Comparison

Art Set 4 vs Doodle

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

Head to head
About

Art Set 4

Experience hyper-realistic digital art creation with advanced tools for painting and drawing. Explore a vast array of brushes, fluid simulations, and 3D paint effects. This app offers a customizable workspace and professional features for artists of all levels.

Highlights
  • Hyper-realistic art tools
  • Fluid watercolor simulation
  • 3D paint effects
  • Customizable workspace
  • Time-lapse video recording
  • PSD export
  • Layer masks
Features
Read full description

Art Set has been No.1 iPad app in over 30 countries around the world. Now completely re-written with some of the most advanced artistic digital painting and drawing tools ever created! An 'App of Day', this giant new version has tools with incredible levels of realism and many professional features. Exclusive artistically created brushes, from real world art mediums through to the purely digital for all styles of artwork. Watch fluid Watercolor flow and run as you paint. Express your strokes in 3D giving thick gloopy paint you can even etch back into. It's also a must for any Apple Pencil owner! Art Set brushes have many additional expressions that come into play, some deeply integrated, with new levels of sensitivity you may have never experienced before! It's now free to download for the first time ever! INCLUDED FOR FREE : HYPER-REAL TOOLS - Oil Paint, Watercolors, Oil Pastel, Pencil, Biro Pen, Marker, Wax Crayon, Blenders and more! - Fluid dynamic simulation for Watercolor - 3D Paint - Custom blending achieving rich deep color - Art Set keeps track of where the canvas is wet, dry when needed - Turn on Slow Draw for drawing to lag your stroke. Create smooth curves and lines; great for calligraphy! - Blur Filter with localised quick masking - Color Wheel - User Editable Palette - Metallic Colors - Time-lapse Video Recording; share how you made your artwork stroke by stroke. - PSD Export UI - Fully customizable workspace; have just a single brush or tools on every side of your screen. - Zoom, Pan and Rotate the canvas for fine detail - Light low contrast or Dark high contrast mode - Minimalist UI for less interference with your artwork WORKFLOW - Latest graphics technology written entirely in METAL 2 - Supports the iOS Files app to manage or or transfer documents - iTunes File Sharing - Auto save - Split Screen Multitasking - use a reference image whilst you draw side by side - Export to your photo album, email, AirDrop or social networks etc. - In-depth User Guide in the app complete with video - Import photos and images at screen resolution PREMIUM PRO FEATURES - Single Upgrade Unlocks everything : 200 ADVANCED BRUSHES - Wide variety of extra hyper-real Paints, Pens, Pencils, Inks, Chalks, Pastels, Charcoal, Wet media, Stamps, Splatters, Form, Graphics, Patterns, Fabric, 3D Texture, Neon to basic Pixel and Flat Digital - You can try out all premium brushes on a test area before upgrading! DRAWING - Flood fill - Symmetry - Pixel Art - Shape primitives for Ellipse, Circle, Square, Rectangle and Line in any brush - Echo shapes for special FX - Erase mode - use any brush as an eraser - Adjust brush Size, Opacity, Flow, Grain, Loading and Dynamics LAYERS - Layer Masks - Transform, move, rotate and scale - Flip - Adjust Opacity - Layer maintains resolution whilst transformed - Blend Modes - Alpha lock - Cut, Copy and Paste, to and from other documents or other Apps - Drag and drop layers from other apps - Import from your photos CUSTOM HIGH-RESOLUTION CANVASES - Choose any resolution canvas size, the highest being dependent on your device capabilities - Set DPI and canvas dimensions in millimeters, inches or Points and Pixels - Great for pixel art or tens of millions of pixels - if device allows - Papers and Canvases from old cardboard, raw canvas, graph, squared and isometric paper COLOR - Display P3 WideColor on supported devices - Auto Color Sample, allows you to easily turn photos into paintings - Color picker - Toolbar placable HSB and RGB sliders ADJUSTMENTS - Localized adjustments, allow you to tweak all or just part of your image via quick masking - Change Hue, Saturation, Brightness, Recolor, Invert, Contrast and Blur WORKFLOW - Auto backup, saves snapshots - iOS Pasteboard or Drag and Drop to or from other apps - Import photos and images and high resolution Art Set is a wonderful creative addition to any iPad!

About

Doodle

This app provides a digital canvas for users to sketch, paint, and create art. It offers intuitive tools, pencil support, and cross-device backup. Record your drawing process as a video and share it.

Highlights
  • Intuitive drawing tools
  • Pencil support
  • Multi-platform compatibility
  • Cross-device backup
  • Video recording of drawing process
  • Family sharing
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

Doodle4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Art Set 4 at every 6 days against Doodle's every 2 months. Art Set 4 also leads on iOS requirement (12.4 vs 26.0). Doodle's advantage is device support (4 vs 1). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Art Set 4 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase 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

Art Set 4 holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 29K and 46K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 63% of Art Set 4's written reviews are positive against 67% of Doodle's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Art Set 4 ships an update every 6 days, Doodle every 2 months. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Art Set 4 versus Doodle: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterArt Set 4Doodle
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (29K ratings) — better4.5 (46K ratings)
Positive reviews63.1% of reviews67.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings29K46K — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS12.4 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size158 MB155 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLOFOPIJoe Blau

Customer experience

Art Set 4

All ratings25,885 ratings
Positive90.2%
Neutral4.3%
Negative5.5%
Written reviews1,716 reviews
Positive63.1%
Neutral11.0%
Negative25.9%

Doodle

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

User reviews

Art Set 4

From 29K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Realistic paint and brush simulation
  • 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
  • 🎨 Excellent oil paint and watercolor tools
  • 🎨 Wide variety of art tools and materials
  • 👍 Responsive and smooth performance

Room to improve

  • 💰 Many features locked behind paywall
  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 🔒 Lack of layer management and export options
  • 🔒 Limited brush size and customization options in free version
  • 🔒 Confusing UI and hidden features

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

Art Set 4

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes when opening color palette or blending
  • Unexpected loss of work and canvas resets
  • Inability to resize canvas or change aspect ratio
  • Brush size and settings not preserved when switching tools

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add more free brushes and tools
  • Improve layer management and export options
  • Allow more brush size and customization options in free version
  • Provide better documentation and tutorials
  • Add undo/redo gesture support
Show 1 more
  • Improve color management and palette tools

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

1 purchases

Art Set 4

One-time1
  • Unlock All$12.99
2 purchases

Doodle

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

Questions

Is Art Set 4 free?
Art Set 4 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, Art Set 4 or Doodle?
Art Set 4 is rated higher. Art Set 4 averages 4.6 out of 5 from 29K ratings, while Doodle averages 4.5 from 46K ratings.
Do Art Set 4 or Doodle have ads?
Neither Art Set 4 nor Doodle shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Art Set 4 or Doodle?
Art Set 4 ships an update every 6 days, and Doodle every 2 months. Most recently, Art Set 4 was updated on November 3, 2026 and Doodle on November 3, 2026.

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