Comparison

Graphic for iPad vs Arrette Sketch drafting tools

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

Head to head
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

About

Arrette Sketch drafting tools

Create hand-drawn designs at a measurable scale, ideal for architects and designers. This app offers a simplified drawing experience with tools like freehand pens and an adjustable grid, allowing for easy sharing via email or saving to your device.

Highlights
  • Freehand drawing pens with vector scaling
  • Adjustable grid system (metric/decimal feet)
  • Load base images to draw on
  • Lasso tool for selections
  • Easy sharing via email
  • Save drawings to device
Features
Read full description

Rated #1 Technical App for Architects by ArchDaily! Arrette Sketch for iPad is an app for designers who want to draw freehand while maintaining a measurable drawing scale like vector drafting tools. Architects, urban planners, surveyors, home remodelers, field archaeologists and dozens of other kinds of professionals will find this app useful. Unlike other vector drawing tools, Arrette Sketch is simple to learn and use. Arrette Sketch is the basic version of Arrette Scale for iPad, available separately in the iTunes App Store. Compared to our professional version, Arrette Sketch is limited only in three ways: 1) distance and area measurement tools are disabled, 2) Edge drawing tools are disabled, and 3) users cannot export to PDF for sharing. For those functions, ideally suited for professionals working in business, Arrette Scale is the appropriate tool. Arrette Philosophy Arrette provides the platform to begin design work and generate ideas without moving too quickly to rigid straight lines and curves. We want to help you draw much as you would normally draw on paper, but to give you the extra tools and ways to share your work that make your life easier and make the design process simpler and more productive. The basic drawing structure is a familiar one - drawing layers which can be overlayed on a base image. The Grid keeps you aware of the size of what you're drawing at any scale. When you're ready, you can easily share drawings by email or save them to your device. We've designed Arrette to be extremely easy to learn. In a few minutes, you'll understand how to zoom and scale your canvas, draw lines, and load base images to work on top of. Our tools will seem familiar from other structured drawing applications, but every tool we've built has been simplified and optimized with scale in mind. Uses for Arrette Sketch for iPad: * An urban designer drafts plans for a new sub-division in a small town * A real estate agent snaps a photograph of a living space and begins to sketch out ideas for staging * A new home owner sketches the plan for an elaborate garden in the back yard * A construction manager notes progress on a work site, sending annotated precision-scale documents back to the general contractor live from the work site For these uses Arrette Sketch is a great tool for drawing freehand scale sketches, whether at home, on the go, or at work. For professional work, which includes sharing original Arrette documents for review, annotation, and modification, Arrette Scale is better suited for those purposes. Included drawing tools in Arrette Sketch (free application): * Freehand drawing pens that scale like vector lines but are as easy to use as pencil and paper * An adjustable grid system that you can easily flip between the metric system and decimal feet * The ability to load base images to draw on top of; base images respect their original scale and direction when the document is zoomed or panned * A lasso tool to select, move, copy and paste previously drawn lines * Layers, for separating out parts of composite objects or for adding new ideas to an existing document that overlay earlier designs * An eraser tool, for revising your designs or removing objects from previous work * The ability to adjust the width of all lines globally even after the lines have been drawn Additional professional features in Arrette Scale (available separately): * A tool for drawing perfectly straight lines, arrays of parallel lines, arcs and circles * Distance and area measurement tools for measuring the lengths, perimeters and areas of arbitrary pathways in your drawing at precise scale Document sharing features in Arrette Sketch: * Save your work to your Photo Gallery * Share raster versions of your work with anyone via email, Twitter, or Facebook Additional sharing features in Arrette Scale: * Send PDFs with scale and direction information to colleagues, clients, and other parties via email

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Arrette Sketch drafting tools at Free against Graphic for iPad's $8.99. Graphic for iPad's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (353 vs 9). On rating, review sentiment, in-app purchases and device support 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

Arrette Sketch drafting tools is free to download; Graphic for iPad costs $8.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Arrette Sketch drafting tools holds the better App Store score, 3.4 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Graphic for iPad has 353 ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 56% and 56% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Graphic for iPad ships an update every 5 weeks, Arrette Sketch drafting tools every 3 months. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Graphic for iPad versus Arrette Sketch drafting tools: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGraphic for iPadArrette Sketch drafting tools
Price$8.99Free — better
Rating3.3 (353 ratings)3.4 (9 ratings) — better
Positive reviews56.3% of reviews — better55.6% of reviews
Number of ratings353 — better9
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidAd-supported — better
DevicesiPadiPad
Requires iOS11.0 — better12.4
Further details — not scored
Size40 MB53 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPicta, IncArrette, Inc.

Customer experience

Graphic for iPad

All ratings334 ratings
Positive53.3%
Neutral13.8%
Negative32.9%
Written reviews726 reviews
Positive56.3%
Neutral12.9%
Negative30.7%

Arrette Sketch drafting tools

All ratings9 ratings
Positive55.6%
Neutral22.2%
Negative22.2%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive55.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative44.4%

Bugs and 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

Arrette Sketch drafting tools

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Graphic for iPad

No in-app purchases

None

Arrette Sketch drafting tools

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Graphic for iPad free?
Graphic for iPad costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Arrette Sketch drafting tools free?
Arrette Sketch drafting tools is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Graphic for iPad or Arrette Sketch drafting tools?
Arrette Sketch drafting tools is rated higher. Graphic for iPad averages 3.3 out of 5 from 353 ratings, while Arrette Sketch drafting tools averages 3.4 from 9 ratings.
Do Graphic for iPad or Arrette Sketch drafting tools have ads?
Arrette Sketch drafting tools shows ads; Graphic for iPad does not.
Which is updated more often, Graphic for iPad or Arrette Sketch drafting tools?
Graphic for iPad ships an update every 5 weeks, and Arrette Sketch drafting tools every 3 months. Most recently, Graphic for iPad was updated on November 1, 2026 and Arrette Sketch drafting tools on November 1, 2026.

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