# Drawing Pad vs ShadowDraw

The clearest difference is ads: Drawing Pad at none against ShadowDraw's shown. Drawing Pad also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 6 weeks) and ratings volume (99K vs 1.8K). ShadowDraw's advantage is review sentiment (59% vs 44%). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Drawing Pad sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days 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.

Drawing Pad holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drawing Pad has 99K ratings behind it against 1.8K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 44% of Drawing Pad'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.

Drawing Pad ships an update weekly, ShadowDraw every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Drawing Pad | ShadowDraw |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.3 (99K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/drawing-pad/id1169413062/reviews)** | [4.2 (1.8K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shadowdraw-learn-how-to-draw/id1223507083/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **99K** | 1.8K |
| Positive reviews | 43.6% of reviews | **59.4% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 6 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 413 MB | 820 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **16.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad** | iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Sunny Side Hurricane LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1467213449) | [Shadow Draw](https://appshunter.io/developer/1223507082) |

## What reviewers say

### Drawing Pad

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/drawing-pad/id1169413062)

This app allows users to draw, sketch, and doodle with a variety of tools and brushes. It offers features for photo editing, a coloring book, and the ability to record and share creations. Users can enhance their artwork with stickers, stamps, and frames.

**Highlights:** Drawing, sketching, and doodling tools, Photo editing with magic brush effects, Coloring book with multiple categories, Record and share drawings as video, Stickers, stamps, and frames, Apple Pencil support

**Features:** iMessage stickers, Vision Pro support, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Weekly Subscription | $2.99 | per 7 days |
| Weekly Subscription | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| Lite Weekly Trial | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| Pro Weekly Offer | $6.99 | per 7 days |
| Drawing Pad Subscriptions | $8.99 | per month |
| Pro Weekly Trial | $9.99 | per 7 days |
| Pro Weekly | $9.99 | per 7 days |
| Lite Weekly | $9.99 | per 7 days |
| Yearly subscription | $49.99 | per year |
| Lite Yearly | $49.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Simple and easy to use
- 🎨 Good for basic drawing and doodling
- 👍 Helpful for improving drawing skills
- 🎨 Provides a variety of brushes and tools

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Requires subscription to access full features
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 🐛 Frequent pop-ups and ads
- 🐛 Laggy performance and glitches
- 🔒 Limited functionality without subscription

**Reported bugs**

- Drawings not saving properly
- Frequent crashes and freezes
- Unresponsive touch controls

**Requested features**

- More drawing tools and customization options
- Ability to save and export drawings
- Smoother performance and fewer bugs
- More affordable pricing model


### 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 Drawing Pad free?

Drawing Pad 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, Drawing Pad or ShadowDraw?

Drawing Pad is rated higher. Drawing Pad averages 4.3 out of 5 from 99K ratings, while ShadowDraw averages 4.2 from 1.8K ratings.

### Do Drawing Pad or ShadowDraw have ads?

ShadowDraw shows ads; Drawing Pad does not.

### Which is updated more often, Drawing Pad or ShadowDraw?

Drawing Pad ships an update weekly, and ShadowDraw every 6 weeks. Most recently, Drawing Pad was updated on November 9, 2026 and ShadowDraw on November 6, 2026.

---

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