Paintwork vs Drawing Apps
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Paintwork
Create handwritten notes, diaries, and drawings with a vast array of tools. Features include customizable brushes, vector graphics, a rich color palette, and image import. Export your creations as PDFs or images.
- Customizable brushes and erasers
- Extensive vector graphics tools
- Rich color palette
- Image and material import
- Handwriting assistance
- PDF and image export
- Customizable backgrounds and canvas
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Paintwork is a simple and powerful software for handwritten notebooks, diaries, and hand drawn images. It includes functions such as: brush list (hundreds of brush effects, customizable brush thickness, color, transparency, dynamic strength weights, etc.), eraser list (each brush effect can be used as an eraser), Vector graphics tools (including lasso, vector eraser, vector pen, annotation pen, highlighter, wavy pen, double line pen, text box, illustration, dashed line, horizontal and vertical dashed line, curve, closed shape, text pen, rectangle, ellipse, straight line, arrow, triangle, pentagram, polygon, etc.), and also include many related attribute settings, Color list (with a rich color palette and customizable manual configuration of commonly used colors), copy and cut the content of specified areas on the page, import images or materials, as well as a simple calculator, handwriting assistance, and photo scanning of document files. Unlimited writing, ruler, recognition of text, printing of text, filling, and the ability to export PDF files or images. Supports custom background functionality, custom canvas paper, and more. It can be used to write for classroom or book learning notes, handwritten notes for work meetings, hand drawn mind maps, hand drawn account creation, hand made account book making, writing diaries, recording life thoughts, calligraphy practice, handwritten brush and pencil characters, hand drawn artistic characters, and so on. Supports Apple pencil. Can export images or PDFs. If you have any comments or feedback, please feel free to contact us. Contact email: pw_team@163.com If you like our application, please give us a good review. Thank you.
Drawing Apps
Create digital art with a powerful painting engine and advanced tools. This app offers realistic brushes, layers, blend modes, and various editing capabilities for sketching, painting, and transforming images. Import and export your creations in multiple formats.
- Advanced painting engine with 40+ natural brush presets
- Realistic brush interaction with paper textures
- Layers and Photoshop blend modes
- Selection and clipping masks
- Transform multiple layers and use transform tool
- Import and export drawings in JPEG and PNG formats
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Superior brushes - The most advanced painting engine on tablets • 40+ natural brush presets • Brushes interact realistically with paper textures Superior tools - A place for everything • Layers and Photoshop blend modes • Selection and clipping masks Superior interface - Everything in its place • It’s simple. It’s organized. It’s out of the way. • Organized workflows: Paint - Sketch, Paint, and Blend Clone - Turn a photo into a painting Edit - Adjust color, Liquify, Pattern, Crop, or add a filter • Move your favorite tools to the top bar for quicker access Advanced features • Transform multiple layers simultaneously • Transform tool: Scale, Rotate, Flip, Distort, and Skew • Create seamless patterns with the Pattern tool • Gradient and Pattern Fill • Import images • Rotate and flip the canvas Import and export • Import and export drawings • Add images from Gallery, Camera, or search the web • Export images as JPEG, PNG. Get Drawing Apps Premium – weekly subscription for $2.99 USD. OR monthly subscription (which comes with a 3-day free trial) for $4.99 USD. OR yearly subscription for $9.99 USD • Subscription payments will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of your purchase and upon commencement of each renewal term. Subscription with a free trial period will automatically renew to a paid subscription. You can cancel your subscription or free trial in the iTunes settings at least 24-hours before the end of the free trial period. The cancellation will take effect the day after the last day of the current subscription period and you will be downgraded to the free service. • Please note: any unused portion of a free trial period (if offered) will be forfeited when you purchase a premium subscription during the free trial period. • Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. • Privacy Policy: https://drawingpad.me/privacy-policy.html • Terms: https://drawingpad.me/terms-of-use.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Paintwork at weekly against Drawing Apps's monthly. Paintwork also leads on ratings volume (17K vs 5.2K). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Paintwork sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Drawing Apps sells 15 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Paintwork holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 17K and 5.2K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of Paintwork's written reviews are positive against 63% of Drawing Apps's.
Paintwork ships an update weekly, Drawing Apps monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Paintwork | Drawing Apps |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (17K ratings) — better | 4.4 (5.2K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 65.4% of reviews — better | 62.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 17K — better | 5.2K |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 200 MB | 163 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 伟典 苏 | Gang Ji |
Customer experience
Paintwork
Drawing Apps
User reviews
Paintwork
From 17K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎨 Vast selection of brushes and tools
- 💻 Works well on various devices
- 🎨 Allows for creative expression
- 💰 Free to use with no paywall
Room to improve
- 🔒 Certain features locked behind paywall
- 🐛 Bugs and glitches causing crashes or data loss
- 🎨 Limited color palette and blending options
- 🔍 Lack of intuitive UI and tutorials
Drawing Apps
From 5.2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Allows users to draw anything they want
- 💡 Provides a creative outlet for young artists
- 👍 Easy to use and intuitive interface
- 👍 Good for quick creative ideas
- 👍 Satisfying drawing experience
Room to improve
- 💰 Requires payment for many features and tools
- 🤖 Excessive pop-ups and ads
- 🐛 Bugs and glitches (e.g., random layer deletion, screen freezing)
- 🔍 Limited free brushes and tools
- 🤔 Confusing or unintuitive controls
Bugs and requests
Paintwork
Reported bugs
3 issues- App freezing or crashing when using certain features
- Artwork getting deleted or not saving properly
- Inability to import or work with external images
Requested features
4 requests- Add more color options and blending tools
- Improve stability and reduce crashes
- Provide more tutorials and onboarding for new users
- Allow users to save and access their artwork easily
Drawing Apps
Reported bugs
4 issues- Frequent crashes and app closures
- Layers not working as expected
- Drawing tools not responsive or accurate
- Difficulty navigating the app
Requested features
5 requests- More free brushes and tools
- Ability to save and export drawings
- Undo/redo functionality improvements
- Color customization options
- Tracing feature for photos
In-app purchases
Paintwork
- Monthly subscription premium$0.991 Month
- Annual subscription premium$3.991 Year
- Unlock local version$9.99
Drawing Apps
- DrawingApps Premium - Weekly$2.997 Days
- DrawingApps Gold - Weekly$3.997 Days
- Drawing App Black Friday Offer3 Days trial$5.991 Month
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- DrawingAppsPremium Trial Month3 Days trial$7.991 Month
- DrawingApps Premium - Monthly$7.991 Month
- DrawingApps Gold Trial Monthly3 Days trial$9.991 Month
- DrawingApps Gold - Monthly$9.991 Month
- DrawingApps Premium - Yearly3 Days trial$39.991 Year
- DrawingApps Gold - Yearly3 Days trial$59.991 Year
- 300 Coins$5.99
- 900 Coins$14.99
- 1200 Coins$19.99
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Lifetime Lite Drawing Pass$49.99
- 5000 Coins$59.99
- Lifetime PRO Drawing Pass$69.99
Questions
Is Paintwork free?
Is Drawing Apps free?
Which has better reviews, Paintwork or Drawing Apps?
Do Paintwork or Drawing Apps have ads?
Which is updated more often, Paintwork or Drawing Apps?
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