Comparison

iDesign vs Graphic for iPad

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

Graphic for iPad

This app offers professional-grade vector illustration and design tools for iPad. Create complex graphics, edit images, and export in various formats. It provides a comprehensive suite of features for on-the-go design work.

Highlights
  • Vector illustration tools
  • Layer-based editing
  • Import/export PSD, PDF, SVG
  • Multi-color gradients
  • Shape libraries
  • Pen tool
  • Smart alignment guides
Features
Read full description

Graphic is a full-featured graphic design and illustration application for iPad. True desktop-class editing and illustration tools on the go. "...the iOS’ answer to Adobe Illustrator" - Padgadget "Finally, Professional Vector Editing Comes to the iPad; 9/10" - AppStorm.net "Numerous options; easy to use" - Macworld Graphic has all of the tools you need to create everything from detailed technical illustrations to beautiful works of art. Create complex designs quickly and easily, even on the go. Easily share designs with the Mac and iPhone versions of Graphic using iCloud or Dropbox. Latest features: - Photoshop PSD import/export - PDF and SVG import/export - Layer FX - shadows, glows, multiple strokes and fills, etc. - Multi-color linear, radial, and angle gradients - Shape libraries - Dimension labels with precision settings - Boolean path combinations - Canvas scale, Rulers, and units (mm, cm, inches) - Pen tool multi-point selection and editing - Smart alignment guides and point snapping - Magnifier Loupe - Dropbox Integration - Autosave Layers, Text, Images, Object Groups, Multi-color Gradients, RGB / HSB / Hex color pickers, Brushes, Bezier Pen Tool, customizable Canvas Styles, Grid and Smart Guide Snapping, Image Masking, vector-based PDF and SVG file import/export, and much more! FEATURES - Brush and Pencil tools for fluid drawing and sketching - Essential set of shape tools - Multiple Layers allowing you to create complex designs - Powerful Pen tool for creating custom shapes - Color picker wheel / RGB and HSB sliders / Hex colors - Magnifier Loupe - Eraser Tool - Unlimited Layers - Linear, radial, and angle multi-color gradients - Multi-style text support, TrueType (.ttf) font import - Text gradients and text path clipping - Convert Text to Paths, Place Text on Path - Apply shadows and effects to shapes, text, and images - Rotate, scale, and shear transform tools - Snap to Grid, Smart Alignment Guides, and Point Snapping - Line dash and arrow styles - Image fill masking and cropping - Canvas Styles EXPORT / SHARE - Export drawings as vector-based PDF and SVG files - Export layered Photoshop PSD files - Export transparent PNG or JPEG images - Save and Import from Dropbox - Sync designs using iCloud - Save designs to your Photos Library - Send designs via email - Send designs directly to other iPad application - Copy and paste to and from other iPad applications - AirPrint document printing

Screenshots

iDesign4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: iDesign at Free against Graphic for iPad's $8.99. iDesign also leads on device support (3 vs 1). Graphic for iPad's advantage is rating (3.3 vs 2.6) and in-app purchases (none vs 3). On review sentiment and ads 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

iDesign is free to download; Graphic for iPad costs $8.99 up front. iDesign sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Graphic for iPad asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Graphic for iPad holds the better App Store score, 3.3 against 2.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 84 and 334 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 51% of iDesign's written reviews are positive against 57% of Graphic for iPad's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iDesign ships an update every 5 months, Graphic for iPad every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
iDesign versus Graphic for iPad: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriDesignGraphic for iPad
PriceFree — better$8.99
Rating2.6 (84 ratings)3.3 (334 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.5% of reviews56.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings84334 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS15.511.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size87 MB40 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTouchAware LimitedPicta, Inc

Customer experience

iDesign

All ratings84 ratings
Positive38.1%
Neutral7.1%
Negative54.8%
Written reviews471 reviews
Positive50.5%
Neutral11.3%
Negative38.2%

Graphic for iPad

All ratings334 ratings
Positive53.3%
Neutral13.8%
Negative32.9%
Written reviews714 reviews
Positive56.9%
Neutral13.0%
Negative30.1%

Bugs and requests

iDesign

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Graphic for iPad

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashes when exporting or duplicating files
  • Text editing functionality is unreliable
  • Layers and objects disappear or become uneditable
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
  • Dropbox integration no longer working

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add auto-save and recovery features
  • Improve Apple Pencil responsiveness and accuracy
  • Implement advanced selection tools (lasso, smart select)
  • Introduce multi-artboard support
  • Expand font and gradient options

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
None

Graphic for iPad

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is iDesign free?
iDesign is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Graphic for iPad free?
Graphic for iPad costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, iDesign or Graphic for iPad?
Graphic for iPad is rated higher. iDesign averages 2.6 out of 5 from 84 ratings, while Graphic for iPad averages 3.3 from 334 ratings.
Do iDesign or Graphic for iPad have ads?
Neither iDesign nor Graphic for iPad shows ads.
Which is updated more often, iDesign or Graphic for iPad?
iDesign ships an update every 5 months, and Graphic for iPad every 5 weeks. Most recently, iDesign was updated on September 22, 2026 and Graphic for iPad on September 24, 2026.

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