Comparison

SketchBook 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

SketchBook

Unleash your creativity with a digital drawing and painting tool. Explore a wide range of colors, brushes, and custom settings to create any picture you imagine. Share your artwork with friends or save it to your device.

Highlights
  • Learn to draw
  • Color and paint
  • Custom brush settings
  • Share artwork
  • Save to camera roll
Features
Read full description

- Learn to Draw anything you want. - Color or paint with any colors you want. - Draw & paint any picture. - Draw any image with any colour you want. - Custom settings for color pencil, pastel & brush. - Share it with friends in facebook & twitter. - Save it to your camera roll.

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

SketchBook1 screens
Spirograph Maker4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Spirograph Maker at fortnightly against SketchBook's every 9 months. SketchBook's advantage is ratings volume (1K vs 88) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.6). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. SketchBook 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 SketchBook against 4.4 for Spirograph Maker. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SketchBook has 1K ratings behind it against 88, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 58% of SketchBook's written reviews are positive against 53% of Spirograph Maker's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SketchBook ships an update every 9 months, Spirograph Maker fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
SketchBook versus Spirograph Maker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSketchBookSpirograph Maker
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (1K ratings)4.4 (88 ratings) — better
Positive reviews58.3% of reviews — better52.9% of reviews
Number of ratings1K — better88
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperISMITECH COMPANY LIMITEDKYWorks

Customer experience

SketchBook

All ratings1,033 ratings
Positive82.4%
Neutral8.7%
Negative8.9%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive58.3%
Neutral8.3%
Negative33.3%

Spirograph Maker

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

Bugs and requests

SketchBook

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Drawings sometimes get deleted
  • App crashes or freezes

Requested features

2 requests
  • Option to save drawings
  • Improved stability and reliability

Spirograph Maker

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

SketchBook

One-time1
  • PRO version$0.99
1 purchases

Spirograph Maker

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$3.99

Questions

Is SketchBook free?
SketchBook 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, SketchBook or Spirograph Maker?
Spirograph Maker is rated higher. SketchBook averages 4.3 out of 5 from 1K ratings, while Spirograph Maker averages 4.4 from 88 ratings.
Do SketchBook or Spirograph Maker have ads?
Both SketchBook and Spirograph Maker show ads.
Which is updated more often, SketchBook or Spirograph Maker?
SketchBook ships an update every 9 months, and Spirograph Maker fortnightly. Most recently, SketchBook was updated on September 22, 2026 and Spirograph Maker on September 17, 2026.

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