Comparison

Drawing Apps vs NotesHQ

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

Head to head
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

About

NotesHQ

Features
Read full description

NotesHQ is the smart way to capture, organise, and revisit everything that matters to you. Whether you're taking lecture notes, drafting a novel, planning a trip, or recording quick voice memos on the go, NotesHQ keeps it all in one place — beautifully synced between your iPhone, iPad, and the web. WRITE THE WAY YOU THINK • Rich text editor with slash commands, tables, inline images, and math/LaTeX • Freehand canvas for sketches and diagrams — finger or Apple Pencil • Smart checklists with two-column layout, day grouping, and deadlines • Voice memos that transcribe themselves — record now, search the words later • Templates for meetings, journals, project briefs, and more ORGANISE EFFORTLESSLY • Notebooks and sub-notebooks for hierarchy that scales • Tags with rename and merge tools • Note colour labels, reminders (one-off or recurring), and full version history • [[Backlinks]] and a related-notes panel that surfaces what you'd forgotten • Smart folders for saved searches you reuse • Recently Deleted with one-tap restore; Archive to declutter without losing anything • Daily notes for journaling, standups, and meeting prep FIND ANYTHING, INSTANTLY • Universal search across every note, tag, and notebook • Full-text search with filters (Premium) • Note outline for long documents • Hover previews on backlinks AI-POWERED CAPTURE (Premium) • Chat with your notes — ask questions, get answers grounded in what you've written • Auto-generated quizzes for revision • Auto-tag suggestions • Translation in 28 languages for international collaboration SHARE WHEN YOU NEED TO • Public share links per note, with password and expiration options • Browser clipper for Chrome, Edge and Firefox to save web pages straight in • Share-to-NotesHQ from any iOS app • Calendar integration via webcal/ICS so your reminders appear in Apple Calendar PRIVATE BY DEFAULT • Face ID-protected vault for sensitive notes • Your data stays yours — no ads, no tracking EVERYWHERE YOU ARE • iPhone and iPad with native iOS gestures • Web app at app.noteshq.ai • Real-time sync across all your devices NotesHQ Basic is free forever. NotesHQ Premium unlocks AI chat, quizzes, full-text search filters, unlimited translation, voice transcription, and bulk export at £3.99/month or £39.90/year. Subscriptions auto-renew until cancelled; manage in your Apple ID settings. Privacy policy: https://noteshq.ai/privacy Terms of service: https://noteshq.ai/terms

Screenshots

Drawing Apps4 screens
NotesHQ4 screens

Verdict

The call

Drawing Apps and NotesHQ are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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 and NotesHQ sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Drawing Apps versus NotesHQ: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDrawing AppsNotesHQ
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (5.2K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews62.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings5.2K — better—
Update frequencyMonthly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size163 MB38 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGang JiZSHIFT INC

Bugs and 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

NotesHQ

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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
2 purchases

NotesHQ

Subscriptions2
  • NotesHQ Premium (Monthly)$3.991 Month
  • NotesHQ Premium (Yearly)$39.901 Year

Questions

Is Drawing Apps free?
Drawing Apps is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is NotesHQ free?
NotesHQ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Drawing Apps or NotesHQ have ads?
Neither Drawing Apps nor NotesHQ shows ads.

Other comparisons