# Doodalive vs ShadowDraw

Doodalive and ShadowDraw both sit at 4.0 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Doodalive's written reviews are positive against 59% of ShadowDraw's. ShadowDraw's advantage is ratings volume (1.8K vs 16). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Doodalive sells 16 one-off in-app purchases and ShadowDraw sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ShadowDraw holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ShadowDraw has 1.8K ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of Doodalive's written reviews are positive against 59% of ShadowDraw's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Doodalive ships an update every 2 months, ShadowDraw every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Doodalive | ShadowDraw |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.0 (16 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/doodalive/id1148320517/reviews) | **[4.2 (1.8K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shadowdraw-learn-how-to-draw/id1223507083/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 16 | **1.8K** |
| Positive reviews | **100.0% of reviews** | 59.4% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 6 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 104 MB | 820 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 16.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad** | iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [KiwisApp](https://appshunter.io/developer/425453316) | [Shadow Draw](https://appshunter.io/developer/1223507082) |

## What reviewers say

### Doodalive

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/doodalive/id1148320517)

Transform sketches into dynamic animations with intuitive tools. Bring drawings to life with animated strokes, create manga, and make notes engaging. Export creations as videos or images for sharing or professional use.

**Highlights:** Dynamic animated brushes, Create and animate manga, Image and model library, Custom sticker creation, Animated note-taking, Export as video or image

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (16)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Snow | Free | one-time |
| Christmas | Free | one-time |
| New Year Pack | Free | one-time |
| Jack o'lantern | Free | one-time |
| Paper plane | Free | one-time |
| No Ads | $0.99 | one-time |
| Magic | $0.99 | one-time |
| Candle | $0.99 | one-time |
| Petals | $0.99 | one-time |
| Halloween Spells | $2.99 | one-time |
| Dia de muertos | $2.99 | one-time |
| In classroom | $2.99 | one-time |
| New year, new challenges | $2.99 | one-time |
| Chalk | $2.99 | one-time |
| Fire | $2.99 | one-time |
| Pixel Art | $9.99 | one-time |


### ShadowDraw

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shadowdraw-learn-how-to-draw/id1223507083)

Learn to draw with guided, step-by-step lessons designed for beginners. Follow the strokes of professional artists to build confidence and master fundamental techniques. Explore thousands of tutorials across various popular art subjects.

**Highlights:** Step-by-step guided drawing lessons, Thousands of tutorials, Manga, anime, people, animals, and nature subjects, Art Teacher Mode, Sketch My Way Mode, Builds drawing fundamentals

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ShadowDraw: Monthly Plan | $7.99 | per month |
| ShadowDraw: Yearly Plan | $49.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Helpful for beginners
- 🎨 Variety of drawing topics
- 👍 Intuitive step-by-step guidance
- 💡 Relaxing and therapeutic experience
- 🤖 Responsive customer support

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Many features locked behind paywall
- 🐛 Buggy and glitchy at times
- 🤔 Tracing-focused approach may not teach drawing fundamentals
- 🔍 Difficulty finding purchased content
- 🔀 Jumping between steps too quickly

**Reported bugs**

- Drawings disappearing after completion
- App crashing on launch for some users
- Eraser tool not working properly with coloring feature

**Requested features**

- More free drawing content
- Canvas rotation and reference image positioning
- Ability to save progress on drawings
- Clearer visual indicators for brush/pen changes
- Side-by-side drawing mode to practice without tracing


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Doodalive free?

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

### Is ShadowDraw free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Doodalive or ShadowDraw?

ShadowDraw is rated higher. Doodalive averages 4.0 out of 5 from 16 ratings, while ShadowDraw averages 4.2 from 1.8K ratings.

### Do Doodalive or ShadowDraw have ads?

Both Doodalive and ShadowDraw show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Doodalive or ShadowDraw?

Doodalive ships an update every 2 months, and ShadowDraw every 6 weeks. Most recently, Doodalive was updated on October 24, 2026 and ShadowDraw on November 2, 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.*