# Drawing Box vs Animation Desk® Ultimate

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Drawing Box at 94% against Animation Desk® Ultimate's 39%. Drawing Box also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 10). Animation Desk® Ultimate's advantage is ratings volume (299 vs 30) and update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). On ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Drawing Box costs $2.99 and Animation Desk® Ultimate $9.99 up front. Animation Desk® Ultimate sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Drawing Box asks for nothing beyond the download.

Drawing Box holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Animation Desk® Ultimate has 299 ratings behind it against 30, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 94% of Drawing Box's written reviews are positive against 39% of Animation Desk® Ultimate's.

Drawing Box ships an update every 3 months, Animation Desk® Ultimate monthly. The most recent releases landed on August 14, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Drawing Box | Animation Desk® Ultimate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **$2.99** | $9.99 |
| Rating | **[4.6 (30 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/drawing-box/id417852564/reviews)** | [4.0 (299 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/animation-desk-ultimate/id1152147166/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 30 | **299** |
| Positive reviews | **93.7% of reviews** | 39.4% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 122 MB | 374 MB |
| Requires iOS | **9.0** | 10.0 |
| Devices | iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Etienne Nguyen Tan Hon](https://appshunter.io/developer/417852567) | [Kdan Mobile Software LTD](https://appshunter.io/developer/318936474) |

## What reviewers say

### Drawing Box

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/drawing-box/id417852564)

Unleash your creativity with a comprehensive digital art studio. Explore a vast array of drawing and painting tools, special effects, and interactive features for both artistic expression and fun recreational activities. Share your masterpieces as images or animated movies.

**Highlights:** Extensive drawing and painting tools, Special effects and magic pens, Symmetry and duplication modes, Artwork movie recording and sharing, Whiteboard for presentations, Recreational activities like mazes and sudoku

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🎨 Lots of tools and features
- 💡 Great for all skill levels
- 🎨 Versatile drawing capabilities
- 🎨 Impressive color palette

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
- 🔍 Navigation and UI can be confusing
- 🔍 Lack of clear instructions
- 🔍 Missing some advanced features
- 🐛 Undo/redo functionality issues

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes when using undo/redo
- Disappearing drawings after updates
- Inconsistent performance on older devices

**Requested features**

- Add layers feature
- Improve sharing and export options
- Implement a color picker tool
- Provide more customization options
- Add an eraser that is always accessible


### Animation Desk® Ultimate

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/animation-desk-ultimate/id1152147166)

Create frame-by-frame animations from scratch or over existing media. This app offers a robust set of drawing tools, layer support, and various export options for your animated projects. It's designed for both beginners and experienced animators.

**Highlights:** Frame-by-frame animation creation, Import Photoshop layers (PSD), Animate over videos and images, Advanced drawing tools and brushes, Onion skinning with color-coding, Multiple export formats (video, GIF, PDF, PSD), Add music to animations

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, iMessage stickers, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kdan Cloud | $2.99 | per month |
| All Access Pack－1 Month | $9.99 | per month |
| Kdan Cloud | $9.99 | per year |
| All Access Pack－3 Months | $19.99 | per 3 months |
| All Access Pack - 1 Year | $59.99 | per year |
| 10 Kdan Credits | $0.99 | one-time |
| 100 Kdan Credits | $7.99 | one-time |
| 200 Kdan Credits | $15.99 | one-time |
| 500 Kdan Credits | $37.99 | one-time |
| 1000 Kdan Credits | $59.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Good for beginners/amateurs
- 🎨 Decent set of brushes and tools
- 💯 Excellent for frame-by-frame animation
- 🎥 Useful for creating storyboards and rough animations

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔍 Laggy and unresponsive at times
- 🎨 Drawing tools lack precision and smoothness
- 🔀 Issues with layer management and frame duplication
- 💰 Expensive for the current feature set

**Reported bugs**

- Frames randomly disappearing or getting corrupted
- Layers merging unexpectedly or not behaving as expected
- Crashes when trying to import certain media files
- Onion skin and playback issues causing problems

**Requested features**

- Add more brush customization options
- Improve the timeline and layer management tools
- Implement a better undo/redo system
- Allow importing and syncing of audio for lip-syncing
- Provide more export options beyond just video


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Drawing Box free?

Drawing Box costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Animation Desk® Ultimate free?

Animation Desk® Ultimate costs $9.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Drawing Box or Animation Desk® Ultimate?

Drawing Box is rated higher. Drawing Box averages 4.6 out of 5 from 30 ratings, while Animation Desk® Ultimate averages 4.0 from 299 ratings.

### Do Drawing Box or Animation Desk® Ultimate have ads?

Neither Drawing Box nor Animation Desk® Ultimate shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Drawing Box or Animation Desk® Ultimate?

Drawing Box ships an update every 3 months, and Animation Desk® Ultimate monthly. Most recently, Drawing Box was updated on August 14, 2026 and Animation Desk® Ultimate on September 24, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*