares you want, we're taking of that. See a little preview of the whole drawing while zoomed in, how cute. • Toolbar for the undo/redo to make them easier to get to. Didn't want to take three taps to undo something, we're considered two taps, but we decided one tap is best! • Super symmetrical mode, tap on the dotted line and pick vertical or horizontal so you can start drawing your favorite psychological inkblot tests. • Select and move pixels, tap and hold the pixels you want to move, tap other pixels to add to the selection, drag around, double tap to put the pixels in their final resting place. •Linear mode to draw straight lines. • Share from the app with your friends using sharing extensions. Any app that can share images will work, Mail, Messages, Facebook, Twitter, and any other third party apps that support sharing extensions. • Share with someone that's close to you, using AirDrop. • Watch your drawings on Apple Watch! • Search for your beauteous drawings in Spotlight. • Dance the hand jive while using Handoff between devices. Ideas for drawings • Unflattering portraits of your friends that you post online without their permission. • Replace the icons on your thirty year old computer. • Make reproductions of your favorite artist's square, black and white masterpieces. • Your hipster bike. • Your hipster glasses. • Your hipster bird you put on stuff. • Your hipster watch. • Your steampunk tophat. • Your hipster shark. • Drawings of pets you wished were yours, so that your sad meaningless life had a ray of hope.° • Illustrate the fourteen stations of the cross. • Illustrate the twelve signs of the zodiak. • A taxi-cab. • An old boot. • A urinal on it's side, with some letters scribbled on it. • And literally a couple more things... *Does not cure old age, athelete's foot or the plague. §There is no solution, because there is no problem. ‡A plethora in this context means six. °Users of Thirty-Two are prone to bouts of existential angst.
TangledString
Read full descriptionHide full description
The left and right edges of the screen are tied with 10 strings. Apply the right end that is connected to the left end. The game is over when you can hit as many as 10.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Thirty at every 3 months against TangledString's every 42 months. TangledString's advantage is iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Thirty ships an update every 3 months, TangledString every 42 months. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and May 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Thirty | TangledString |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.2 (10 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 41.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 10 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 42 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 15.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 20 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Chad Sager | Yukihiro Shioya |
In-app purchases
Thirty
No in-app purchases
TangledString
No in-app purchases








