Comparison

FTL Paint vs Drawing Apps

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

Head to head
About

FTL Paint

Create 8-bit pixel art on your mobile device with a suite of common and advanced tools. Import images, manage layers, and export your creations as PNGs or JSON. Ideal for casual users, artists, and game developers on the go.

Highlights
  • Common and advanced drawing tools
  • Image import and export
  • Layer management
  • Color mixers
  • Sprite sheet and tilemap creation
  • Animation support
  • PNG and JSON export
Features
Read full description

Make pixel art on the go with your phone or tablet! During lunch, on the bus, or wherever you are, make wonderful 8-bit creations for yourself, your game, or to share with the world. Built by a game developer for casual users, artists, and developers alike. Core Features: - Common tools like Paint, Erase, Lasso, Fill, Color picker - Additional tools such as Curves, Color Replace. - Image import and Export support. - Layer Management. - Various kinds of Color Mixers - In-App documentation. - Create sprite sheets, tilemaps, and simple animations. - Export PNGs and JSON. Experimental Features: - Unreal Engine Paper2D export (engine plugin still WIP) This app is still under development. Please send an email to nshkurkin[at]ftlgoats.com if you want to suggest features, improvements, or report bugs.

About

Drawing Apps

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
Read full description

Superior brushes - The most advanced painting engine on tablets • 40+ natural brush presets • Brushes interact realistically with paper textures Superior tools - A place for everything • Layers and Photoshop blend modes • Selection and clipping masks Superior interface - Everything in its place • It’s simple. It’s organized. It’s out of the way. • Organized workflows: Paint - Sketch, Paint, and Blend Clone - Turn a photo into a painting Edit - Adjust color, Liquify, Pattern, Crop, or add a filter • Move your favorite tools to the top bar for quicker access Advanced features • Transform multiple layers simultaneously • Transform tool: Scale, Rotate, Flip, Distort, and Skew • Create seamless patterns with the Pattern tool • Gradient and Pattern Fill • Import images • Rotate and flip the canvas Import and export • Import and export drawings • Add images from Gallery, Camera, or search the web • Export images as JPEG, PNG. Get Drawing Apps Premium – weekly subscription for $2.99 USD. OR monthly subscription (which comes with a 3-day free trial) for $4.99 USD. OR yearly subscription for $9.99 USD • Subscription payments will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of your purchase and upon commencement of each renewal term. Subscription with a free trial period will automatically renew to a paid subscription. You can cancel your subscription or free trial in the iTunes settings at least 24-hours before the end of the free trial period. The cancellation will take effect the day after the last day of the current subscription period and you will be downgraded to the free service. • Please note: any unused portion of a free trial period (if offered) will be forfeited when you purchase a premium subscription during the free trial period. • Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. • Privacy Policy: https://drawingpad.me/privacy-policy.html • Terms: https://drawingpad.me/terms-of-use.html

Screenshots

FTL Paint4 screens
Drawing Apps4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: FTL Paint at 5.0 against Drawing Apps's 4.4. FTL Paint also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 63%) and in-app purchases (none vs 15). Drawing Apps's advantage is ratings volume (5.2K vs 2). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. Drawing Apps sells 15 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. FTL Paint asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

FTL Paint holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drawing Apps has 5.2K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of FTL Paint's written reviews are positive against 63% of Drawing Apps's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

FTL Paint ships an update every 2 months, Drawing Apps monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
FTL Paint versus Drawing Apps: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFTL PaintDrawing Apps
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better4.4 (5.2K ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better62.5% of reviews
Number of ratings25.2K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB163 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNikolai ShkurkinGang Ji

Customer experience

FTL Paint

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Drawing Apps

All ratings5,150 ratings
Positive84.1%
Neutral5.7%
Negative10.2%
Written reviews392 reviews
Positive62.5%
Neutral11.5%
Negative26.0%

Bugs and requests

FTL Paint

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Drawing Apps

Reported bugs

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

Requested features

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

In-app purchases

None

FTL Paint

No in-app purchases

15 purchases

Drawing Apps

Subscriptions9
  • DrawingApps Premium - Weekly$2.997 Days
  • DrawingApps Gold - Weekly$3.997 Days
  • Drawing App Black Friday Offer3 Days trial$5.991 Month
Show 6 more
  • DrawingAppsPremium Trial Month3 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • DrawingApps Premium - Monthly$7.991 Month
  • DrawingApps Gold Trial Monthly3 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • DrawingApps Gold - Monthly$9.991 Month
  • DrawingApps Premium - Yearly3 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • DrawingApps Gold - Yearly3 Days trial$59.991 Year
One-time6
  • 300 Coins$5.99
  • 900 Coins$14.99
  • 1200 Coins$19.99
Show 3 more
  • Lifetime Lite Drawing Pass$49.99
  • 5000 Coins$59.99
  • Lifetime PRO Drawing Pass$69.99

Questions

Is FTL Paint free?
FTL Paint is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Drawing Apps free?
Drawing Apps is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, FTL Paint or Drawing Apps?
FTL Paint is rated higher. FTL Paint averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Drawing Apps averages 4.4 from 5.2K ratings.
Do FTL Paint or Drawing Apps have ads?
Neither FTL Paint nor Drawing Apps shows ads.
Which is updated more often, FTL Paint or Drawing Apps?
FTL Paint ships an update every 2 months, and Drawing Apps monthly. Most recently, FTL Paint was updated on October 7, 2026 and Drawing Apps on October 16, 2026.

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