# Charcoal vs Hypersketch

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Charcoal at none against Hypersketch's 21. Charcoal also leads on rating (4.5 vs 4.2) and device support (4 vs 2). Hypersketch's advantage is update cadence (every 11 days vs every 2 months). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Hypersketch sells 20 in-app purchases, starting at $8.00 per month. Charcoal asks for nothing beyond the download.

Charcoal holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 143 and 74 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 77% of Charcoal's written reviews are positive against 79% of Hypersketch's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Charcoal ships an update every 2 months, Hypersketch every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on September 8, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Charcoal | Hypersketch |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (143 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/charcoal/id1490279484/reviews)** | [4.2 (74 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hypersketch/id1580894877/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **143** | 74 |
| Positive reviews | 76.9% of reviews | **78.7% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 11 days** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 28 MB | 222 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 17.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Vision Pro** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Lars Augustin](https://appshunter.io/developer/1806278075) | [STUCK](https://appshunter.io/developer/1181729211) |

## What reviewers say

### Charcoal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/charcoal/id1490279484)

This app offers a simple yet powerful sketching experience with rich tools and beautiful color palettes. Easily create and export your artwork for use in other graphics programs. It supports modern iOS features like multiple windows and dark mode for enhanced productivity.

**Highlights:** Simple sketching interface, Rich drawing tools, Beautiful color palettes, Export sketches, Multiple window support, Dark mode

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Simple and intuitive
- 👍 Great for quick sketching
- 🎨 Aesthetically pleasing design
- 💰 Free with no ads

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🎨 Limited color palette
- 🎨 Lack of customization options
- 🎨 Missing advanced drawing tools
- 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes

**Reported bugs**

- Saved sketches lose quality
- Palette colors change unexpectedly
- Freezing when opening color palette

**Requested features**

- Ability to change brush/pen size
- Layers and blending tools
- Color wheel and custom color selection
- Import/export options


### Hypersketch

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hypersketch/id1580894877)

Transform simple sketches into polished visuals and new ideas in seconds with AI assistance. This tool empowers users to explore creative breadth, refine concepts, and generate diverse design variations from a single drawing. It offers a human-centered approach, keeping you in creative control while accelerating the ideation process.

**Highlights:** AI-powered sketch transformation, Rapid idea generation, Creative iteration tools, Human-centered AI collaboration, Offline sketching capability, Reverse sketching for remixing, Style references (SREFs)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (20)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Starter | $8.00 | per month |
| Starter | $10.00 | per month |
| Professional | $28.00 | per month |
| Starter | $50.00 | per year |
| Premium | $56.00 | per month |
| Starter | $87.00 | per year |
| Professional | $199.00 | per year |
| Ultra | $669.00 | per year |
| Credit Pack N0 | $3.49 | one-time |
| Unlimted Sketches | $7.19 | one-time |
| Unlimted Sketches | $8.99 | one-time |
| Credit Pack O1 | $12.49 | one-time |
| Credit Pack C1 | $15.00 | one-time |
| Credit Pack O2 | $17.49 | one-time |
| Credit Pack N1 | $19.00 | one-time |
| Credit Pack C2 | $20.00 | one-time |
| Credit Pack N2 | $25.00 | one-time |
| Credit Pack O3 | $34.49 | one-time |
| Credit Pack C3 | $40.00 | one-time |
| Credit Pack N3 | $50.00 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Charcoal free?

Charcoal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Hypersketch free?

Hypersketch is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Charcoal or Hypersketch?

Charcoal is rated higher. Charcoal averages 4.5 out of 5 from 143 ratings, while Hypersketch averages 4.2 from 74 ratings.

### Do Charcoal or Hypersketch have ads?

Neither Charcoal nor Hypersketch shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Charcoal or Hypersketch?

Charcoal ships an update every 2 months, and Hypersketch every 11 days. Most recently, Charcoal was updated on September 8, 2026 and Hypersketch on September 22, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*