Tayasui Calligraphy vs DrawBuddy
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Tayasui Calligraphy
Create beautiful calligraphy with realistic ink pens and brushes on your device. This app offers precise customization of drawing tools and an intuitive interface for elegant line work. Optimized for stylus input, it provides a smooth and detailed artistic experience.
- Realistic ink pens and brushes
- Customizable tool settings
- Intuitive and minimal interface
- Optimized for stylus input
- Elegant line and curve drawing
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The most beautiful calligraphy ink pen and brush is available on any devices. Drawing harmonious curves and elegant lines has never been easier. With all our knowledge developed over the past 8 years on Tayasui Sketches, we crafted the most delicate and realistic pens and ink brushes. Featuring a very intuitive, slick and minimal interface. Pens, brushes and erasers can be customised very precisely in inclination, texture and size for a remarkable result. Tayasui Calligraphy is fully optimised for Apple Pencil, for even more accurate and detailed results. Subscribe to access to premium app features; subscription details are the following: - Length: monthly, yearly - Your payment will be charged to your iTunes Account as soon as you confirm your purchase - You can manage your subscriptions and turn off auto-renewal from your Account Settings after the purchase - Your subscription will renew automatically, unless you turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the end of the current period - The cost of renewal will be charged to your account in the 24 hours prior to the end of the current period - When canceling a subscription, your subscription will stay active until the end of the period. Auto-renewal will be disabled, but the current subscription will not be refunded - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when purchasing a subscription Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
DrawBuddy
Learn to draw with step-by-step tutorials and guides designed for artists of all levels. Enhance your digital art skills using Apple Pencil with a variety of drawing categories. Practice on the go with quick draw options and create masterpieces.
- Step-by-step drawing tutorials
- Digital art creation
- Apple Pencil support
- Quick draw practice
- Multiple drawing categories
- Skill enhancement for beginners and professionals
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This drawing app for iPad is the perfect tool for artists of all the levels to create a stunning digital art. With the use of the Apple Pencil, users can easily learn how to draw and develop their skills with the help of the art drawing tutorials and step-by-step guides. The app also features quick draw options for those who want to practice their skills on the go. Drawing lessons are available for users to improve their techniques and create masterpieces. Whether you're a beginner or a professional, this digital drawing app will provide everything you need to enhance your artistic abilities. The app offers a range of categories for drawing, including: • Architecture • Home Interior • Celebrities • People • Artists • Animals • Landscapes • Nature • Dinosaurs • Children • And others Download our drawing app for iPad and don’t forget to share it with your friends on social media or messengers. The app contains the following subscription options: • A 1-month membership costs from $6.99 • A 3-month membership costs from $12.99. • A 1-year membership costs from $29.99 after a 7-day free trial. The price is for US 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 the iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. The account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period and will identify the cost of the renewal. Subscriptions may be managed by the user, and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of the free trial will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription. • Privacy Policy: https://tappa.tech/drawbuddy/privacy-policy • EULA: https://tappa.tech/drawbuddy/eula • Terms of use: https://tappa.tech/drawbuddy/terms-of-use
Screenshots
Verdict
Tayasui Calligraphy and DrawBuddy both sit at 4.3 stars, but that hides the real split: 57% of Tayasui Calligraphy's written reviews are positive against 19% of DrawBuddy's. Tayasui Calligraphy also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.6). DrawBuddy's advantage is ads (none vs shown). 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. Tayasui Calligraphy sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days and DrawBuddy sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for Tayasui Calligraphy against 4.4 for DrawBuddy. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 251 and 479 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 57% of Tayasui Calligraphy's written reviews are positive against 19% of DrawBuddy's.
