Drawing App Comparisons for iPad (CSP, Procreate, IbisPaint and more)

I recently made the switch from drawing exclusively on a desktop PC over to the iPad Pro (mostly due to my work computer dying, but I also had been wanting to try the iPad anyways). It came with a huge learning curve and at first was really frustrating for me as someone who loves the PC and, more importantly, loves high-functionality in my art programs above anything else. My favorite and most frequently used drawing program for PC is Clip Studio Paint (no shock to anyone who knows me) because it's so jam-packed with features and customizability. 

Because of this, I was a little worried and skeptical about trying new drawing apps on the iPad, afraid that they might be too bare-bones or slippery for me to get any solid work done. I decided that the best thing I could do for myself was to test out some of the most popular drawing apps and compare them to see which fit my standards the best.

I've given each app at least a few hours of testing and compiled my notes below! These aren't ranked in any order of which is the "best" or anything like that, since it's completely dependent on the artist and the type of work they do whether an app works for their style. Instead, I've just listed some pros and cons as well as some personal thoughts.

Clip Studio Paint Pro/EX

First on the list is the iPad version of Clip Studio Paint. I specifically use the EX version but this includes all of the same features of Pro as well, so I'll be treating them as the same.

If you are moving over to the iPad from a computer and want an experience similar to a desktop drawing app, this may be your best option. The iPad version of CSP is an almost identical port of the desktop version, with only a few small differences between them related to shortcuts and gestures. It still retains all of the handy CSP features from desktop like 3D model manipulation, multi-page documents, reference layers, vector layers, etc. and is extremely rich with features. If you plan to do professional work on the iPad and want to make sure you aren't missing out on any illustration editing features, I can highly recommend CSP for iPad.

I won't explain too much about CSP's brush engine or features here because it would turn into a huge essay if I did, but if you're interested in the specifics consider checking out my Intro Guide For Beginners ! All of the information there applies to both the desktop and iPad versions.

It also has the added benefit of a cloud storage system that is compatible with both desktop and iPad, meaning you can bring over your brushes, settings, and files directly from one to the other. That being said, I will note that this system isn't perfect and tends to miss some things - I ended up manually loading in my settings and brushes to fill in anything the cloud backup didn't pick up on. But generally speaking, this is really handy for people hoping to use more than one device while keeping the same settings.

One of the iPad-specific features I really enjoy in this app is a little sidebar of hotkeys you can pull out by swiping from the edge of your screen. It includes several pre-coded buttons like Shift and Command, as well as a few that you can customize in the app settings to do anything you want. 

If you don't own a Bluetooth remote or are just accustomed to using shortcuts to do things like multiple-selection or eyedropping, this is a huge timesaver. 

I plan to make a full guide breaking down the differences between CSP on PC versus iPad in the future, so keep your eyes peeled for that if you want to know more specifics!

Some notes to consider:

- After a free trial period, Clip Studio Paint for iPad costs anywhere from $5 to $10 USD per month, depending on the version you choose. A full chart comparing the different versions and their features can be found on the CSP website, but generally speaking, Pro is the "lite" version (I use that term loosely since Pro is extremely feature-rich and is only missing a few things that EX has) ideal for illustration, while EX is the "full" version that includes comic-related features. 

If you plan to use this app professionally or just really appreciate the features it includes then I definitely think the price point is fair, but if you're a hobbyist or okay with something less flashy then you may be better off saving your money. I still prefer CSP for desktop over iPad and if you're stuck between which version to buy, I highly recommend that any artist using a desktop buy a CSP license during one of their seasonal half-off sales (it's usually only around $24 USD, which is a total steal for the amount of features) instead.

- If you don't want to pay for a subscription, you can use the app for free up to one hour per day. This may be ideal for anyone who is using it as a secondary app just for editing.

- In my personal experience, the app seems to have some issues regarding saving to external cloud services like Google Drive or Dropbox, though that may also be an issue on Apple's end rather than just CSP's. If you plan to use this app exclusively, I recommend working from the Clip Studio folder it'll create on your device and then regularly backing that up to a cloud service.

If you don't know anything about CSP and are interested in learning more, check out my tutorials tag for a full masterlist of its features and explanations on how to use them!

Ease of use overall: 4/5 - hard at first, gets much easier overtime

Ease of use for beginners: 1/5 - very feature-heavy, not advised for beginners to start here

Cost for value: 5/5 - arguably the most feature-rich and fleshed out of all the digital drawing apps

Overall rating: 5/5 (I'm definitely biased here because I love CSP but! It's really that good)

Procreate

Procreate is a minimal but powerful drawing app that I really enjoy for its unique brush engine and its ability to recreate traditional media easily. As somebody who loves having a ton of options and settings to fiddle with in my workspace, the very minimal and open design of Procreate intimidated me HARD at first. But once I got the hang of it, I really ended up enjoying the traditional-like feeling of it. If you're someone who enjoys traditional art and wants your digital art experience to feel similar, I can definitely recommend Procreate.

