# Drawing Apps vs Dear Bear

Drawing Apps and Dear Bear both sit at 4.4 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Dear Bear's written reviews are positive against 63% of Drawing Apps's. Drawing Apps's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (5.2K vs 68). On price, rating, update cadence and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Drawing Apps sells 15 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days and Dear Bear sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for Drawing Apps against 4.5 for Dear Bear. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drawing Apps has 5.2K ratings behind it against 68, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 63% of Drawing Apps's written reviews are positive against 100% of Dear Bear's.

Drawing Apps ships an update monthly, Dear Bear every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and August 26, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Drawing Apps | Dear Bear |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.4 (5.2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/drawing-apps/id1541145049/reviews) | **[4.5 (68 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dear-bear-drawing-app/id1635095759/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **5.2K** | 68 |
| Positive reviews | 62.5% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Monthly** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 163 MB | 38 MB |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Gang Ji](https://appshunter.io/developer/1541145051) | [受杰 柯](https://appshunter.io/developer/1634142370) |

## What reviewers say

### 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


### Dear Bear

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dear-bear-drawing-app/id1635095759)

Unleash your creativity with a user-friendly drawing application. Offers a variety of brushes, layers, and import options for both finger and Apple Pencil use. Perfect for sketching everyday wonders.

**Highlights:** Variety of brushes, Customizable layers, Image import function, Finger and Apple Pencil support, Professional drawing tools

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Plus Version | $1.99 | per month |
| Plus Version Quarterly | $3.99 | per 3 months |
| Pro Version | $5.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Drawing Apps free?

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

### Is Dear Bear free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Drawing Apps or Dear Bear?

Dear Bear is rated higher. Drawing Apps averages 4.4 out of 5 from 5.2K ratings, while Dear Bear averages 4.5 from 68 ratings.

### Do Drawing Apps or Dear Bear have ads?

Dear Bear shows ads; Drawing Apps does not.

### Which is updated more often, Drawing Apps or Dear Bear?

Drawing Apps ships an update monthly, and Dear Bear every 2 months. Most recently, Drawing Apps was updated on September 22, 2026 and Dear Bear on August 26, 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.*