Comparison

iDesign vs Blue Sketch

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

Head to head
About

iDesign

Create professional 2D vector drawings, illustrations, and technical designs on your iPad or iPhone. Offers precise touch-based editing with unique offset controls and a full suite of advanced tools for graphics and technical design.

Highlights
  • 2D vector drawing and design
  • Precise touch-based editing
  • Advanced path editing
  • Technical drawing tools
  • Shape libraries
  • Layer management
  • iCloud sync with XDesign
Features
Read full description

Precision 2D vector drawing and design on the iPad & iPhone. Make professional quality designs, illustrations and technical drawings on the move using your fingers at last! iDesign has unique features and offset controls which allows you to draw accurately with your finger not getting in the way or blocking your view. Full feature compatibility and automatic sync of designs via iCloud with XDesign (Mac version). User Guide (PDF) available at www.touchaware.com/apps/idesign/userguide FEATURES - A universal app for both iPad and iPhone which adapts to the native screen size of the device. - An unobtrusive icon based visual and context driven user interface with a full screen board view - Toolbars and panels with easy access to frequently used functions for a fast work flow Standard Tools & Functions - Line, polyline, square, rectangle, circle, arc, ellipse, polygons, stars & path tools - Copy and paste selected shapes and groups - Group and ungroup shapes hierarchically to create complex designs - Edit points, convert shapes to path, close shapes, add and remove points, break, weld, explode and join - Precise rotation with ability to rotate at user defined center - Object alignment tools - Fill color and pen color swatches with opacity controls, custom RGB mixer - Stroke width, line style, line caps and corner join styles, arrow ends and dash patters - Text insertion with fonts, styles, sizes, paragraph alignments, multilingual, rotate/resize - Set a background image for tracing/marking over it - Insert images, copy, paste, move, resize and position them accordingly - Multilevel Undo/Redo for all edit operations - Create multiple layers to organize & separate design components - Connector tools for drawing charts and flow diagrams Unique Features for Touch Based Editing - Offset handles for moving and positioning without your finger blocking the view - Nudge controls, allows precise movement of selected shapes or selected points - Delta transformations to apply incremental values by keyboard Advanced Tools for Graphics Design - Advanced path editing options for corner, smooth and symmetric control points, straighten and curve segments - Text to path conversion - Boolean operations on shapes, unite, intersect, subtract, exclude - Freehand drawing, auto smoothened paths - Gradients / color blends Advanced Tools for Technical Drawing - Circle and Arc tool based on center, start/end point, radius and angle of arc - Dimensioning tools, length as well as angular with customisable settings - Support for Feet+Inches+Fractions (U.S & older unit system)
- Architectural formatting option for Dimensions
- Dynamic grid supporting feet, inches and inch fractions at different zoom levels Units & Board Setup - Support for standard and custom board sizes. - Set a drawing scale - Full set of standard unit systems. - Unit aware Grid with customisable settings - Snap to grid, snap to object and points - Unit aware rulers Shape libraries to organise and reuse shapes - Add, remove and organise shapes in your own libraries - A set of standard shapes for creating floor plans included Export/Import & Print - Export designs to JPEG, PNG, PDF & SVG formats - Import SVG files - Share your designs with other iDesign users via Email - Dropbox support for Export, Import - AirPrint Support iDesign is available as a monthly or yearly subscription and includes a free trial period that begins once your purchase has been confirmed with your Apple ID account. At the end of the trial your subscription will start and renew automatically. Your Apple ID account will be charged for the upcoming period unless you disable auto-renew or cancel your subscription in your Account Settings at least 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. Terms of Use: http://www.touchaware.com/apps/termsofuse Privacy policy: http://www.touchaware.com/apps/privacy

About

Blue Sketch

This app allows you to quickly sketch and write ideas freely on a blue canvas. It offers essential drawing tools, page management, and sharing options. Focus on your creativity with a minimalist interface and robust organizational features.