All of Procreate's menus can be accessed from the bar at the top. I found that some features were in awkward spots and probably deserved their own separate menus, but for the most part everything is neatly organized and easily identifiable. 

I really admire Procreate's brush engine, which feels like an upgraded version of Photoshop's. Almost anything is possible with this brush engine if you take the time to figure out how to do it, from color jitter to watercolor edges to extreme tilt. Procreate is also famous for its brush stabilizer, which makes your lines extremely smooth similar to the NezumiPro extension for Photoshop. As a result of this engine, you can get some really beautiful effects that are hard to find elsewhere.

My only grievance is that, for some reason, they opted to give a few of the settings "unique" names that can sometimes fall on their face - I have a hard time figuring out what some of them mean, and when I do finally figure it out my first thought is usually "Why didn't they just call it ____ like every other app does??". But then again, as a CSP user, maybe I'm just more used to the extremely direct naming conventions that Celsys uses instead. I definitely plan to learn everything I can about this engine so I can use it better.

Some notes to consider:

- If you're a Photoshop user, you can import Photoshop brushes (ABR files only, no TPL support yet) into Procreate and they almost always work just as well as they do in Photoshop. I've had the occasional weird quirk come up when converting brushes over, but for the most part they stay true to their original Photoshop counterparts. 

- Procreate lets you watch and export a process playback of your drawing! Rather than it being a straight recording, the program records each individual "step" (not counting immediate undos) and pieces it all together at the end to make a recording-like montage of the drawing process which can then be exported as a video. 

- Procreate lacks a decent amount of editing features, and of the few that it does have, they can only be applied to one layer rather than as an adjustment to the entire canvas. This can be frustrating for me since I like to do major color adjusting and often use a lot of layers. That being said, though, the app gets major updates every few months and the developers are very attentive to their userbase - if enough people ask for a feature, it usually becomes a reality in a future update.  With every new update the app gets better and better, so I have no doubt that it'll become more fleshed out and feature rich as time goes by. They also have a forum where you can request changes. 

- Procreate costs $10 USD but is a one-time purchase with free updates for life. I think it is absolutely worth the price for the value.

Ease of use overall: 3/5 - hard at first, especially if you struggle with minimalist UI, but gets comfortable quickly 

Ease of use for beginners: 4/5 - minimal enough for beginners to pick up the pen and get right into drawing without worrying about settings

Cost for value: 5/5 - absolutely a steal for the one-time price!

Overall rating: 4/5 

Adobe Fresco

Fresco is Adobe's attempt at creating a mobile version of Photoshop for illustration, though to me it seems like it's also their response to Procreate and its success. Its UI layout feels like a cross between Photoshop, Procreate and Autodesk Sketchbook all rolled into one - it isn't too cluttered, but it's definitely a bit more menu-heavy than the minimalist Procreate. You can collapse the menus to make it more minimal but may find yourself popping them back open from time to time to access your tools. 

Like Procreate, Fresco has a really impressive ability to recreate traditional media - in some ways, it excels beyond any other drawing app I've tried at it. It has real-time brushes that allow for things like blendy oil paints or watercolors that spread when you add "water" to them. There are some fun and unique features that I haven't seen anywhere else, too, like the ability to colorpick from a whole area and then have your brush use all those colors together. It feels like Adobe pulled some of the best parts of drawing in Photoshop and put them into Fresco, which I appreciate as an ex-Photoshop artist who still misses a lot of its features from time to time. The brush engine is definitely more simplified than Photoshop's, but is still robust enough to get some impressive results easily. 

It also has vector brushes, something I absolutely love about CSP! They behave differently in this app than they do in CSP, though - in this case, they are literal vectors, meaning no matter what size they are or how much you stretch and skew them, the lines will always stay high quality and not get artifacted. So that's a huge plus in my book for anybody who wants to use this app for lineart. 

I consider it somewhere between CSP and Procreate in terms of tool quantity - it has just enough to make drawing easy without overwhelming you or making you feel like you're missing something important. It does lack most editing/adjustment tools, but for sketching or just playing around it has a really good set of tools.

Some notes to consider:

- The free version has some locked brushes and features, which is a shame but understandable. You can't import new brushes or create new ones, either, and instead will have to customize the free brushes to your liking instead. 

