Comparison, checked 28 October 2026
Best coloring apps for iPhone and iPad (2026)
For coloring without a subscription, Crayon (ours: one-time purchases) and Coloring Book for Adults (free with ads, no purchases) are the simplest choices. Happy Color has the biggest free library but is color by number. Pigment has the most brushes and Lake has art by independent artists; both are subscriptions.
Disclosure: Crayon is our app. We made this table from each app's own App Store page in the US store on 28 October 2026, and kept to facts you can check there. Prices and libraries change; check the App Store before you buy.
The seven apps side by side
| App | Pricing model | Subscription | Free coloring or color by number | Library size | Standout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crayon coloring pages (ours) Hieu Tran Song | Free download; optional one-time purchases ($1.99 to $9.99); ads in grown-up mode | No | Free coloring: tap to fill and textured brushes | 5,149 pages | Crayon and pencil textures that stay inside the lines; no account |
| Adult Coloring Book: Pigment Pixite Inc. | Free download; Premium Access subscription | Yes (weekly or monthly plans listed) | Free coloring: tap to fill plus freehand modes | 10,000+ pages, 800+ for free users | 30+ pencils, markers and brushes; Apple Pencil pressure |
| Happy Color X-Flow | Free with ads; optional Remove ads ($7.99) and premium month or year plans | Optional | Color by number | 50,000+ pictures, all standard ones free | Huge free library; licensed Disney, Marvel and Star Wars sets |
| Lake: Coloring Book for Adults Lake Coloring | Free trial, then a weekly, monthly or yearly plan; a one-time Lake Premium is also listed | Yes | Free coloring, inside or outside the lines | 1,500+ drawings | Art by 100+ independent artists; Apple Design Award 2017 |
| Coloring Book for Adults. HobbyApps | Free with ads; no in-app purchases | No | Free coloring with one-touch fill | Almost 1,400 pages | Every page is free |
| Colorfy: Coloring Book Games Wildlife Studios | Free with ads; Colorfy Plus subscription | Yes | Free coloring, tap to color | 1,000+ pictures | Draw-your-own mandala mode and an AR gallery |
| Recolor: Adult Coloring Book Sumoing Ltd | Free download; Recolor Premium subscription | Yes | Free coloring | 5,000+ pages; 3 free new pages a day | 80+ effects and filters; import your own photos |
Scroll the table sideways on a phone. "Free coloring" means you choose the colors; "color by number" means each area has a set color.
Which one fits you
- No subscription at all: Crayon (one-time purchases) or Coloring Book for Adults (free, with ads, and nothing to buy).
- The biggest free library: Happy Color, if you like color by number.
- The most brushes and Apple Pencil pressure: Pigment, with a subscription for the full library.
- Art by independent illustrators: Lake, with a subscription after the free trial.
- Effects, filters and your own photos: Recolor.
- Drawing your own mandalas: Colorfy.
- Crayon and pencil texture that stays inside the lines, with no account: Crayon.
About Crayon, briefly
Crayon is a coloring app for iPhone and iPad by Hieu Tran Song, with 5,149 pages, tap to fill, crayon and colored-pencil brushes and a Stay inside the lines option. Most of its line art comes from the studio's own AI-assisted pipeline and is curated before release. More about Crayon or the FAQ.
How we checked
Every row comes from the app's App Store page: the description for library size and features, the In-App Purchases list for prices and plans, and the "Contains Advertising" label for ads. Where a page did not say something, the table does not either. Apps we did not cover include Zen Color, Color Goods and Coloring Book for Me.
