Charcoal vs Animator
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Charcoal
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.
- Simple sketching interface
- Rich drawing tools
- Beautiful color palettes
- Export sketches
- Multiple window support
- Dark mode
Read full descriptionHide full description
• Charcoal is incredibly easy to use: Just create or open a sketch and start sketching. There are no layers or confusing settings. Instead, Charcoal features rich tools and beautiful color palettes. • Charcoal allows you to export a sketch to use it in your favorite graphics program. • Charcoal supports modern iOS and iPadOS features like multiple windows and dark mode: use it at night or open multiple sketches, even side by side.
Animator
Easily create animated drawings and videos without prior expertise. This tool allows you to doodle, draw on photos, and export your creations as GIFs or videos to share with friends. Intuitive controls and powerful drawing features make animation accessible to everyone.
- Frame-by-frame animation
- Draw on photos
- Export as GIF/Video
- Intuitive UI
- 20+ Brushes
- Control animation speed
Read full descriptionHide full description
Create amazing animations without any expertise! Animator : Animation Maker is a tool for making animated drawing videos and exporting them to Gif or Video. Make funny videos - no advanced drawing skills required! Just doodle, have fun and amaze your friends. You can create amazing animations without any expertise! Animation is made easy, better than any other animation software. Draw animations on your own photo using frame-by-frame animation. Export as GIF/Video and share it with your friends. Intuitive UI and Powerful drawing tools will help you to create your own cartoon. FEATURES • Show frames as transparent Layers. • Animation timeline with play mode. • Frames management (add, remove, copy). • Draw on your photos. • 20+ Brushes to draw cartoons. • Easy to create animation videos and gifs. • Control Animation duration and speed. • Exporting to .gif and video files. • Share animated gifs and videos through social networks.
Screenshots
Verdict
Charcoal and Animator both sit at 4.5 stars, but that hides the real split: 77% of Charcoal's written reviews are positive against 57% of Animator's. Animator's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Charcoal holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 144 and 62 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 77% of Charcoal's written reviews are positive against 57% of Animator's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Charcoal | Animator |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (144 ratings) — better | 4.3 (62 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 76.8% of reviews — better | 57.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 144 — better | 62 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Vision Pro — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 29 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Lars Augustin | Sumita Hirpara |
Customer experience
Charcoal
Animator
Bugs and requests
Charcoal
Reported bugs
3 issues- Saved sketches lose quality
- Palette colors change unexpectedly
- Freezing when opening color palette
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to change brush/pen size
- Layers and blending tools
- Color wheel and custom color selection
- Import/export options
Animator
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Charcoal
No in-app purchases
Animator
No in-app purchases
