Artstudio Pro vs Clip Studio Paint for iPhone
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Artstudio Pro
This powerful app offers advanced drawing, painting, and photo editing tools for creative professionals and enthusiasts. It features a robust engine, flexible layer system, and an advanced brush engine for realistic strokes. Users can also create animations and import/export various image formats.
- GPU accelerated ArtEngine
- Unlimited layers and large canvas sizes
- Advanced brush engine with 150+ brushes
- Flexible layer system with groups and masks
- Professional photo editing tools
- Animation creation and export
- Import/Export ABR/TPL brush and pattern formats
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Introducing Artstudio Pro, the most powerful painting and photo editing app available for both iOS and macOS. The successor to our famous ArtStudio app has been redesigned bringing many new features and improvements taking full advantage of the latest technologies Metal, iCloud Drive, Apple Pencil, and optimized for 64-bit multi-core processors to achieve the smoothest possible workflow. Powerful engine App is based on the powerful GPU accelerated ArtEngine developed by Lucky Clan. It allows working with multiple documents, supports large canvas sizes and an unlimited number of layers. Incredible optimization ensures smooth work even with large canvases. • Realistic Color Pigment Blending • Canvas size up to 64Mpix • Unlimited layers • Multiple open documents • 27 tools: Move, Select, Crop, Eyedropper, Paint, Wet Paint, Eraser, Bucket/Pattern/Gradient Fill, Smudge, Dodge, Burn, Sponge, Text, Heal, Clone, and more • Full iCloud integration Flexible layer system Artstudio Pro introduces a new layer system with grouping, non-destructive layer effects, and adjustment layers. • Groups • Masks, clipping masks • Adjustment Layers • 9 layer effects: Bevel/Emboss, Stroke, Inner Shadow, Inner Glow, Outer Glow, Color/Gradient/Pattern Overlay, Drop Shadow • Text layers Advanced Brush engine Perfectly optimized, lag free mechanism generating smooth, real looking strokes, making the most of Apple Pencil. • Brush size up to 4000x4000 • 64-bit painting with pattern, double stamp, wet brush, dynamics • Brush editor with over 100 customizable settings • Over 150 built-in brushes divided into multiple groups: Pens, Pencils, Oil Painting, Inking, Charcoals, Airbrushes, Watercolor and many more • Symmetric painting Professional photo editor Photo editing options developed in cooperation with professional photographers. Each feature was tested in several scenarios and light conditions. • 15 adjustments available as non-destructive layer or simple adjustment: Brightness/Contrast, Levels, Curves, Exposure/Gamma, Shadows/Highlights, Vibrance, Hue/Saturation, Color Balance, Temperature/Tint, Black and White, Gradient Map and more • 4 auto adjustments: Auto Contrast, Levels, Lightness, Saturation • Transform: Basic, Perspective, Warp • Dozens of filters with realtime preview and the ability to generate seamless patterns • Inpaint, Elastify (Liquify) • Retouching tools: Heal, Dodge, Burn, Sponge and more • Image resize, Canvas resize • Crop and Trim Animation Create animation from layers or groups and finally export it to one of the most popular animation format • Scrollable timeline view with Play/Pause • Onion skin • Customizable Frame duration • Always visible layers • Export to MP4, HEVC, Animated GIF/PNG Import/Export We have implemented many parsers from the most popular assets/images formats and we are especially proud of our ABR/TPL parser which not only reads brush stamps and patterns, but also most settings which are converted to Artstudio Pro brush engine values. Import • Images - PNG, JPEG, PSD, HEIC, TIFF, GIF, PDF, most raw formats • Brushes - ABR, TPL • Color swatches - ASE, ACO • Patterns - PAT • Gradients - GRD • Fonts - TTF, OTF Export • Images - PNG, JPEG, PSD, TIFF, PDF Other features • Floating panels for Colors, Layers, Brushes etc • Screen recording • Customizable Quick menu • Customizable Shortcuts • Snapping to guidelines, dynamic guidelines, grid • Perspective grid assist • Mirror (flipped) view • Support of iPad Drag and Drop, Split View, Sharing Extension, Open In, Clipboard Free version limitations: • locked Saving • canvas size limited to device screen size • layers count limited to 3 • export only to jpg • locked animation export Minimum System Requirements Artstudio Pro for iOS requires iPhone or iPad running iOS 15.0 or above Privacy policy: https://luckyclan.com/privacy-policy Terms of use: https://luckyclan.com/terms-use
Clip Studio Paint for iPhone
Create professional-quality digital art, comics, and animations with a vast array of brushes, materials, and editing tools. Offers features for beginners and pros, including 3D models for reference and advanced layer management.
