# Interactive Sketchbook vs Animation Desk® Ultimate

The clearest difference is rating: Interactive Sketchbook at 5.0 against Animation Desk® Ultimate's 4.0. Interactive Sketchbook also leads on price ($4.99 vs $9.99). Animation Desk® Ultimate's advantage is ratings volume (300 vs 2) and update cadence (monthly vs every 4 months). On review sentiment, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Interactive Sketchbook costs $4.99 and Animation Desk® Ultimate $9.99 up front. Interactive Sketchbook sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Animation Desk® Ultimate sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Interactive Sketchbook holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Animation Desk® Ultimate has 300 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 43% of Interactive Sketchbook's written reviews are positive against 39% of Animation Desk® Ultimate's.

Interactive Sketchbook ships an update every 4 months, Animation Desk® Ultimate monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Interactive Sketchbook | Animation Desk® Ultimate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **$4.99** | $9.99 |
| Rating | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/interactive-sketchbook/id418846451/reviews)** | [4.0 (300 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/animation-desk-ultimate/id1152147166/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 2 | **300** |
| Positive reviews | **43.0% of reviews** | 39.4% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 345 MB | 374 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | **10.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Digital Wave Creative](https://appshunter.io/developer/418846454) | [Kdan Mobile Software LTD](https://appshunter.io/developer/318936474) |

## What reviewers say

### Interactive Sketchbook

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/interactive-sketchbook/id418846451)

Learn professional illustration techniques with interactive tutorials and digital sketching tools. Practice drawing alongside a professional artist or import your own photo references. This app offers a digital alternative to traditional sketchbooks with advanced features for artists.

**Highlights:** Interactive tutorials from professional illustrator, Import photo references for drawing, Three custom layers for sketching and detailing, Split view for side-by-side drawing and reference, Full-page tracing and full-screen drawing modes, Unlimited pages and undo/redo functionality, Portfolio to store and manage digital art

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Paper Pack Pro | $3.99 | one-time |


### 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 Interactive Sketchbook free?

Interactive Sketchbook costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is Animation Desk® Ultimate free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Interactive Sketchbook or Animation Desk® Ultimate?

Interactive Sketchbook is rated higher. Interactive Sketchbook averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Animation Desk® Ultimate averages 4.0 from 300 ratings.

### Do Interactive Sketchbook or Animation Desk® Ultimate have ads?

Neither Interactive Sketchbook nor Animation Desk® Ultimate shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Interactive Sketchbook or Animation Desk® Ultimate?

Interactive Sketchbook ships an update every 4 months, and Animation Desk® Ultimate monthly. Most recently, Interactive Sketchbook was updated on October 21, 2026 and Animation Desk® Ultimate on October 26, 2026.

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