# CalenDraw vs Drawing Apps

The clearest difference is monetization model: Drawing Apps at free with in-app purchases against CalenDraw's subscription. Drawing Apps also leads on iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. CalenDraw sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month and Drawing Apps sells 15 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 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 — 4.5 for CalenDraw against 4.4 for Drawing Apps. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3.1K and 5.2K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 57% of CalenDraw's written reviews are positive against 63% of Drawing Apps's.

CalenDraw ships an update every 2 weeks, Drawing Apps monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | CalenDraw | Drawing Apps |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (3.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/calendraw-calendar-notes/id1500028479/reviews)** | [4.4 (5.2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/drawing-apps/id1541145049/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 3.1K | **5.2K** |
| Positive reviews | 56.8% of reviews | **62.5% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Monthly |
| Monetization | Subscription | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Size | 79 MB | 163 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **14.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [DataBeNice LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1500028478) | [Gang Ji](https://appshunter.io/developer/1541145051) |

## What reviewers say

### CalenDraw

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/calendraw-calendar-notes/id1500028479)

This app combines handwritten notes, drawings, and calendars in a single digital workspace. It allows for direct annotation on your calendar with a stylus, event management, and integration with other popular calendar and reminder services. Organize your thoughts and schedule visually.

**Highlights:** Handwritten notes and drawings on calendar, Color-coded scheduling, Drag and drop event rescheduling, Keyboard event entry, Calendar and reminder integration, Full-text search, Customizable widgets

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| CalenDraw Pro | $6.99 | per month |
| Pro Access | $9.99 | per year |
| CalenDraw Pro | $9.99 | per year |
| CalenDraw Pro | $19.99 | per year |
| CalenDraw Pro | $29.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 👍 Helpful for organizing daily routine
- 👍 Great for planning and journaling
- 👍 Syncs well across devices
- 👍 Customizable writing tools

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Glitchy behavior, crashes, and data loss
- 🐛 Reminders not working as expected
- 🐛 Disappearing notes and entries
- 🐛 Laggy performance on some devices
- 🔍 Limited functionality in free version

**Reported bugs**

- Reminders showing up on wrong dates
- Calendar dates not aligning correctly
- Inability to delete task lists
- Keyboard getting stuck
- Pencil drawing functionality not working

**Requested features**

- Separate pages for notebooks and task lists
- Option to remove animations
- Ability to import photos/images
- Weekly and yearly calendar views
- Handwriting-to-text conversion


### Drawing Apps

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/drawing-apps/id1541145049)

Create digital art with a powerful painting engine and advanced tools. This app offers realistic brushes, layers, blend modes, and various editing capabilities for sketching, painting, and transforming images. Import and export your creations in multiple formats.

**Highlights:** Advanced painting engine with 40+ natural brush presets, Realistic brush interaction with paper textures, Layers and Photoshop blend modes, Selection and clipping masks, Transform multiple layers and use transform tool, Import and export drawings in JPEG and PNG formats

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

**In-app purchases (15)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| DrawingApps Premium - Weekly | $2.99 | per 7 days |
| DrawingApps Gold - Weekly | $3.99 | per 7 days |
| Drawing App Black Friday Offer | $5.99 | per month |
| DrawingAppsPremium Trial Month | $7.99 | per month |
| DrawingApps Premium - Monthly | $7.99 | per month |
| DrawingApps Gold Trial Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| DrawingApps Gold - Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| DrawingApps Premium - Yearly | $39.99 | per year |
| DrawingApps Gold - Yearly | $59.99 | per year |
| 300 Coins | $5.99 | one-time |
| 900 Coins | $14.99 | one-time |
| 1200 Coins | $19.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime Lite Drawing Pass | $49.99 | one-time |
| 5000 Coins | $59.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime PRO Drawing Pass | $69.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Allows users to draw anything they want
- 💡 Provides a creative outlet for young artists
- 👍 Easy to use and intuitive interface
- 👍 Good for quick creative ideas
- 👍 Satisfying drawing experience

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Requires payment for many features and tools
- 🤖 Excessive pop-ups and ads
- 🐛 Bugs and glitches (e.g., random layer deletion, screen freezing)
- 🔍 Limited free brushes and tools
- 🤔 Confusing or unintuitive controls

**Reported bugs**

- Frequent crashes and app closures
- Layers not working as expected
- Drawing tools not responsive or accurate
- Difficulty navigating the app

**Requested features**

- More free brushes and tools
- Ability to save and export drawings
- Undo/redo functionality improvements
- Color customization options
- Tracing feature for photos


## Frequently asked questions

### Is CalenDraw free?

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

### Is Drawing Apps free?

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

### Which has better reviews, CalenDraw or Drawing Apps?

CalenDraw is rated higher. CalenDraw averages 4.5 out of 5 from 3.1K ratings, while Drawing Apps averages 4.4 from 5.2K ratings.

### Do CalenDraw or Drawing Apps have ads?

Neither CalenDraw nor Drawing Apps shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, CalenDraw or Drawing Apps?

CalenDraw ships an update every 2 weeks, and Drawing Apps monthly. Most recently, CalenDraw was updated on October 15, 2026 and Drawing Apps on October 16, 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.*