Comparison

Flow vs Canvas Dot Painter

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. Collaborate on documents in real-time, sketch with customizable tools, and organize your work with infinite width documents and secure cloud syncing.

Highlights
  • Realistic ink and paper drawing
  • Infinite width documents
  • Real-time collaboration
  • Customizable drawing tools
  • Secure cloud syncing
  • Apple Pencil support
  • 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

Canvas Dot Painter

Features
Read full description

Canvas Dot Painter lets you create your own unique Canvas Dot Paintings. Take an image, convert it to dots with customisable settings. Then print it - on paper - on canvas - for your self, for friends, as a business! Canvas Dot Painting is the easy new fun craft that anyone can do. Just print, and color in the circles to get a unique piece of artwork from any image! No subscription, no ads, no royalties required.

Screenshots

Flow4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Flow at Free against Canvas Dot Painter's $12.99. Canvas Dot Painter's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.0). On update cadence, ads 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

Flow is free to download; Canvas Dot Painter costs $12.99 up front. Flow sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Canvas Dot Painter asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Flow ships an update every 6 days, Canvas Dot Painter every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Flow versus Canvas Dot Painter: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFlowCanvas Dot Painter
PriceFree — better$12.99
Rating4.1 (7.2K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews23.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings7.2K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscription—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPad
Requires iOS17.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size245 MB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBonoboUrsa Software

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

Canvas Dot Painter

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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
None

Canvas Dot Painter

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Flow free?
Flow is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Canvas Dot Painter free?
Canvas Dot Painter costs $12.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Flow or Canvas Dot Painter have ads?
Neither Flow nor Canvas Dot Painter shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Flow or Canvas Dot Painter?
Flow ships an update every 6 days, and Canvas Dot Painter every 2 weeks. Most recently, Flow was updated on October 24, 2026 and Canvas Dot Painter on October 6, 2026.

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