- Unlimited brushes with realistic textures
- Vast library of artist-made materials
- Advanced coloring tools with Shading Assist
- 3D models for anatomy and perspective reference
- Comprehensive comic creation tools
- Professional animation features
- Non-destructive editing and layer management
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Draw with unlimited features for free for 30 hours monthly with no ads! Now with new, powerful features! Clip Studio Paint makes drawing a piece of cake, in any style! Whether you are a beginner or a pro, Clip Studio Paint will improve every aspect of your art experience, while helping you grow as an artist. Unlimited amount of brushes at your fingertips to recreate any style - Use brushes with the same textures as real art materials - Adjust details such as brush shape and paper quality to your liking - Make unique colors with realistic color mixing, like traditional paints - Draw with transparency to erase, so no need to switch brushes Countless artist-made materials - Level up your art with free materials, for backgrounds and more - Discover community-made brushes from creators worldwide - Add details with materials like frills and more Coloring made easy - Easily color even with line gaps using the magnetic lasso tool - Lock transparency to paint over layers without affecting other areas - Set light source and shadow position with Shading Assist - Instantly reference and apply colors from an image to your art using Color Match - Enhance your art with filters like Chromatic Aberration, Retro Film, Pencil, and more Learn alongside other creators - Loads of official tutorials and creator tips available - Watch tutorials on the Clip Studio Paint YouTube channel, for step-by-step advice - Ask questions on the Clip Studio Ask community Create the perfect reference with 3D models - Use 3D drawing figures to help out your anatomy - Customize character face and body models with beginner-friendly tools - Attach 3D objects like hats and shoes to characters for more specific references - Use 3D shapes to draw perspective Adjust after you draw - Liquify to make adjustments to the balance of your illustrations - Mesh Transformation allows you to transform to different shapes - Change up the poses of your character drawings with Puppet warp - Non-destructive color adjustment layers to get your art just right - Gradient maps give color to your grayscale illustrations Stress-free layer features - Assign colors and make multiple columns of layers to browse them at a glance - Enjoy the freedom of masking and clipping on multiple layers to edit and move your work - Add various effects to apply to the layer in a non-destructive way The ultimate comic creation app - All the tools you need for comic creation, from sketches to finishing touches - Panel frames, speech balloons, text, effect lines, and screen tones in an instant - Make high-resolution print data (6 GB+ memory recommended) - Manage multi-page projects Professional animation, on any device - Use all the same tools as animation studios - Unique features allow you to draw your frames as you like - Expand your drawings to 4K resolution without losing quality by saving it as vector data ●Grade features ・FREE: 30 hours/month ・PRO: All the tools you need to create stunning illustrations & short animations ・EX: All the above + multi-page functionality for comic/manga artists and unlimited animation frames *Clip Studio account needed to buy a plan. ● Target Devices and Specifications ・Minimum free storage space: 3GB, 4GB recommended ・Recommended display size: 5.5"+ Please see the following for supported devices. https://support.clip-studio.com/en-us/faq/articles/20200154 You can use the app fully for free for up to 30 hours each month. After this free period has ended, please purchase a plan to: - Save your canvas - Export your data in various file formats on iPhone and more Smartphone plan: PRO: US$0.99 per month, get an annual plan for up to 5 months' worth of savings! EX: US$2.49 per month, get an annual plan for up to 5 months' worth of savings! Clip Studio Paint End User License Agreement https://www.celsys.com/en/information/csp/ https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
Artstudio Pro and Clip Studio Paint for iPhone both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 74% of Artstudio Pro's written reviews are positive against 36% of Clip Studio Paint for iPhone's. Artstudio Pro also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). Clip Studio Paint for iPhone's advantage is chart position (#104 vs unranked). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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
Both are free to download. Artstudio Pro sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.49 per year and Clip Studio Paint for iPhone sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Artstudio Pro holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4.1K and 1.8K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of Artstudio Pro's written reviews are positive against 36% of Clip Studio Paint for iPhone's.