Tayasui Calligraphy ships an update monthly, DrawBuddy every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Tayasui Calligraphy | DrawBuddy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (251 ratings) | 4.4 (479 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 56.8% of reviews — better | 19.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 251 | 479 — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Subscription | Subscription |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 131 MB | 42 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | SKETCHES SRL | Bohdan Hlushko |
Customer experience
Tayasui Calligraphy
DrawBuddy
User reviews
Tayasui Calligraphy
From 251 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- ✨ Beautiful and simple design
- ✍️ Realistic ink simulation
- 🎨 Great for calligraphy and sketching
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
- 🌟 High-quality art app
Room to improve
- 💸 Shift to subscription model
- 🔒 Features locked behind subscription
- 💰 Previously purchased features now paid
- 👎 Unnatural UI
- 😩 Useless without subscription
DrawBuddy
From 479 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Amazing drawings
- 👍 Good app for drawing
- 👍 Great app potential
Room to improve
- 💰 Requires payment for basic features
- 💰 Free trial issues
- 💰 Unexpected charges
- 💰 App not free
- 💰 Expensive subscription
Bugs and requests
Tayasui Calligraphy
Reported bugs
22 issues- Accidentally undoing when moving canvas
- App freezes with an error
- Default pen size is impractically large
- Difficulty panning without accidentally undoing
- No way to configure pen to only write
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- Accidentally delete all layers and app gets stuck
- App freezes when selecting new paper
- Lost all calligraphy drawings after reinstall
- Lost custom colors
- iCloud backup not working
- End swish/mark never thins out
- Auto orientation issues
- Saves portrait work as landscape
- Crashes every now and then
- Lag on iPad 7th Gen
- No option to add layers
- Loses work if left app for a few minutes
- App restarts when returning
- Bad lag
- Hand triggers brush unintentionally
- Zooming is buggy
- App crashes when editing pen settings
Requested features
22 requests- Add photos/files for tracing
- Turn off gestures
- Resize canvas
- Import image as a layer or background
- Select, move, copy & paste letterforms
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- Drop shadows
- Two or three color gradient brushes
- Metallic looking inks
- Apply and change colors/effects after drawing
- Animation layers/timeline
- More lessons on calligraphy
- Duplication of drawings
- More options to adjust brushes
- Move canvas like Procreate
- More papers, guides, and snapping
- Stamping and rake of brush
- Cut and paste functionality
- Selection tool
- More Apple Pencil compatibility (double-tap)
- Pressure sensitivity on black letter brush
- Save to camera roll
- Clean white background option
DrawBuddy
Reported bugs
3 issues- Video not playing during free trial
- Payment pop-ups prevent drawing
- Charged full month instead of trial
Requested features
4 requests- More drawing options
- More pictures/drawings
- Make the app free
- Add pencil tool back
In-app purchases
Tayasui Calligraphy
- Weekly premium7 Days trial$2.997 Days
- Weekly premium$2.997 Days
- Monthly premium$2.991 Month
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- Monthly premium7 Days trial$2.991 Month
- Weekly premium7 Days trial$3.997 Days
- Weekly premium$3.997 Days
- Yearly premium$9.991 Year
- Yearly premium7 Days trial$9.991 Year
- Yearly premium$69.991 Year
- Yearly premium7 Days trial$69.991 Year
DrawBuddy
- Weekly subscription$6.997 Days
- Monthly subscription3 Days trial$7.991 Month
- Weekly subscription3 Days trial$9.997 Days
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Monthly subscription$12.991 Month
- Three month subscription7 Days trial$19.993 Months
- Monthly subscription1 Month trial$19.991 Month
- Annual subscription7 Days trial$39.991 Year
- Annual subscription$39.991 Year
- Annual subscription7 Days trial$69.991 Year
- Annual subscription14 Days trial$69.991 Year
- Unlimited Access$79.99
Questions
Is Tayasui Calligraphy free?
Is DrawBuddy free?
Which has better reviews, Tayasui Calligraphy or DrawBuddy?
Do Tayasui Calligraphy or DrawBuddy have ads?
Which is updated more often, Tayasui Calligraphy or DrawBuddy?
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