Lake vs Paint by Number

Lake is a freemium iOS coloring app built around hand-drawn books from independent illustrators. The homepage advertises more than 1,500 unique illustrations and says additional books are coming. Tools include artistic brushes, palettes, a color picker and a rainbow with over 700 shades. Coloring is freeform, works offline and can include imported images. Lake presents coloring as a way to support mindfulness, relieve anxiety and unwind, while saying part of each subscription fee goes directly to artists. The app is intended for iPhone and iPad and is available in English plus 10 other languages. Lake began in 2016 with an idea for illustrators and fans to co-create. The App Store lists it as free with in-app purchases and a free trial. Listed options are Lake Coloring at $9.99 a month or $39.99 a year, and Lake Premium at $29.99, paid once, with no term specified. Apple’s listing says the developer may collect purchases, coarse location, identifiers, product interaction and crash data not linked to the user.

Paint by Number is a coloring game in which pictures are divided into numbered cells, each matched to a color. Players fill the cells to turn an image into a painting; the maker describes the gameplay as simulating real painting. It is available on Android, iOS, and Windows, with offline access and numbered coloring as its listed mode. The maker says its artists create textured and gradient paintings, describes the game as suitable for all ages, and highlights coloring and stories in picture books.

The game has a free plan at free and a listed 3-day trial. Its terms describe premium access through a one-time lifetime purchase or monthly or yearly app-store subscriptions, but prices are unspecified. The maker may offer a premium trial that requires a payment method and subscription frequency; after the trial, the selected subscription is charged. Users may create profiles to track progress and sync activity across devices, and may register with Facebook or Google credentials. The maker says the service is intended for learning, gaming, and entertainment, and limits use to personal, non-commercial purposes. Users can join the maker’s Facebook community for daily activities and bonus pictures.