Comparison

Drawing Pad vs Spirograph Maker

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

Head to head
About

Drawing Pad

Unleash your creativity with a versatile digital sketchbook. This app offers a wide range of drawing tools, customization options, and helpful features like grids and mirroring to enhance your artistic process. Easily share your creations with others.

Highlights
  • Pencil, brush, eraser, marker, pen tools
  • Customizable brush textures
  • Color fill bucket
  • Add text and shapes
  • Background customization
  • Mirror and grid drawing aids
  • Share drawings
Features
Read full description

Drawing Pad - Drawing Apps Main Features: - Drawing with Pencil, Brush, Eraser, Marker, Pen. - Customize Brushes with texture. - Fill color with bucket. - Adding Text on drawing. - Adding Shape on drawing. - Change drawing Background with color, texture and picture. - Speed up drawing with Mirror. - Easy drawing with Grid - Share drawing.

About

Spirograph Maker

Easily create intricate spirograph patterns by adjusting gear size and pen color. Explore a variety of designs with this intuitive drawing application.

Highlights
  • Easy spirograph creation
  • Adjustable gear size
  • Customizable pen color
  • Draw various figures
  • Intuitive interface
Features
Read full description

Create mesmerizing geometric art with a single tap. Released in 2017 with over 110,000 downloads — a math-meets-art tool refined over 9 years. Spirograph Maker turns the timeless mechanical drawing toy into a digital playground for your iPhone and iPad. Choose your gears, pick your colors, and watch hypnotic patterns bloom across the screen — no drawing skill required. WHERE MATH MEETS ART The patterns Spirograph creates aren't accidents — they're governed by GCD/LCM and parametric equations. Watch how the lobe count is determined by n/gcd(n,m), see hypotrochoids and epitrochoids come alive on your screen. A visual companion for middle-school number theory and high-school parametric curves. Whether you're a curious learner, a math enthusiast, or just love beautiful patterns, this is where math becomes mesmerizing. In 2022, this app was acknowledged in an academic paper on algebraic combinatorics — the smoothness criteria for Positroid varieties (Billey & Weaver, arXiv:2207.06508). From a child's toy to cutting-edge mathematical research — that's how deep these patterns go. FOUR GEAR SHAPES Not just circles. Draw with ellipse, rounded triangle (a curve of constant width), and teardrop gears too. Change the gear's shape and the symmetry of the pattern changes with it: circles stay regular, ellipses stretch, triangles beat in threes, teardrops curve organically. A strength slider tunes each shape continuously — from nearly circular to sharply pointed. KEY FEATURES - Auto-draw mode: tap once and beautiful patterns appear on their own - Custom color palette with gradient mode for endless combinations - Adjustable gear shapes and sizes: circle / ellipse / rounded triangle / teardrop, plus tooth count - Save your creations directly to your Photo Library - Share to Instagram, Facebook, or anywhere - Full iPad support — a bigger canvas for finer detail - Light and Dark mode WHY SPIROGRAPH MAKER - A meditative break from a busy day — without leaving your phone - A visual bridge between middle-school math and university geometry - Inspired by the classic Spirograph toy, reimagined for modern iOS - Perfect for parents, students, artists, and math enthusiasts - Works offline, anywhere PERFECT FOR - Winding down before bed - Sparking creativity with kids - A short math meditation anytime - Making one-of-a-kind wallpapers - Sharing unique art on Instagram - A short, calm focus break during your day In Japan, downloads notably spike around the start of new school terms and summer breaks — pointing to a growing use as a learning companion. Pull out your phone, tap once, and watch sacred geometry unfold. Whether you're a designer, a doodler, a student, or just love beautiful patterns, Spirograph Maker is the simplest way to make art that mesmerizes. Free to download. Optional ad-free upgrade available.

Screenshots

Drawing Pad4 screens
Spirograph Maker4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Drawing Pad at 6.6K against Spirograph Maker's 88. Drawing Pad also leads on review sentiment (74% vs 53%) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 18.6). Spirograph Maker's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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. Drawing Pad sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Spirograph Maker sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for Drawing Pad against 4.4 for Spirograph Maker. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drawing Pad has 6.6K ratings behind it against 88, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 74% of Drawing Pad's written reviews are positive against 53% of Spirograph Maker's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Drawing Pad ships an update every 2 months, Spirograph Maker fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Drawing Pad versus Spirograph Maker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDrawing PadSpirograph Maker
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (6.6K ratings)4.4 (88 ratings) — better
Positive reviews73.7% of reviews — better52.9% of reviews
Number of ratings6.6K — better88
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size21 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMinh NguyenKYWorks

Customer experience

Drawing Pad

All ratings6,584 ratings
Positive81.8%
Neutral8.6%
Negative9.6%
Written reviews236 reviews
Positive73.7%
Neutral10.2%
Negative16.1%

Spirograph Maker

All ratings88 ratings
Positive83.0%
Neutral9.1%
Negative8.0%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive52.9%
Neutral11.8%
Negative35.3%

Bugs and requests

Drawing Pad

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Drawing not saving properly
  • Lag and delay when using certain tools
  • Incompatibility issues on older devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add layers for more complex drawings
  • Improve brush and color selection
  • Implement undo/redo functionality
  • Allow offline drawing without internet connection

Spirograph Maker

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Drawing Pad

One-time1
  • Drawing Pad - Pro Version$3.99
1 purchases

Spirograph Maker

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$3.99

Questions

Is Drawing Pad free?
Drawing Pad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Spirograph Maker free?
Spirograph Maker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Drawing Pad or Spirograph Maker?
Spirograph Maker is rated higher. Drawing Pad averages 4.3 out of 5 from 6.6K ratings, while Spirograph Maker averages 4.4 from 88 ratings.
Do Drawing Pad or Spirograph Maker have ads?
Both Drawing Pad and Spirograph Maker show ads.
Which is updated more often, Drawing Pad or Spirograph Maker?
Drawing Pad ships an update every 2 months, and Spirograph Maker fortnightly. Most recently, Drawing Pad was updated on September 22, 2026 and Spirograph Maker on September 17, 2026.

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