Comparison

ShadowDraw vs Draw it

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

Head to head
About

ShadowDraw

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
Read full description

Learn to draw with confidence using your Apple Pencil. Featured by Apple as App of the Day in 2023 and 2025. ShadowDraw® is the easiest way for beginners to learn how to draw on iPad using their Apple Pencil. Our guided lessons teach you step-by-step by showing the real strokes of professional artists, helping you build confidence, accuracy, and real drawing fundamentals from your very first session. LEARN TO DRAW THE SMART, BEGINNER-FRIENDLY WAY
 ShadowDraw breaks every drawing into simple, guided steps. You follow the same strokes as a professional artist, learning: * Line control * Shapes & construction * Proportions * Shading * Final detailing
 Each step unlocks only after you complete the previous one, giving you a structured, supportive learning path—like having a private art teacher with you on your iPad. THOUSANDS OF STEP-BY-STEP LESSONS
 Explore beginner-friendly drawing lessons across the most popular art subjects: * Manga & Anime Characters * People & Portraits * Animals (cats, dogs, horses, birds, dragons, and more) * Architecture & Buildings * Botanical & Nature Drawing * Birds & Butterflies * Coloring & Simple Shading * Holiday & Seasonal Art * Warm-Ups & Foundations * Sketching Basics
 With over 2,000 guided tutorials, there’s always something inspiring to draw. PRACTICE YOUR WAY
 ShadowDraw offers two flexible learning modes: Art Teacher Mode
 We pick brushes and colors so beginners can focus on fundamentals. Sketch My Way
 Choose your own tools and colors for creative freedom. BUILD A DAILY DRAWING HABIT 
Short, approachable lessons help you build confidence and stay consistent. ShadowDraw makes daily practice easy, fun, and motivating—even for busy beginners. RECOGNIZED BY APPLE & TRUSTED WORLDWIDE 
ShadowDraw has been featured in the App Store collections, including: * Incredible iPad Apps * Great with Apple Pencil * Apple Pencil Starter Kit * Better with Apple Pencil * The Best Drawing Apps * The Best Apps for Creatives ShadowDraw has also ranked as the #1 Drawing App in its category. Apple writes: 
“With over 1,500 hand-drawn lessons developed by real artists, ShadowDraw is a drawing app for beginners who want to improve their skills through daily step-by-step exercises.” PRAISED BY THE PRESS
 The New York Times
“ShadowDraw… teaches drawing forms by having you follow along the animated pen strokes of another artist in an updated take on the ‘copying the masters’ approach.” MacBreak Weekly — Pick of the Week
“…the next generation of step-by-step.” Also featured by CNET and Creative Bloq. LEARN TOGETHER WITH SHADOWDRAW+
 A ShadowDraw+ membership unlocks the full library and supports Family Sharing, so everyone in your household can learn to draw at their own pace. WE’RE HERE TO HELP 
Need support or have feedback? Contact us anytime through in-app Chat Support. Email: support@shadowdrawapp.com
 Website: shadowdrawapp.com 
Instagram: @shadowdraw For our EULA agreement, please visit: 
https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ ShadowDraw® and Shadow Draw™ are trademarks of Shadow Draw Inc.

About

Draw it

This app guides beginners through drawing with simple, step-by-step templates and prompts. It helps users master painting skills, manage their artwork, and explore their creativity in a fun, encouraging environment.

Highlights
  • Step-by-step drawing guidance
  • Simple drawing templates
  • Painting preview and management
  • New artboard creation
  • Cultivates hands-on ability and creativity
  • Multiple painting modes
  • Sharing function
Features
Read full description

Designed specifically for painting beginners, it provides a large number of interesting simple drawing templates and accompanies each painting to be completed. 【Application introduction】 "Ai Simple Drawing" is not only a drawing enlightenment tool for children, but also a platform for their creative expression. Through this app, children can discover the fun of painting and release their unlimited creativity in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere. We provide children with a fun painting platform. The app has built-in a large number of interesting simple drawing templates, ranging from simple animals and plants to various daily objects, with a wide variety to satisfy children's curiosity and desire to explore. Guide children through step-by-step prompts to complete each painting. Whenever children finish drawing a stroke, the app will automatically display the drawing path for the next stroke, helping them easily master painting skills. The application also supports painting preview and painting book management. Children can view, classify and manage their works at any time. After completing a painting, you can also add a new drawing board to create a new painting journey. Whether it is to cultivate interest in painting or improve hands-on skills, this app is the best choice for children. "Step-by-step reminder function" When they start drawing, the app guides them through each painting step by step with step-by-step prompts. After each stroke, the application will display the painting path for the next stroke, allowing children to easily master every step in the painting process, avoid frustration, and enhance self-confidence. "Painting Preview and Management" The application provides a painting preview function, so children can check their painting progress and effects at any time. At the same time, the painting book management function allows children to classify, save and manage their paintings, and review and appreciate their creations at any time. "New artboard function" After completing a painting, children can also add a new drawing board to start a new creative journey. No matter how many works they want to draw, the app can satisfy their creative desires and allow every inspiration to be recorded and saved. "Cultivation of hands-on ability and creativity" Through this simple and interesting way of painting, children can not only cultivate their interest in painting, but also improve their hands-on ability and creativity. Every painting is a process of exploration and learning, allowing them to continue to grow in happiness. "Rich painting modes" The application provides a variety of painting modes, including stroke-by-stroke mode and complete mode. Children can choose different modes for creation according to their preferences and painting level. "Sharing function" Children can save their completed works to photo albums or share them with friends, allowing their creativity to be seen and appreciated by more people. If you have any problems during use, please give us timely feedback!

Screenshots

Draw it4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: ShadowDraw at 59% against Draw it's 0%. ShadowDraw also leads on rating (4.2 vs 1.0) and ratings volume (1.8K vs 1). Draw it's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 6 weeks). On price 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. ShadowDraw sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Draw it asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ShadowDraw holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ShadowDraw has 1.8K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 59% of ShadowDraw's written reviews are positive against 0% of Draw it's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ShadowDraw ships an update every 6 weeks, Draw it every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
ShadowDraw versus Draw it: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShadowDrawDraw it
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (1.8K ratings) — better1.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews59.4% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1.8K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 9 days — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.012.2 — better
Further details — not scored
Size820 MB52 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperShadow Draw杭州律途科技有限公司

Customer experience

ShadowDraw

All ratings1,622 ratings
Positive77.0%
Neutral6.4%
Negative16.6%
Written reviews483 reviews
Positive59.4%
Neutral13.0%
Negative27.5%

Draw it

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and requests

ShadowDraw

Reported bugs

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

Requested features

5 requests
  • 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

Draw it

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

ShadowDraw

Subscriptions2
  • ShadowDraw: Monthly Plan7 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • ShadowDraw: Yearly Plan7 Days trial$49.991 Year
None

Draw it

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ShadowDraw free?
ShadowDraw is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Draw it free?
Draw it is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ShadowDraw or Draw it?
ShadowDraw is rated higher. ShadowDraw averages 4.2 out of 5 from 1.8K ratings, while Draw it averages 1.0 from 1 ratings.
Do ShadowDraw or Draw it have ads?
Both ShadowDraw and Draw it show ads.
Which is updated more often, ShadowDraw or Draw it?
ShadowDraw ships an update every 6 weeks, and Draw it every 9 days. Most recently, ShadowDraw was updated on October 29, 2026 and Draw it on October 10, 2026.

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