- You'll need an Adobe account to use the app. You can get access to the full version of Fresco if you already pay for a monthly Creative Cloud subscription, but otherwise it costs $10 USD per month (which also includes the iPad version of Photoshop too - something I think helps cover any blind spots with Fresco's lack of editing capabilities). I think the price is only barely worth it given its capabilities compared to other similarly priced or cheaper apps on this list, but the similar formatting to Photoshop may be a comfort worth paying extra for for some artists. I would say if you already have Procreate, though, you definitely don't need both given their similarities - especially since Fresco is a monthly sub while Procreate is a single purchase.

Ease of use overall: 4/5 - very straightforward UI, especially if you've used other drawing apps

Ease of use for beginners: 2/5 - it may take some time for beginners to work out what some more obscure tools and options do, but it isn't overwhelming or too hard to use

Cost for value: 2/5 - for the same price monthly as CSP EX, it has way less features so it feels a bit overpriced. Worth using if you have Adobe CC already since it's free though!

Overall rating: 3/5

Medibang Paint

Medibang Paint, created by the company that produced FireAlpaca for desktop, is a little clunky and finnicky right from the get-go, but feels like a beginner-friendly and budget-friendly version of Clip Studio Paint EX for those wanting to get started with comics and illustration. 

It's been a few years since I tried Medibang Paint for desktop, but at the time I was just getting started with comics in high school and I can attest that Medibang was a great segue into eventually learning CSP. Although it's very minimal comparatively, it has the same spirit as CSP - cloud storage, multi-page documents, downloadable materials, comic panel tools and useful rulers. 

Right off the bat, I'll note that the iPad app, unlike its desktop counterpart, is very buggy and a bit unclear on how to use it. I struggled to properly log in to access downloadable materials (stuck loading) and I struggled repeatedly with getting it to acknowledge the palm rejection setting I had turned on. It was only after a few minutes of messing with buttons that I realized you needed to have the hand tool selected to zoom or drag, something that most other apps let you do seamlessly with gestures. The app offers tutorials for how to do most things, but I could definitely see them getting confusing or overwhelming for someone new to digital art, which seems to be the target demographic for the app.

Still, once you get past the initial confusion and mild frustration, the app provides a decent drawing experience. It definitely feels the most "digital" of all the apps on this list so far, aiming for a more digital manga-inspired tool set rather than mimicking traditional art like Procreate or Fresco. It comes pre-loaded with a small but reliable set of brushes, and more can be downloaded from their cloud service if you have an account. The customization of brushes is pretty limited, but if you aren't aiming to make incredibly diverse or dynamic brushes and just want something to sketch in, Medibang has you covered.

The menu panels are all collapsible and some of the toolbars are customizable, making it easy to alter the layout to fit your needs.

Since Medibang is geared towards manga as well as illustration, it has a lot of the same comic features that CSP EX has, but in a much more simplified form. It also boasts that, like CSP, it is almost identical across operating systems and devices, so your experience on desktop and your experience on the iPad should be the same. Personally, I feel like the desktop version is cleaner and easier to maneuver, while the iPad version feels clunky and confusing, though it is true that the features are the same beyond their visual presentation.

Some notes to consider:

- Medibang Paint is a free app to download, though there are some paid features like reference image panels and layer folders that you can opt to purchase if you want to. I think Medibang is pretty useful and has a good amount of features for a free app, especially if you're just starting digital art or comic making and don't want to rush into spending money on an app without experience. 

- Although I struggled with some bugs when first using the app, it may be a totally different experience for you and if you're interested in it I think it's worth downloading to see how it behaves for your device. Their website and tutorials may help you understand more about the app and how to adjust the settings to fit your needs.

Ease of use overall: 2/5 - pretty clunky and has bugs, but is simple enough to understand after some time

Ease of use for beginners: 4/5 - it has just enough features to be robust without being overwhelming for new artists

Cost for value: 5/5 - given its simplicity and clunkiness, it's best that it's a free app with optional purchases

Overall rating: 2.5/5

IbisPaint X

I recently tried IbisPaint X for the first time and was amazed by how much customizability and feature-heaviness they managed to fit into a free app. It's very similar to Medibang Paint in a lot of ways, focusing on manga and illustration together, but it has a much cleaner and easier to use interface. Some of its more complex features may be a bit much for a total beginner, but if you already like digital art and want a powerful but easy to use app that's free, you really can't beat IbisPaint X.

If Medibang Paint is the beginner-friendly app on this list, then IbisPaint X is the workhorse app for intermediate artists. It has a pretty decent list of brushes with an equally decent set of customizable settings for each, as well as a ton of practical settings easily accessible from the sidebar. I appreciate that everything is clearly labeled and you're given a tour as soon as you first open the app so there's no confusion. 

