Comparison

Flow vs Doodle

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

Head to head
About

Flow

Create beautiful notes and drawings with realistic ink and paper. Offers infinite canvas, customizable tools, and secure cloud syncing. Collaborate with others and organize your work with elegant notebooks.

Highlights
  • Realistic ink and paper simulation
  • Infinite width documents
  • Customizable drawing tools
  • Secure cloud storage and sync
  • Notebook organization
  • Export images and timelapse videos
Features
Read full description

Flow helps you make beautiful notes and draw with realistic ink and paper. Take notes, sketch, journal and plan all within the one app. With Apple Pencil, writing and drawing in Flow feels incredibly responsive, and you can even collaborate on documents with friends and colleagues. —FEATURES— - Infinite width documents, just swipe and keep writing and drawing - Secure storage, synced between your devices - Create your own unique set of drawing tools - Colored paper with dot grid, squared, lined or blank styles - Customizable gestures - Advanced Apple Pencil support - Organize your documents with customizable notebook covers - Elegant minimal interface that puts everything at your fingertips - Export images and timelapse videos - Multitask on iPad with Split View, Slide Over and drag-and-drop Membership with Flow includes realtime cloud storage and backup for your documents and tools across all of your devices. —MEMBERSHIP— Download Flow to try it free. After your free trial, Flow requires a subscription which provides you with regular app updates and realtime cloud storage of your documents. Monthly and discounted yearly options are available. If your subscription lapses, Flow remains available in read-only mode. —QUESTIONS?— We love to speak with users, so feel free to reach out at any time via the Flow menu under Help > Contact Support. If you have a feature idea, please let us know at https://bonobo.canny.io/flow. Want to learn more about Timepage, Actions, or Flow? Visit https://bonobolabs.com to read our guides. —MORE— Subscriptions will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Your subscription will automatically renew unless automatic renewal is turned off 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 your subscriptions and automatic renewal status in Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of the free trial period will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription. Price may vary by location. Privacy policy: https://bonobolabs.com/privacy Terms of service: https://bonobolabs.com/terms —THANK YOU—

About

Doodle

Unleash your creativity with a simple yet powerful drawing application. Sketch, paint, and color on a blank canvas, perfect for quick ideas or detailed artwork. Save your creations with an optional subscription for enhanced features.

Highlights
  • Blank canvas for drawing
  • Variety of drawing tools and colors
  • Undo functionality
  • Image sharing
  • Apple Pencil support
  • Cross-device compatibility
  • Optional Pro subscription for advanced features
Features
Read full description

A little color. A whole new world. Doodle is a drawing app for everyday imagination. Pick a tool, choose a color, and make a mark. A blank canvas can become a small world, a useful idea, or a few minutes of play. MAKE SOMETHING YOURS Draw a colorful scene. Sketch a chart to explain a thought. Draw a tic-tac-toe board and take turns making marks. Map a request and its reply. Practice a letter until it feels like your own. These are things you can draw, with room for your own ideas in between. KEEP IT SIMPLE Choose drawing tools and colors, undo a mark, and share an image of your work. On compatible iPad models, draw with touch or Apple Pencil. No account is required to start drawing. A CANVAS FOR YOUR DEVICE Draw on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro. Each brings its own controls to the same simple idea: a place to draw. On Apple Vision Pro, Doodle is a two-dimensional canvas in an app window. A LITTLE MORE WITH DOODLE PRO An optional Doodle Pro subscription lets you save and reopen editable drawings, ask for confirmation before clearing, hide the tool picker, and choose your preferred light or dark appearance. App icon choices are also available on supported devices. Drawing and image sharing do not require a Pro subscription. Pro is available as a monthly or yearly auto-renewing subscription. The price and any eligible offer are shown before you subscribe. Subscriptions renew automatically unless you cancel. Manage or cancel your subscription in your App Store account settings. One mark is a good place to start. Privacy Policy: https://doodle.app/privacy Terms of Use: https://doodle.app/terms

Screenshots

Flow4 screens
Doodle4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Doodle at 67% against Flow's 24%. Doodle also leads on monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription) and rating (4.5 vs 4.1). Flow's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases 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. Flow sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Doodle sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Doodle holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Doodle has 46K ratings behind it against 7.2K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 24% of Flow's written reviews are positive against 67% of Doodle's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Flow ships an update every 6 days, Doodle every 2 months. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Flow versus Doodle: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFlowDoodle
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (7.2K ratings)4.5 (46K ratings) — better
Positive reviews23.8% of reviews67.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7.2K46K — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size241 MB155 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBonoboJoe Blau

Customer experience

Flow

All ratings7,235 ratings
Positive78.3%
Neutral4.2%
Negative17.5%
Written reviews1,007 reviews
Positive23.8%
Neutral9.2%
Negative66.9%

Doodle

All ratings46,291 ratings
Positive85.9%
Neutral7.0%
Negative7.1%
Written reviews409 reviews
Positive67.2%
Neutral13.2%
Negative19.6%

User reviews

Flow

From 7.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💻 Excellent drawing tools and interface
  • 🎨 Customizable pens and colors
  • 📝 Great for note-taking and sketching
  • 🌟 Beautiful and intuitive design
  • 🔍 Helpful developer support

Room to improve

  • 💰 Subscription model not preferred by some users
  • 🔒 Limited functionality without subscription
  • 🔄 Occasional performance issues and crashes
  • 📁 Lacking file management and organization features
  • 🔍 Unclear trial period and subscription details

Doodle

From 46K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 👍 No ads
  • 👍 Allows creativity
  • 👍 Good for quick sketches
  • 👍 Works with Apple Pencil

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Accidental deletion of drawings
  • 🐛 Disappearing toolbar
  • 🐛 Lack of save/export options
  • 🐛 Crashes and loss of progress
  • 🐛 Limited drawing tools

Bugs and requests

Flow

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Drawings disappearing or becoming corrupted
  • Eraser tool not functioning as expected
  • Scrolling and zooming issues
  • Compatibility problems on older devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add vertical scrolling option
  • Improve line smoothing and anti-aliasing
  • Implement layers and advanced drawing tools
  • Integrate text input and handwriting recognition
  • Enhance export and sharing capabilities

Doodle

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Drawings disappear after app closes
  • Toolbar disappears during screen recording
  • Inability to zoom in/out properly

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add undo/redo functionality
  • Implement auto-save feature
  • Provide more drawing tools and customization options
  • Allow changing background color
  • Add ability to import/export drawings

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Flow

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly Membership7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Annual Membership7 Days trial$19.991 Year
  • Bonobo Bundle (Annual)7 Days trial$29.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Bonobo Bundle (Annual Family)7 Days trial$49.991 Year
One-time1
  • Bonobo Bundle (Lifetime)$129.99
2 purchases

Doodle

Subscriptions2
  • Doodle Pro: Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Doodle Pro: Yearly$9.991 Year

Questions

Is Flow free?
Flow is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Doodle free?
Doodle is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Flow or Doodle?
Doodle is rated higher. Flow averages 4.1 out of 5 from 7.2K ratings, while Doodle averages 4.5 from 46K ratings.
Do Flow or Doodle have ads?
Neither Flow nor Doodle shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Flow or Doodle?
Flow ships an update every 6 days, and Doodle every 2 months. Most recently, Flow was updated on November 6, 2026 and Doodle on November 6, 2026.

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