Comparison

Drawing Pad vs Realistic Paint Studio

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

Head to head
About

Drawing Pad

Unleash your creativity with a mobile art studio for all ages. This app offers a wide array of realistic art tools, from crayons and markers to paint brushes and colored pencils. Easily import photos as backgrounds or stickers, blend colors, and share your masterpieces.

Highlights
  • Photo-realistic art tools
  • Crayons, markers, paint brushes, colored pencils
  • Stickers and roller pens
  • Photo background import
  • Color blending tool
  • Export and sharing options
Features
Read full description

Get the app that was mentioned on TV ABC 7 CHICAGO as a top school app! Watch http://abc7chicago.com/education/back-to-school-tech-shopping-tips/952242/ short link: abc7.ws/1h5RDj9 Previously iPad App of the Week in 12 countries! (http://drawingpadapp.com/apple-features-drawing-pad-as-ipad-app-of-the-week) Drawing Pad is a mobile art studio for all ages! Create your own art using photo-realistic crayons, markers, paint brushes, colored pencils, stickers, roller pens and more! ■ ACCOLADES Winner of a Parents’ Choice Gold Award (bit.ly/parents-choice) Featured on nytimes.com (bit.ly/nytimes-drawingpad) Featured on usatoday.com (usat.ly/2x5xrKx) Featured on the iLounge 2011 Buyer's Guide 100 Essential Apps of 2010! Featured by iLounge as First runner up to kids' iPad App of the Year! Featured on Gizmodo's 2010 Gift Guide (bit.ly/gizmodo-drawingpad) Featured in November 2010 MacWorld Magazine in the UK 4 out of 5 stars Awarded Editor's Choice Award from Children's Technology Review ■ IN BOOKS Featured in the book “iPad Apps for Kids for Dummies” - by Jinny Gudmundsen Featured in the O’Reilly book “Best iPad Apps” - by Peter Meyers ■ IN MUSEUMS As seen in the Star Studio Exhibit at the Indianapolis Museum of Art! (bit.ly/ima-museum) ■ QUOTES "Drawing Pad is a fantastic drawing app!" 9to5mac.com “Wonderful chalk tools! You can almost taste the dust!” Mickey Paraskevas, Illustrator and Creator of the Maggie and the Ferocious Beast TV show. "Drawing Pad is a fun and easy to use iPad art app for kids and adults alike. It has very visual menus giving you instant access to a broad range of useful art tools. There are amazing features for kids including downloadable colouring books and additional advanced features for more ambitious artists." Kyle Lambert - Artist - www.kylelambert.com ■ HOW TO USE DRAWING PAD Watch the video inside the App! (or drawingpadapp.com/tutorial) Tap a tool, choose a color, and start drawing. It’s really that simple. Your artwork is automatically saved in the Drawing Pad album. For brush options like size and spacing, tap the brush thumbnail at the bottom of the drawer. Import photo backgrounds by first tapping the stationary icon in the drawer, then the filmstrip. Import photo stickers by first tapping the sticker icon, then the stack of photos. Use one finger to move your photo and two fingers to rotate and resize. Blender tool allows you to soften and blend colors! ■ SHARING OPTIONS Export to the Device Camera Roll, print via AirPrint, share via Email, and other favorite apps like Instagram & Facebook. Even assign your artwork to a contact in your address book! ■ ALL THESE TOOLS ARE INCLUDED! Crayons Markers Paint Brushes Colored Pencils Sketch Pencils Roller Stamp Pens Erasures Stickers Construction Paper Blenders Text Sticker Tool Photo Background Import Photo Stickers Gradient Brushes & Crayons Advanced Brush Control Color wheel and Gradient Panel Pinch Zoom Autosave Two Coloring Books ■ EXTRA FUN Download extra coloring books via in app purchase! Restore prior "Coloring Book in app purchases" by tapping the "Redeem prior purchase" button on the Coloring Book store details page. See drawingpadapp.com/restore ■ DEMONSTRATION Video at http://drawingpadapp.com ■ CONTACT Email us at "support" -at- "drawingpadapp.com" BUY NOW! Don't have an iPad yet? Don't let it stop you! Great price today! Buy now and tell your friends. CREDITS: "Birds," "Panda Bear," and "Turtle" by Igor Cheban instagram.com/icheban "Dinosaur," and "Kitten" by Kyle Lambert www.kylelambert.com

About

Realistic Paint Studio

This digital art software offers a familiar art station experience with realistic brushes, pencils, and markers. It allows users to create art in drawing, watercolor, and oil painting styles with a unique color engine and diverse canvas textures. Step-by-step tutorials and live demonstrations guide users through the creative process.

Highlights
  • Realistic color engine
  • Drawing, Watercolor, Oil Painting styles
  • Realistic brushes and tools
  • Realistic canvases with diverse textures
  • Live demonstration of drawing methods
  • Step-by-step tutorials
Read full description

Realistic Paint Studio is a unique digital art software. The program combines the simplicity of traditional tools and pioneering innovations in digital art. No special education is required to work in Realistic Paint Studio. The interface is designed to show a familiar art station with real paper, brushes, pencils, pens, and markers, etc. instead of a complicated and hard-to-understand graphic editor. With Realistic Paint Studio you will forget that you are using a digital editor, being completely absorbed in the art process! Easy-to-use, yet powerful engine allows to draw and paint in any desirable style! - "Realistic color" - Unique color engine! - 3 creative styles: Drawing, Watercolor, Oil Painting "Realistic brushes" carefully designed to convey all the nuances of real brushes, pencils, pens, markers, etc. - “Realistic showcase” - You can instantly have a look at your picture within a beautiful scene - “Realistic Canvases” - 15 types of sketchbooks, paper sheets, and canvases with 45 different textures scanned from real materials. - “Realistic palettes” - Most of the brushes have their own palette's presets. - “Live demonstration” - Instant demonstration of drawing methods for the selected tool - Live liquid watercolor drops - Step by step tutorials - Сoloring with the edge control function