Artstudio Pro ships an update monthly, Clip Studio Paint for iPhone every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Artstudio Pro | Clip Studio Paint for iPhone |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (4.1K ratings) — better | 4.4 (1.8K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 74.1% of reviews — better | 35.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4.1K — better | 1.8K |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #104 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 385 MB | 561 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Lucky Clan | CELSYS,Inc. |
Customer experience
Artstudio Pro
Clip Studio Paint for iPhone
User reviews
Artstudio Pro
From 4.1K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Powerful and feature-rich
- 👍 Familiar Photoshop-like interface
- 💡 Supports Photoshop brushes
- 🎨 Excellent brush engine and painting experience
- 🔍 Robust selection and adjustment tools
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- 🤔 Steep learning curve
- 🔀 Confusing UI and navigation
- 🖌️ Inconsistent palm rejection and input issues
- 💾 Unreliable saving and file management
Clip Studio Paint for iPhone
From 1.8K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎨 Great for digital art
- 👍 Smooth drawing experience
- 💡 Useful 3D model integration
- 🎨 Powerful drawing tools
Room to improve
- ⏱️ Restrictive time limit for free users
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 🤔 Confusing user interface
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
Bugs and requests
Artstudio Pro
Reported bugs
4 issues- Gradient tool not working as expected
- Brush settings not saving properly
- Unexpected canvas resizing and cropping
- Layers disappearing or not rendering correctly
Requested features
6 requests- Add custom brush creation
- Improve canvas resizing and previewing
- Implement better layer and mask management
- Add more blending and color adjustment tools
- Introduce keyboard shortcuts and gesture support
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- Provide a comprehensive user manual or tutorials
Clip Studio Paint for iPhone
Reported bugs
4 issues- Login and account issues
- Unresponsive brushes and tools
- Inability to access purchased content
- Drawings not saving properly
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to save and continue drawings across sessions
- More free brushes and tools
- Improved mobile optimization
- Perpetual license option for mobile
In-app purchases
Artstudio Pro
- Yearly Subscription3 Days trial$3.491 Year
- Lifetime License$14.99
Clip Studio Paint for iPhone
- PRO Monthly Smartphone Plan$0.991 Month
- EX Monthly Smartphone Plan$2.491 Month
- PRO Monthly Single-Device Plan3 Days trial$4.891 Month
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- PRO Monthly Single-Device Plan3 Months trial$4.891 Month
- PRO Monthly Dual-Device Plan3 Days trial$7.991 Month
- PRO Monthly Dual-Device Plan3 Months trial$7.991 Month
- EX Monthly Single-Device Plan3 Days trial$9.691 Month
- EX Monthly Single-Device Plan3 Months trial$9.691 Month
- EX Monthly Dual-Device Plan3 Days trial$13.491 Month
- EX Monthly Dual-Device Plan3 Months trial$13.491 Month
Questions
Is Artstudio Pro free?
Is Clip Studio Paint for iPhone free?
Which has better reviews, Artstudio Pro or Clip Studio Paint for iPhone?
Do Artstudio Pro or Clip Studio Paint for iPhone have ads?
Which is updated more often, Artstudio Pro or Clip Studio Paint for iPhone?
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