Comparison

Drawing Desk vs How to Draw, Step by step

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

Head to head
About

Drawing Desk

Unleash your creativity with a comprehensive digital art studio. Explore a vast array of tools for drawing, sketching, painting, and pixel art. Create masterpieces, relax with coloring, or design intricate mandalas.

Highlights
  • 105+ drawing tools
  • 200+ brushes
  • Layer support
  • Smudge and blend effects
  • Pixel art creation
  • Coloring book with 500+ images
  • Mandala drawing tools
Features
Read full description

Welcome to our painting app, where the canvas is your playground and creativity knows no bounds. With our intuitive interface and comprehensive set of tools, you can unleash your inner artist and bring your imagination to life on a digital canvas. Drawing Desk: Drawing Desk offers a comprehensive digital art experience with 105 precise drawing tools, including pens, pencils, and brushes. It features popular canvases, customizable brush settings, photo import and editing, text addition, rotation and scaling, 200 HD stickers, undo/redo options, rulers, and various shapes. Enjoy a full-screen workspace, automatic saving, and easy sharing with 100+ custom drawing tools. Sketch Book: Sketch Book is a feature-rich digital art tool offering 200+ brushes, 12 popular brush categories, and advanced layer support. With features like layer transformation, brush adjustment, glowing lines, and 3D Touch compatibility, it provides a versatile and immersive drawing experience. Undo/redo, zoom, and easy export and sharing options make it a powerful choice for digital artists. Smudge Art: Unleash your creative flow with the Smudge Art feature. Blur and blend colors, transforming your digital canvas into a masterpiece that captures the essence of movement and emotion. Image Base Drawing: Image-based drawing allows artists to use existing images as references or foundations for their artwork, enhancing precision and creative possibilities. Doodle pad: Simple drawing tools like Doodle enable you jot down ideas and share them with others. Sharing your ideas with the community is simple. Pixel Art: Experience nostalgia and creativity with our 'Pixel Art' feature. Craft intricate digital art reminiscent of retro video games and 8-bit graphics. This grid-based tool empowers both enthusiasts and newcomers to design precise pixel images, sprites, and icons with old-school charm. Unleash your inner pixel artist and bring your 8-bit visions to life. Mandala Drawing: Mandala Desk provides a soothing drawing experience with playback options, customizable colors, fill tools, and pencil brushes. Users can set their preferred mandala size, complexity, and enjoy undo/redo options for creative freedom. Coloring Book: Coloring Book is the ultimate relaxation tool, offering 29 categories and 500+ images to color, including superheroes, fashion, patterns, and more. With a wide range of colors, community inspiration, advanced filters, and powerful editing tools, it's easy to create stunning art. Zoom features and seamless sharing on social platforms make it a perfect coloring companion. Subscriptions: You can choose between subscription options that closely match your needs. Premium subscriptions with 1 week and 3 days trial * Weekly / $4.99 * Monthly/$9.99 * Yearly/$39.99 These prices are for United States customers. Pricing in other countries may vary and actual charges may be converted to your local currency depending on the country of residence. Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at the confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions by going to your account settings on the App Store after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. Terms & Conditions : http://mubassher.me/terms.html Privacy Policy : http://mubassher.me/privacy.html Whether you are a seasoned artist or a novice, our app makes it easy for you to unleash your full potential and create stunning works of art that you can share with the world. So why wait? Download our painting app today and start exploring your creative side like never before!

About

How to Draw, Step by step

Learn to draw with this app that uses your phone's camera as a projector. Transform photos into sketches, create stickers, and even generate AI-powered drawing ideas from text descriptions. Suitable for all skill levels, from beginners to professionals.

Highlights
  • Camera projector for drawing
  • AI-powered sketch generator
  • Photo to sketch conversion
  • Sticker maker
  • Background remover
  • Coloring book feature
  • Real-time drawing recording
Features
Read full description

How to Draw helps you learn how to draw! Use your phone's camera as a projector to draw. How to Draw is a meticulously designed drawing application aimed at pushing the boundaries of your creativity. This unique app allows you to elevate your drawing skills from beginner to advanced levels. It includes drawings that even master artists, drawing enthusiasts, tattoo artists, art school students, and those who have never drawn before can enjoy. Learn to draw with AI With the How to Draw app, you can use AI to do the following: - Sticker Maker: Turn your photos into eye-catching stickers. - Photo to Sketch: Transform your photos into sketches and use the projector feature to draw them on paper using your phone's camera. - Background Remover: Flawlessly remove the background from your photos and draw anything you want in the background! - Enhance Old Photos: Improve the quality of your photos for drawing! - AI-Powered Drawing Sketches: One of the standout features of Ar Drawing is its AI-powered drawing sketch generator. Simply describe what you want to see—for example, "a white-haired man playing soccer"—and the AI will provide a drawing sketch that matches your description. This feature allows users to bring their imagination to life effortlessly. Enjoyable Drawing Experience: Ar Drawing, with its user-friendly interface, is easy to use. From beginners to professional artists, everyone can work on various drawing sketches and unleash their creativity. Lightbox and Projector Features: Drawing becomes incredibly easy with custom lightbox and projector features. You can follow step-by-step drawings on ready-made sketches. The art school is now in your pocket, allowing everyone, even those who have never drawn before, to create art. Coloring Book Category: Ar Drawing offers users a Coloring Book Category where they can step into colorful worlds. You can color ready-made drawings, create your color palette, and add a unique touch to your art. Record Your Work in Real-Time: While drawing, you can record videos of your work to track your progress. Save and Share: Save your works and share them on social media platforms! Ar Drawing makes it easy and fun to share your art with friends and the world. Explore the world of art with Ar Drawing, unleash your creativity, and share your unique drawings with the world. Download it now and embark on an art-filled journey! PRIVACY POLICY: Read our privacy policy here: https://draw.findbluapp.com/privacy-policy TERMS OF USE: Get more information about our terms and conditions here: https://draw.findbluapp.com/terms-of-use PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION: How to Draw app offers an automatically renewable subscription. The subscription will renew automatically unless turned off at least 24 hours before the current period ends. Subscriptions can be managed by the user at any time, and auto-renewal can be turned off by going to Account Settings after the purchase. Accounts will be charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current period. If a subscription with a free trial is initiated, charges will be made unless canceled 24 hours before the end of the trial period. CONTACT US: Do you have any questions or feedback that would contribute to development? Reach out to us at: support@findbluapp.com