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Realistic Paint Studio at 4.7 against Drawing Pad's 4.2. Realistic Paint Studio also leads on ratings volume (735 vs 123). Drawing Pad's advantage is price ($5.99 vs $11.99) and review sentiment (83% vs 67%). On update cadence, 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

Drawing Pad costs $5.99 and Realistic Paint Studio $11.99 up front. Drawing Pad sells 11 one-off in-app purchases and Realistic Paint Studio sells 12 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Realistic Paint Studio holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Realistic Paint Studio has 735 ratings behind it against 123, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 83% of Drawing Pad's written reviews are positive against 67% of Realistic Paint Studio's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Drawing Pad ships an update monthly, Realistic Paint Studio every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Drawing Pad versus Realistic Paint Studio: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDrawing PadRealistic Paint Studio
Price$5.99 — better$11.99
Rating4.2 (123 ratings)4.7 (735 ratings) — better
Positive reviews82.7% of reviews — better67.3% of reviews
Number of ratings123735 — better
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#121 — better—
DevicesiPadiPad
Requires iOS11.011.0
Further details — not scored
Size223 MB1005 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMurtha Design LLCAleksandr Komarov

Customer experience

Drawing Pad

All ratings123 ratings
Positive80.5%
Neutral4.1%
Negative15.4%
Written reviews583 reviews
Positive82.7%
Neutral7.0%
Negative10.3%

Realistic Paint Studio

All ratings735 ratings
Positive92.8%
Neutral4.4%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews343 reviews
Positive67.3%
Neutral16.3%
Negative16.3%

User reviews

Drawing Pad

From 123 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Great for kids
  • 👍 Versatile and fun
  • 🎨 Encourages creativity
  • 🎨 Lots of drawing tools
  • 🎨 Excellent color selection

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and deletes work
  • 🐛 Undo button issues
  • 🖌️ Limited brush/pencil options
  • 🖌️ Blending tool issues
  • 🖼️ No full screen on iPad

Realistic Paint Studio

From 735 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Realistic and immersive painting experience
  • 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
  • 🎨 Excellent brush dynamics and color blending
  • 🎨 Wide variety of traditional media tools
  • 🎨 Aesthetically pleasing presentation

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 🔒 Limited export options (no PSD, no transparent background)
  • 🔒 Restricted canvas size and resolution
  • 🔒 Lack of customization for brushes and tools

Bugs and requests

Drawing Pad

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashes and deletes drawings
  • Undo button erases too much work
  • Drawings disappear from album
  • Sticker placement issues
  • Incompatible with newer iPads

Requested features

10 requests
  • Add layers feature
  • Implement zoom/pan functionality
  • Add text tool
  • Provide more advanced drawing tools
  • Include more adult-oriented coloring books
Show 5 more
  • Improve sticker/stamp UI
  • Add sound effects
  • Implement auto-save feature
  • Add ability to mix/create custom colors
  • Provide more brushes/pencils (e.g. HB-9B pencils)

Realistic Paint Studio

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes when using the camera feature
  • Inconsistent behavior with the undo/redo function
  • Issues with the color mixing in the palette
  • Delayed response and lag when using Apple Pencil

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for PSD export with layers
  • Implement canvas rotation and resizing options
  • Allow for more brush customization and pressure sensitivity
  • Improve color picker and palette functionality
  • Introduce a simple, distraction-free canvas mode

In-app purchases

11 purchases

Drawing Pad

One-time11
  • Occupations Coloring BookFree
  • More Fun Coloring BookFree
  • Fairy Tale Coloring BookFree
Show 8 more
  • Sea Life Coloring BookFree
  • Winter Holiday Coloring BookFree
  • Farm Coloring BookFree
  • Dinosaur Coloring BookFree
  • Robots Coloring BookFree
  • Space Coloring BookFree
  • Halloween Coloring BookFree
  • Adult Coloring Book 1Free
12 purchases

Realistic Paint Studio

One-time12
  • Artistic brushFree
  • Mechanical penFree
  • Glitz penFree
Show 9 more
  • Glass penFree
  • Fountain penFree
  • Calligraphy brushFree
  • Hieroglyph brushFree
  • Diamond brushFree
  • Album with six color sheetsFree
  • All brushes from the VIP boxFree
  • Dragon brush$0.99
  • Crystal brush$0.99

Questions

Is Drawing Pad free?
Drawing Pad costs $5.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Realistic Paint Studio free?
Realistic Paint Studio costs $11.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Drawing Pad or Realistic Paint Studio?
Realistic Paint Studio is rated higher. Drawing Pad averages 4.2 out of 5 from 123 ratings, while Realistic Paint Studio averages 4.7 from 735 ratings.
Do Drawing Pad or Realistic Paint Studio have ads?
Neither Drawing Pad nor Realistic Paint Studio shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Drawing Pad or Realistic Paint Studio?
Drawing Pad ships an update monthly, and Realistic Paint Studio every 5 weeks. Most recently, Drawing Pad was updated on September 24, 2026 and Realistic Paint Studio on September 20, 2026.

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