Comparison

Oilist vs Grid Painter

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

Head to head
About

Oilist

Transform your photos into unique, genuine works of art with this app. It analyzes your images using computer vision and simulates real painting techniques with customizable styles and brush strokes. Save your creations in high-resolution for printing.

Highlights
  • AI-powered art generation
  • Unique, non-repeating results
  • 48 customizable styles
  • Real-time painting simulation
  • 4k resolution output
  • Adjustable brush strokes and moods
Features
Read full description

Oilist: the Artist in your pocket. Make Fine Art based on your pictures! "Oilist is an artist in your phone, one that you watch sketch, paint, and craft a unique version of a photo you’ve shot." - MacStories, May 2017 "App of the week: Oilist review - Hypnotic, engaging, with a longevity that escapes most filter apps, and with high-res output so you can use it to create real-world art." - Stuff Magazine, April 2017 Give Oilist an image, and it will automatically generate a genuine and unique work of art based on it. Painted for you in real time! Participate or spectate it's up to you, Oilist will delight! All saved at canvas-worthy 4k resolution. ​ Oilist comes with 48 infinitely customizable styles; from photo-realist to impressionist, to abstract. Every style except for our photo-realist style offers three different levels of abstraction. Oilist is not a photo filter. Unlike most filter apps, Oilist will never generate the same results twice, and in fact, each brush stroke is unique. Instead of applying a fixed formula to an image as photo filters typically do, Oilist analyzes the supplied image using computer vision technology, then paints simulated paint particles that are applied using various brush strokes and techniques. At any time​ during the painting process, 4k resolution images may be captured as often as desired. When Oilist is painting, styles can be infinitely customized with 17 different presets (these were called Styles in previous versions of Oilist), 13 different painting moods, 15 different brushes, setting brush options such as the size and spacing, and by splashing paint with our exciting Chaos tool. Control paint gravity by tilting your device and brush angles by yawing (rotating) the device. Obtain new and exciting results by alternating settings with new settings painted on top of the previous settings. For instance, first, paint a layer using the Warm mood followed by a layer using the Cool mood. The use of large brushes tend to create more abstract artwork, and smaller brushes work best for high definition detail. Oilist will automatically provide smaller brush strokes and greater photo-realism to detected faces. Check out #oilist and follow us @3dtopo on Instagram and Twitter!

About

Grid Painter

Easily overlay a customizable grid onto your images to aid in accurate drawing and painting. Select photos from your library or camera, choose grid styles and sizes, and utilize various image filters for reference. Save, print, or share your projects.

Highlights
  • Overlay customizable grids on images
  • Select photos from library or camera
  • Choose grid styles and sizes
  • Image filters (grayscale, Notan, etc.)
  • Customizable canvas size
  • Save, print, and share projects
Read full description

GridPainter is the premium application to use compose your next masterpiece. It lets you quickly and easily place a grid onto an image for the purpose of using the grid technique of drawing and painting, the same method even Leonardo da Vinci used in his work. With the portability of our devices and access to thousands of images at our fingertips, more artists than ever are using them as a reference for drawings. With GridPainter, the process of drawing accurately from your device is easier than ever. Simply select the photo you wish from your photo library or using the "Open In" functionality in Messages or email, and the app will scale your image and place the "fourths" style grid over the top. From the toolbar on top you will find easy to use controls. -Select a standard canvas or customize your canvas size. -Customize your grid pattern from several different styles. -Crop We have also integrated some basic functions from our sister application NotanIzer so now you can -Look at you image in color, gray scale, Notan, 3 Level, 4 level, or Levels Everything is saved and you can work with your image in the app, or using the share menu, print, email, or export it to your photo library. To create a drawing from the photo, simply draw a grid of the same proportions on your drawing material as your selected final project size and grid size. From there you can easily transfer the image by drawing whats in each square, letting the grid take care of the proper scaling and framing within your picture. Great for when you need to draw a large drawing from a small reference photo, or for drawing complicated imagery. Features: -Select an image from your camera roll , import, or take a photo directly from the app -Choose final image size -Place a grid over the image using different grid types -Change the grid size -Change the grid color for best visibility over the image -Select any canvas size or automatically choose the aspect ratio or use the Golden Ratio -Scale and move your image to fit exactly where you want -Save the project for later revisions -Print or share your project with others

