# Adobe Express vs Portrait Drawing

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Portrait Drawing at 100% against Adobe Express's 58%. Portrait Drawing also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8) and iOS requirement (15.2 vs 18.0). Adobe Express's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 22 months). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Adobe Express sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Portrait Drawing sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Portrait Drawing holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Adobe Express has 367K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 58% of Adobe Express's written reviews are positive against 100% of Portrait Drawing's.

Adobe Express ships an update every 3 weeks, Portrait Drawing every 22 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and August 28, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Adobe Express | Portrait Drawing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (367K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/adobe-express-create-anything/id1051937863/reviews) | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/portrait-drawing/id1623269600/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **367K** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 58.0% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Every 22 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#11** | — |
| Size | 188 MB | 172 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **15.2** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Adobe Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/331646274) | [Hikaru Tsuyumine](https://appshunter.io/developer/1438695088) |

## What reviewers say

### Adobe Express

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/adobe-express-create-anything/id1051937863)

**Currently charting:** #11 Top Free · Graphics & Design, #16 Top Grossing · Graphics & Design (US App Store)

Create professional marketing and business materials with ease. This app offers intuitive tools for video editing, photo enhancement, background removal, and QR code generation. Maintain brand consistency with customizable templates and brand kits.

**Highlights:** Video editing with templates, music, and effects, AI-powered photo editing and object manipulation, One-tap background removal for photos and videos, Branded QR code generation, Brand kit for consistent visuals, PDF editing and conversion

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Adobe Express Mobile | $4.99 | per month |
| Express Subscription - Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| Adobe Express Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| Adobe Express Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| Adobe Design Mobile : Monthly | $14.99 | per month |
| Adobe Express Mobile - Yearly | $49.99 | per year |
| Adobe Express - Yearly | $99.99 | per year |
| Adobe Express Yearly | $99.99 | per year |
| Adobe Express Premium - Annual | $99.99 | per month |
| Adobe Design Mobile: Yearly | $149.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Quick and efficient
- 💡 Vast collection of templates and design options
- 👍 Intuitive interface
- 🚀 Seamless cross-platform sync

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔒 Subscription model limits free features
- 🔒 Watermark issues with free version
- 🐛 Syncing and file management problems
- 👎 Cluttered and confusing UI after recent update

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes and freezes when using certain features
- Disappearing fonts and design elements
- Issues with exporting high-quality images
- Inconsistent behavior across mobile and desktop versions

**Requested features**

- Add more customization options for text, shapes, and layouts
- Improve alignment and resizing tools
- Introduce a search function for templates and design elements
- Allow offline editing and local file storage
- Provide better organization and management of projects and assets


### Portrait Drawing

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/portrait-drawing/id1623269600)

Transform your photos into artistic portraits with this app. It automatically detects faces, isolates them from backgrounds, and applies an artist-drawn effect. Get unique, stylized images from your existing pictures.

**Highlights:** Artist-drawn portrait generation, Automatic face detection, Background isolation, Photo library integration, Unique artistic effects

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ad-free | $0.99 | per month |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Adobe Express free?

Adobe Express is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Portrait Drawing free?

Portrait Drawing is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Adobe Express or Portrait Drawing?

Portrait Drawing is rated higher. Adobe Express averages 4.8 out of 5 from 367K ratings, while Portrait Drawing averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do Adobe Express or Portrait Drawing have ads?

Portrait Drawing shows ads; Adobe Express does not.

### Which is updated more often, Adobe Express or Portrait Drawing?

Adobe Express ships an update every 3 weeks, and Portrait Drawing every 22 months. Most recently, Adobe Express was updated on September 25, 2026 and Portrait Drawing on August 28, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*