Highlights
  • Handwritten note-taking
  • Drawing tools (pen, line, shapes)
  • Undo/Redo functionality
  • Page size and scaling options
  • Image sharing (PNG, JPG, PDF)
  • Document organization (folders, sorting)
  • Read-only mode
  • Apple Pencil support
Read full description

Sketch your idea! You can write freely and quickly because it is handwritten. You can concentrate on writing because it is the minimum function that can write only white lines on the blue canvas. Functions List: - Can be used as a notebook or notepad - Pen tool: draw a line - Straight line tool - Rectangle and Ellipse Tools - Switch between solid/dotted lines - Can change the size of the pen - Undo / Redo - Can change the page size - Can scale the page - Image sharing: Share an image as PNG, JPG, or PDF format. Also, you can share monochrome converted images. - List documents - List recently opened documents - Organize: Document folders - Sort documents and folders - Title documents and folders - Delete the document then put it into the trash box. - Restore the deleted document from the trash box. - Delete the document entirely in the trash box. - Copy documents: You can duplicate the document. Tap the copy button at the bottom right of the note screen to duplicate it. - Read-only mode: While in read-only mode, you can disable writing and prevent erroneous operations. You can change the settings by tapping the title on the note screen. - Option to use only Apple Pencil: Only available for iPad compatible with Apple Pencil. - Double-tap the Apple Pencil to switch between tools in sequence. - Apple Pencil Pro is also supported. - Can turn off/on the function the app puts the device into a sleep state if you don't touch the screen for a certain period while the page is displayed. About In-App Purchase: The first 20 pages can be used free of charge. After that, adding pages will be paid content. Please support the developer.

Screenshots

iDesign4 screens
Blue Sketch4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Blue Sketch at 4.7 against iDesign's 2.6. Blue Sketch also leads on review sentiment (77% vs 50%) and update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. iDesign sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month and Blue Sketch sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Blue Sketch holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 87 and 339 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of iDesign's written reviews are positive against 77% of Blue Sketch's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iDesign ships an update every 3 months, Blue Sketch monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
iDesign versus Blue Sketch: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriDesignBlue Sketch
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.6 (87 ratings)4.7 (339 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.2% of reviews76.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings87339 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.514.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size86 MB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTouchAware LimitedHituzi ANDO

Customer experience

iDesign

All ratings87 ratings
Positive37.9%
Neutral6.9%
Negative55.2%
Written reviews474 reviews
Positive50.2%
Neutral11.2%
Negative38.6%

Blue Sketch

All ratings327 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral2.8%
Negative4.0%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive76.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative23.1%

Bugs and requests

iDesign

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Blue Sketch

Reported bugs

1 issue
  • App crashed when attempting export on 2019 iPad Pro

Requested features

6 requests
  • More shapes for sketches (curves, polygons)
  • TEXT field option for readable font
  • Pinch/stretch to zoom
  • Finer and less pixelated pencil strokes
  • Option to add extra pages
Show 1 more
  • Feature to group elements for easy deletion

In-app purchases

3 purchases

iDesign

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription14 Days trial$6.991 Month
  • Yearly Subscription14 Days trial$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$79.99
2 purchases

Blue Sketch

One-time2
  • 10 pages$0.99
  • 30 pages$1.99

Questions

Is iDesign free?
iDesign is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Blue Sketch free?
Blue Sketch is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, iDesign or Blue Sketch?
Blue Sketch is rated higher. iDesign averages 2.6 out of 5 from 87 ratings, while Blue Sketch averages 4.7 from 339 ratings.
Do iDesign or Blue Sketch have ads?
Neither iDesign nor Blue Sketch shows ads.
Which is updated more often, iDesign or Blue Sketch?
iDesign ships an update every 3 months, and Blue Sketch monthly. Most recently, iDesign was updated on October 21, 2026 and Blue Sketch on October 24, 2026.

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