Screenshots

Oilist4 screens
Grid Painter4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Grid Painter at none against Oilist's shown. Grid Painter also leads on chart position (#91 vs unranked) and device support (4 vs 2). Oilist's advantage is ratings volume (3.8K vs 393). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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

Oilist costs $2.99 and Grid Painter $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Oilist against 4.8 for Grid Painter. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Oilist has 3.8K ratings behind it against 393, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 82% and 81% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Oilist ships an update every 2 weeks, Grid Painter every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Oilist versus Grid Painter: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOilistGrid Painter
Price$2.99$2.99
Rating4.8 (3.8K ratings)4.8 (393 ratings)
Positive reviews82.4% of reviews — better81.5% of reviews
Number of ratings3.8K — better393
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank—#91 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.613.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size152 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer3DTOPO Inc.bigpantsgroup LLC

Customer experience

Oilist

All ratings3,791 ratings
Positive95.6%
Neutral2.7%
Negative1.7%
Written reviews221 reviews
Positive82.4%
Neutral5.4%
Negative12.2%

Grid Painter

All ratings393 ratings
Positive96.4%
Neutral1.3%
Negative2.3%
Written reviews54 reviews
Positive81.5%
Neutral5.6%
Negative13.0%

User reviews

Oilist

From 3.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Excellent artistic results
  • 🤩 Fun and engaging to use
  • 🎨 Versatile with many style options
  • 🎨 Transforms photos into unique artworks
  • 🎨 Impressive oil painting effects

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App crashes or freezes
  • 🔋 Battery draining issues
  • 🤔 Confusing or unclear controls
  • 🤷‍♀️ Inconsistent or unpredictable results
  • 💸 Expensive for some users

Grid Painter

From 393 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use and navigate
  • 🎨 Great for drawing and painting accuracy
  • 📐 Helpful for grids and composition
  • 💡 Useful for value study and grayscale conversion
  • ⏱️ Saves time for artists

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Grid lines too thick
  • 🔄 Rotation issues with square photos
  • 🗂️ Cropping feature uses absolute values, not ratios
  • 🚫 Inability to print with grid
  • ⚠️ Cropping feature can freeze

Bugs and requests

Oilist

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes when trying to save finished paintings
  • Certain style options don't work as expected
  • White splotches or marks appear in final paintings

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add progress indicator or notification when painting is complete
  • Provide more guidance or information on the different style options
  • Improve performance and reduce battery drain
  • Offer a desktop version or integration with other art apps

Grid Painter

Reported bugs

14 issues
  • Cannot upload photos from desktop
  • Grid width too thick even at lowest setting
  • Photo library update message with no update available
  • Grid would not reset
  • App crashes when changing canvas to Landscape
Show 9 more
  • Resizing won't maintain aspect ratio and image disappears
  • Stop work after last update
  • Annoying bug: rotates square format photos with Notan/grayscale
  • Cropping feature only allows absolute values (inches), not ratios
  • Cropping feature freezes the page
  • Cannot get saved images back
  • Inability to print image with grid
  • Email developers function freezes
  • Crop feature does not work

Requested features

10 requests
  • Allow uploading photos from desktop directly
  • Lock canvas size and adapt photo to fit
  • Approximate color in levels section for palette preview
  • Sort projects
  • Different grid styles (isometric, diagonal)
Show 5 more
  • Select grid opacity
  • User-selectable number of rows and columns for grids
  • Add movable lines for grid customization
  • Combine multiple grids without screenshots
  • Geometrically sound grid drawing method (X through corners, etc.)

In-app purchases

None

Oilist

No in-app purchases

None

Grid Painter

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Oilist free?
Oilist costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Grid Painter free?
Grid Painter costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Oilist or Grid Painter?
Oilist and Grid Painter are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 3.8K and 393 ratings respectively.
Do Oilist or Grid Painter have ads?
Oilist shows ads; Grid Painter does not.
Which is updated more often, Oilist or Grid Painter?
Oilist ships an update every 2 weeks, and Grid Painter every 3 weeks. Most recently, Oilist was updated on September 26, 2026 and Grid Painter on September 22, 2026.

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