Comparison

Drawboard Projects vs DraftPlanar

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Drawboard Projects

Streamline design review workflows with a real-time, collaborative workspace. This app allows teams to mark up drawings instantly, discuss changes directly on the design, and sync updates in seconds. It integrates with existing tools to enhance project efficiency.

Highlights
  • Real-time markups on the go
  • Cloud-based team collaboration
  • Pressure-sensitive ink with Apple Pencil
  • Instant issue management
  • Workflow integrations
  • Contextual discussion threads
Features
Read full description

Your collaborative and real-time workspace for design review. Drawboard Projects helps architecture, engineering and construction teams globally save valuable project time by streamlining workflows in the design review lifecycle. - Mark up on the move: Forget pen and paper with fast and accurate markups - Cloud collaboration: Collaborate with your team in one location and from any location, with markups synced within seconds. - Best-in-class ink: With Apple Pencil compatibility, write your notes and feel the tactility of a pen pressed to paper with pressure-sensitive ink - Instant co-ordination: Manage and mitigate issues with real-time drawing coordination - Fits your flow: App integrations to connect and improve your existing design workflow. - Discuss changes: Keep all discussions right on the drawing so that everyone can see the context behind the decisions that were made. A Projects account is required to use this application.

About

DraftPlanar

View and annotate large PDF documents offline on your Apple devices. Compare multiple plans side-by-side, measure dimensions, and mark up drawings with precision tools. Ideal for professionals and anyone working with complex documents.

Highlights
  • Offline PDF viewing
  • Side-by-side document comparison
  • Precision measurement tool
  • Apple Pencil annotation
  • Text search and OCR
  • Layer control
  • Paste reference images
Features
Read full description

A fast PDF plan viewer for Mac and iPad, with takeoff and markup built in. DraftPlanar opens huge construction drawing sets side by side on an infinite canvas and keeps them fast: 500+ page sets pan and zoom at 60 FPS, and lines and text stay sharp at any zoom. Also on iPhone. IF YOUR PDF READER IS SLOW ON DRAWINGS A single construction sheet can hold hundreds of thousands of lines, hatches and text runs. Readers built for ordinary documents lag, blur or stall on them. DraftPlanar was built from the ground up for drawings, from reading the file to drawing it on screen, so large sets stay smooth on Mac and iPad. AT THE DESK ON MAC. IN THE FIELD ON IPAD. • Mac: lay the whole set out on a large display, use a single-letter shortcut for every tool, take off quantities precisely with a trackpad or mouse, and present to the room over AirPlay. • iPad: mark up with Apple Pencil, measure by touch with a magnifier that shows the exact point under your finger, pin notes with a photo or voice memo, and keep working with no signal. One subscription covers Mac, iPad and iPhone. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Takeoff Length chains, area and perimeter, angles with a 15° snap, and count series that total across sheets. Points snap to the PDF's own vector lines, and every sheet keeps its own scale. DraftPlanar reads the scale printed in the title block and checks it against dimensions on the drawing. Totals sit in a list beside the plan, and export to PDF or CSV. • Markup Draw and redline with Apple Pencil. The ink is vector, so it stays sharp when you zoom in. An eraser that removes only your strokes, text boxes (including Chinese, Japanese and Korean input) and text highlighting. • Copy & Export Drawing Details Select part of a PDF drawing and copy its vector lines and text, or export the selection as SVG or a one-page PDF. Vector details stay sharp; scanned regions copy as images. • Notes & Punch Lists Drop numbered notes on the exact spot on the drawing, with category, priority, status, assignee and due date. Add a photo or voice memo, filter the list, and export a punch-list PDF report anyone can read. • Search Find any word in native PDFs, in scans and photos (text recognition runs on your device), and in text you typed. • Compare Revisions Overlay two versions of a PDF page by page, so what changed stands out. • PDF Layers Turn individual layers on and off, such as architecture, structure or MEP, and filter long layer lists by name. • And more Adaptive dark mode, AirPlay presenting with a pointer, PDF export, and a built-in Feature Guide with every shortcut. 100% PRIVATE & OFFLINE - All processing happens on your device. No cloud uploads. No tracking. - Works without Wi-Fi or internet, on the job site and in the air. - No account required. PRICING DraftPlanar is free to download and includes a 14-day free trial of every Pro tool. DraftPlanar Pro unlocks importing documents, markup, takeoff and measurement, compare, search, layers, notes and export. Without Pro you can still open and view the canvases you created. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION • DraftPlanar Pro Monthly — auto-renewable, 1 month • DraftPlanar Pro Annual — auto-renewable, 1 year • Payment will be charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase • Subscriptions automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period • You can manage and cancel subscriptions in your Account Settings Measurements are approximate and depend on the PDF and its scale. Verify critical dimensions before relying on them. Terms of Use: https://www.draftplanar.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://www.draftplanar.com/privacy

Screenshots

Drawboard Projects4 screens
DraftPlanar4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: DraftPlanar at 100% against Drawboard Projects's 57%. DraftPlanar also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.3). Drawboard Projects's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ratings volume (18 vs 2). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. DraftPlanar sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month. Drawboard Projects asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

DraftPlanar holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drawboard Projects has 18 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 57% of Drawboard Projects's written reviews are positive against 100% of DraftPlanar's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Drawboard Projects versus DraftPlanar: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDrawboard ProjectsDraftPlanar
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.3 (18 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews57.1% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings18 — better2
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size57 MB82 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDrawboard Pty LtdDraft Planar LLC

Customer experience

Drawboard Projects

All ratings18 ratings
Positive55.6%
Neutral5.6%
Negative38.9%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive57.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative42.9%

DraftPlanar

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Drawboard Projects

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

DraftPlanar

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly$19.991 Month
  • Pro Annual$179.991 Year
One-time1
  • 3-Month Project Pass$49.99

Questions

Is Drawboard Projects free?
Drawboard Projects is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is DraftPlanar free?
DraftPlanar is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Drawboard Projects or DraftPlanar?
DraftPlanar is rated higher. Drawboard Projects averages 3.3 out of 5 from 18 ratings, while DraftPlanar averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Drawboard Projects or DraftPlanar have ads?
Neither Drawboard Projects nor DraftPlanar shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Drawboard Projects or DraftPlanar?
Drawboard Projects ships an update weekly, and DraftPlanar weekly. Most recently, Drawboard Projects was updated on October 2, 2026 and DraftPlanar on October 12, 2026.

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