Where we stand, before anything else. We make Card Lab, a trading card maker for kids. It is free on the App Store and Google Play with nothing to buy, and shows one banner ad on its home screen and none while a card is being made. It is in the same category as PokeArt, so read what follows knowing that. We are not connected to PokeArt or Polybit Studio, and we take no referral fee from anyone on this page.
Yes. PokeArt is free to download from the App Store and pays for itself with ads. Apple lists one purchase, Unlock All Cards, at $2.99. The name has no renewal period in it, so it reads as a one-time payment.
Where the price is
Only on Apple's listing. The description never mentions money, and Polybit Studio's own site has no PokeArt price page.
| Surface | What it shows |
|---|---|
| App Store, price | Free |
| App Store, In-App Purchases row | One item: Unlock All Cards, $2.99. No billing period |
| App Store, description | No figure, and no mention of ads or of what is locked |
| App Store, App Privacy panel | Identifiers and Usage Data under Data Used to Track You; Third-Party Advertising among the purposes |
| Google Play | No app by Polybit Studio |
What the ads ask of you
Most people pay in time. Of the 50 most recent App Store reviews on 22 October 2026, going back to 8 August, 15 bring up ads. They say some card options open only after you watch one, that a run of ads can come before a card is finished, and that some ads last around a minute and start over if something goes wrong. One from August 2026 says a set of energy types costs about $3, which matches the $2.99 unlock.
Ads in a free app are not a fault, and many of the same reviewers give five stars anyway. What is missing is a description of them: the listing tells you what you can make, and nothing about what each piece costs in ads.
What we could not check
Nothing inside the app was opened. So we do not know exactly what Unlock All Cards opens, whether it turns the ads off, or how many ads a card takes. The reviews are people's accounts, not measurements.
Other card makers, and how they price
| App | What Apple lists | Android |
|---|---|---|
| PokeArt | Unlock All Cards $2.99 | No |
| Card Maker Creator for Pokemon (PAMG) | Premium $4.99; Monthly Subscription $1.99 | Yes, as Card Maker for PKM |
| PokeCards TCG Card Maker Live | $3.99 a month, $17.99 a year, $29.99 lifetime, Remove Ads $3.99 | Not found by name |
| Card Lab (ours) | Nothing to buy | Yes |
Next to the subscriptions, PokeArt's single $2.99 item is the cheapest way to pay for any of these. The full comparison, with ratings and update dates, is on apps like PokeArt.
What PokeArt does better
- It has an audience. Weekly events let players vote on each other's cards, and 62,053 ratings average 4.7. Card Lab has no public side at all.
- It goes deep on one style. Over 750 backgrounds, every stage and special card type of the game it imitates, and AR to view a card in the room. Card Lab draws its own designs and does none of that.
- Paying is cheap and simple. One item, $2.99, with no subscription to remember.
- App Store — PokeArt - TCG Card Maker, the description, the In-App Purchases row, the App Privacy panel and the version history
- Apple — customer reviews feed for PokeArt, the 50 most recent
- Polybit Studio — the publisher's own site
- App Store — Card Maker Creator for Pokemon (PAMG), the In-App Purchases row
- App Store — PokeCards TCG Card Maker Live (KoruApps), the In-App Purchases row
- App Store — Card Lab: Trading Card Maker, ours