In my opinion, IbisPaint X feels like the best free equivalent to CSP for artists looking to achieve similar results without paying a hefty subscription fee. It has its own comic panel tools and materials for artists interested in comics and some editing tools for illustrators that surpass those of Fresco and Procreate. If anything, it may serve as a good stepping stone between a simpler program and something as feature-heavy as CSP for artists who are anxious to give it a try or spend money until they're more prepared. Or it may even be preferable to those who like a simpler app altogether! 

Some notes to consider:

- IbisPaint X is a free app, but like Fresco it puts some of its features behind a paywall. However, unlike Fresco, you can bypass the brush limitations by watching a short ad, granting you 18 hours of access to the brushes. I think this is a great way for artists who aren't able or willing to spend money to work around the paid limitations since the ad is so short and the access period is so long by comparison - you could easily get into the habit of watching one 30 second ad a day without even thinking about it.

You can also pay to remove ads by buying the full version called IbisPaint for a single purchase of $8 USD, or become a monthly Prime Member ($3 USD a month) to remove ads and unlock a bunch of extra features like gradient maps and more editing capabilities. I think this is a really good deal either way since the app is already great as a freebie, and it's more of a gesture to support the developers than anything else.

- Like Procreate, IbisPaint X has a process recording feature! I'm always a fan of this and I hope more apps get it soon. 

- IbisPaint X has its own online publishing gallery where you can submit your work and process video to be posted among other artists with the potential of it being featured on their website. I don't know the specifics of this since I haven't tried it yet, but it seems like a fun way to show off your work. 

Ease of use overall: 5/5 - very well explained tour and clean UI makes it extremely easy to pick up and learn right away

Ease of use for beginners: 3.5/5 - more complicated than something simple like Medibang, but easy to adapt to and learn with

Cost for value: 5/5 incredibly good for a free app! If you want to support the development and pay monthly you can but it's not obligatory

Overall rating: 4.5/5

Autodesk Sketchbook

Autodesk Sketchbook is deceptively simple-looking. Like Procreate, it strives for minimalism to give the feel of drawing traditionally. It has a heavy reliance on using gestures to get things done, which may be a pro or a con depending on the type of artist using it, and it may give the impression that it doesn't have much customizability. However, beneath that minimal surface, there is actually a pretty decent amount of nuance to this app that makes it, like the name suggests, great as a sketchbook.

The brushes featured in this app are sort of a mix between the ones in Fresco and the one in IbisPaint X - they're not quite realistic to traditional media, but they're also not glaringly digital-looking, either. There's a decent amount of customizability to the brush settings of each tool, a bit more than in Fresco but less than Procreate. 

Sketchbook has some really handy tools available like a symmetry ruler, text tool, and perspective tools. It also includes a full set of color swatches meant to match real life Copic swatches, which lends itself to the app's goal of being like a sketchbook. It's amazing how just limiting your drawing colors to those of real life media can give the illusion of drawing traditionally.

Personally, I have never used this app to do a fully finished illustration, but I like it a lot for sketching. In a way, I think its limitations lend themselves to the idea of it being like a sketchbook, and that can inspire creativity for artists like myself who can get overwhelmed by too many choices.

Some notes to consider:

- Has process recording like Procreate and IbisPaint X!

- This app used to be split up into a free version and a Pro version, but now the free Autodesk Sketchbook you see here is the full version!

- I found that the "corner shortcuts" setting, which lets you do shortcuts by tapping the four corners of your iPad, only worked sometimes and I ended up turning it off because it frustrated me after a while. The shortcuts are customizable but there doesn't seem to be any way to adjust their sensitivity.

Ease of use overall: 4/5 - very straightforward, but some of the gestures and buried menus can make navigation a little tedious until you master them

Ease of use for beginners: 3.5/5 - very easy to jump in and start drawing, especially since the brush icons look like traditional media so there's less of a learning curve. I could see some of the more convoluted gestures being hard for beginners to use though.

Cost for value: 5/5 - excellent for a free app!

Overall rating: 3.5/5

Honorable Mention: Affinity Photo

Though I don't have a full review for this app on iPad yet, I can say that it's the closest thing to a fully functional Photoshop for iPad out there. The desktop version, which is almost identical to the iPad version, is my personal favorite Photoshop dupe, and the iPad app is more affordable as a single $20 USD purchase than paying for an Adobe CC monthly subscription. If you rely on Photoshop for editing tools, Affinity Photo has them and works extremely well in my experience. Photoshop brushes (ABRs) can be loaded into Affinity Photo and used just like Photoshop, along with other Photoshop assets like swatches and gradients. The creators have an active forum where new features can be suggested and are often implemented.

I may review it in the future solely from a drawing standpoint, but if you're in the market for an editing app similar to Photoshop but much cheaper then I definitely can recommend Affinity Photo for that.

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I hope this comparison guide was helpful for anyone wanting to use the iPad for drawing! Good luck and happy drawing 🖌💕