Prisma review

Prisma is the app most people mean when they ask for a photo to painting app, and it earns the top spot on breadth and polish. Its US App Store listing describes a library of more than 500 styles with new ones going live daily, plus portrait styles built for selfies. The most useful tool is Portrait Segmentation, which applies a painting style to the person or to the background separately, so a face can stay sharp while the scene turns to oil paint. You can also replace a selfie background and add frames. Apple's editors note that the AI re-creates photos as images that look hand-painted. The free version lets you try styles; Premium opens every style and saves photos in HD, with a 3-day free trial first. Premium Monthly is $7.99 on the US App Store, and a weekly plan costs $1.99. Prisma says it has over 120 million users and supports four languages.

Who it is for

Most people who want a free, well-known app with a large painting style library

Price

Free download; Premium from $7.99 per month or $1.99 per week on the US App Store; 3-day free trial.

Premium Monthly $7.99
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 11, 2026.

Key features

• Library of more than 500 styles, with new styles added daily
• Portrait styles designed for selfies
• Portrait Segmentation applies a style to the person or the background separately
• Background replacement from templates or your own gallery
• Premium adds every style and HD saving

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: 4.7 rating from 211K US App Store ratings
• Strength: Apple App of the Year in 2016, per the vendor
• Strength: 3-day free trial of Premium before you pay
• Weakness: HD saving and the full style library need Premium
• Weakness: Many overlapping plans listed, from $1.99 a week to $39.99 a year
• Weakness: Supports 4 languages, fewer than most apps here

Key facts

• App Store rating: 4.7 from 211K ratings
• Age rating: 13+
• App size: 195.4 MB
• Requires: iOS 15.0 or later
• Premium free trial: 3 days

Where it ranks

Prisma is No. 1 in our Best Apps to Turn Photos Into Paintings verdict.