Screenshots

Drawing Desk4 screens
How to Draw, Step by step4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Drawing Desk at freemium against How to Draw, Step by step's subscription. Drawing Desk also leads on ratings volume (15K vs 2.7K). How to Draw, Step by step's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and rating (4.5 vs 4.3). On price, review sentiment, in-app purchases and device support 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. Drawing Desk sells 14 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days and How to Draw, Step by step sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

How to Draw, Step by step holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drawing Desk has 15K ratings behind it against 2.7K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 45% of Drawing Desk's written reviews are positive against 51% of How to Draw, Step by step's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Drawing Desk ships an update every 4 weeks, How to Draw, Step by step every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Drawing Desk versus How to Draw, Step by step: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDrawing DeskHow to Draw, Step by step
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (15K ratings)4.5 (2.7K ratings) — better
Positive reviews44.6% of reviews51.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings15K — better2.7K
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeksEvery 11 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size149 MB230 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFarida AfroseJale Balci

Customer experience

Drawing Desk

All ratings15,167 ratings
Positive80.7%
Neutral8.4%
Negative10.9%
Written reviews552 reviews
Positive44.6%
Neutral13.8%
Negative41.7%

How to Draw, Step by step

All ratings2,734 ratings
Positive87.4%
Neutral4.3%
Negative8.3%
Written reviews68 reviews
Positive51.5%
Neutral4.4%
Negative44.1%

User reviews

Drawing Desk

From 15K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 User-friendly
  • 🎨 Good for beginners
  • 💡 Variety of tools and colors
  • 🚀 Efficient for quick illustrations

Room to improve

  • 💰 Too many paid features
  • 📢 Excessive ads
  • 🐛 Glitchy performance
  • 🎨 Limited brush/tool options

How to Draw, Step by step

From 2.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Super easy to use
  • 👍 Helps with drawing
  • 🎨 Allows searching for drawings
  • 💡 Step-by-step drawing guides

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Paywall for core features
  • 🐛 Buggy, crashes often
  • 💸 Expensive subscription
  • 📺 Too many ads

Bugs and requests

Drawing Desk

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Drawings become pixelated
  • App crashes when undoing complex drawings
  • Saved images disappear
  • Brush/tool selection window blocks drawing area

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add layers and selection tools
  • Improve undo/redo functionality
  • Implement color picker and fill tool
  • Provide more brush/pencil options
  • Add text and blending tools

How to Draw, Step by step

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Can't see drawings clearly
  • Free trial doesn't work as expected
  • Camera feature locked behind paywall

Requested features

3 requests
  • Ability to zoom in on drawings
  • More free drawing tools
  • Offline drawing mode

In-app purchases

14 purchases

Drawing Desk

Subscriptions3
  • Drawing Desk Weekly Offer3 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Drawing Desk Premium Monthly3 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Drawing Desk Yearly Trial7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time11
  • Unlock Moustaches $0.99$0.99
  • Unlock Hat & Helmet Stickers$0$0.99
  • Unlock Doll Stickers$0.99$0.99
Show 8 more
  • Unlock Toy Stickers$0.99$0.99
  • Unlock Emoji Stickers$0.99$0.99
  • Unlock Love Stickers$0.99$0.99
  • Unlock Vegetable Stickers$0.99$0.99
  • Unlock Car & Bike Stickers$0.9$0.99
  • Unlock Sports Stickers$0.99$0.99
  • Unlock All Stickers$4.99
  • Hide Ads$9.99
12 purchases

How to Draw, Step by step

Subscriptions12
  • Weekly plan$3.997 Days
  • Draw weekly 3D3 Days trial$5.997 Days
  • How to draw$6.997 Days
Show 9 more
  • Drawing app Weekly7 Days trial$8.997 Days
  • Ar drawing3 Days trial$8.997 Days
  • Drawing Projector Monthly1 Month trial$14.991 Month
  • Drawing app Monthly$19.991 Month
  • Learn How to Draw, easily3 Days trial$24.991 Month
  • Learn to draw step by step3 Days trial$24.991 Year
  • How to draw with projector3 Days trial$34.991 Year
  • How to draw with projector3 Days trial$44.991 Year
  • Sketches for drawing$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Drawing Desk free?
Drawing Desk is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is How to Draw, Step by step free?
How to Draw, Step by step is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Drawing Desk or How to Draw, Step by step?
How to Draw, Step by step is rated higher. Drawing Desk averages 4.3 out of 5 from 15K ratings, while How to Draw, Step by step averages 4.5 from 2.7K ratings.
Do Drawing Desk or How to Draw, Step by step have ads?
Drawing Desk shows ads; How to Draw, Step by step does not.
Which is updated more often, Drawing Desk or How to Draw, Step by step?
Drawing Desk ships an update every 4 weeks, and How to Draw, Step by step every 11 days. Most recently, Drawing Desk was updated on September 24, 2026 and How to Draw, Step by step on September 19, 2026.

Other comparisons