Procreate vs Clip Studio Paint
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Procreate
This app provides a comprehensive digital art studio for iPad, offering tools for sketching, painting, illustration, and animation. It features a vast brush library, advanced layering, color management, and precision design tools for creative professionals and aspiring artists.
- Hundreds of handmade brushes
- Advanced layer system
- High resolution canvases
- 3D Painting with Lighting Studio
- Frame-by-frame animation
- Precision design tools
- Continuous auto-save
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Loved by creative professionals and aspiring artists alike, Procreate is the leading creative application made for iPad. Procreate has everything you need to create expressive sketches, rich paintings, gorgeous illustrations, and beautiful animations. Offering 100s of handmade brushes, a suite of industry-leading artistic tools, an advanced layer system, and the powerful Valkyrie graphics engine. It’s a complete art studio you can take anywhere. Highlights: - High resolution canvases — up to 16k by 8k on compatible iPad Pros - Beautifully intuitive interface made for iPad and Apple Pencil - Revolutionary QuickShape feature for perfect shapes - Smooth and responsive smudge sampling - 3D Painting with Lighting Studio, exportable as models, images, or animations - Powered by Valkyrie, the lightning-fast 64-bit painting engine - Speed up your workflow with keyboard shortcuts - Create art in stunning 64-bit color - Continuous auto-save — never lose work again Breakthrough brushes: - Packed with hundreds of beautifully crafted brushes - Organize your brushes into sets and libraries - Add Metallic and Roughness for painting in 3D - Brush Studio — with over 100 customizable settings - Import and export custom Procreate brushes - Import Adobe® Photoshop® brushes, and run them faster than Photoshop® Full-featured layering system: - Layer your art for precise control over details and composition - Create Layer Masks and Clipping Masks for non-destructive editing - Stay organized by combining layers into Groups - Select multiple layers to move or Transform objects simultaneously - Access over 25 layer blend modes for industry-grade compositing Color without compromise: - Fill your line work with ColorDrop and SwatchDrop - Disc, Classic, Harmony, Value, and Palette color panels - Import color profiles for color matching - Assign Color Dynamics to any brush Precision design tools: - Add vector text to your illustrations - Easily import all your favorite fonts - Crop and resize your canvas for perfect composition - Perspective, Isometric, 2D, and Symmetry visual guides - Drawing Assist perfects your strokes in real time - StreamLine and stabilization smooths strokes for beautiful calligraphy and expert inking - Use Scribble to name layers, change settings, and create text Accessibility features: - Advanced stroke stabilization - Dynamic Type, VoiceOver, and Feedback Sounds - Assignable single-touch gestures - Color naming Animation and Page Assist - Easy frame-by-frame animation with customizable onion skinning - Create storyboards, GIFs, animatics, and simple animations - Sketch page-by-page concepts or begin a comic with Page Assist - Import, edit, and share PDFs Dramatic finishing effects: - Brush in image adjustments and effects with Apple Pencil - Glitch, Chromatic Aberration, Bloom, Noise, and Halftone add new dimensions to your work - Gaussian, Motion, and Perspective Blur filters create depth and movement - Powerful image adjustments including Color Balance, Curves, HSB, and Gradient Map - Bring your art to life with the fun, intuitive, and creative Warp, Symmetry, and Liquify Dynamics Time-lapse replay - Relive your creative journey with Procreate’s Time-lapse Replay - Export your Time-lapse recording in 4K for high-quality video production - Share a shorter 30-second Time-lapse on your socials Import assets and share your creations: - Import or export your art as Adobe® Photoshop® PSD files - Import Adobe® ASE and ACO Color Palettes - Import image files such as JPG, PNG, and TIFF - Export your working files in layered .procreate or PSD file formats - Share your art as TIFF, transparent PNG, multi-page PDF, web-ready JPEG, OBJ, USDZ, and animated GIFs, PNGs, and MP4s
Clip Studio Paint
Create digital art with a vast array of brushes, textures, and colors. This app offers tools for drawing, painting, comic creation, and animation, with features like 3D models for reference and advanced layer options. It provides a free trial and subscription plans for full access.
- Unlimited custom brushes
- Realistic color mixing
- Artist-made materials
- 3D model references
- Comic creation tools
- Animation features
- Advanced layer editing
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Start drawing and painting in a free 30-day trial. ・Up to 3 months free with your first plan ・Subscribe for the time you want to use it. Get all the latest features, materials, and cloud storage (10 GB)! *Please note that after your trial, you will need to make an in-app payment to save and export. Clip Studio Paint makes drawing a piece of cake, in any style! Whether you are a beginner or a pro, Clip Studio Paint will improve your creative experience while helping you grow. Now with new, powerful features! Unlimited amount of brushes at your fingertips to recreate any style - Use brushes with the same textures as real art materials - Adjust details such as brush shape and paper quality to your liking - Make unique colors with realistic color mixing, like traditional paints - Draw with transparency to erase, so no need to switch brushes Countless artist-made materials - Level up your art with free materials, for backgrounds and more - Discover community-made brushes from creators worldwide - Add details with materials like frills and more Coloring made easy - Easily color even with line gaps using the magnetic lasso tool - Lock transparency to paint over layers without affecting other areas - Set light source and shadow position with Shading Assist - Instantly reference and apply colors from an image to your art using Color Match - Enhance your art with filters like Chromatic Aberration, Retro Film, Pencil, and more Learn alongside other creators - Loads of official tutorials and creator tips available - Watch tutorials on our YouTube channel, for step-by-step advice - Ask questions on the Clip Studio Ask community Create the perfect reference with 3D models - Use 3D drawing figures to help with drawing anatomy - Customize character face and body models with beginner-friendly tools - Attach 3D objects like hats and shoes to characters for more specific references - Use 3D shapes to draw perspective Adjust after you draw - Liquify to make adjustments to the balance of your illustrations - Mesh Transformation allows you to transform to different shapes - Change up the poses of your character drawings with Puppet warp - Non-destructive color adjustment layers to get your art just right - Gradient maps give color to your grayscale illustrations Stress-free layer features - Assign colors and make multiple columns of layers to browse them at a glance - Enjoy the freedom of masking and clipping on multiple layers to edit and move your work - Add various effects to apply to the layer in a non-destructive way The ultimate comic creation app - All the tools you need for comic creation, from storyboard to finishing touches - Panel frames, speech balloons, text, effect lines, and screen tones in an instant - Make data for prints, web comics, manga, or webtoons (6 GB+ memory recommended) - Manage multi-page projects Professional animation, on any device - Use all the same tools as animation studios - Unique features allow you to draw your frames as you like - Enjoy a pencil and paper look and feel, but digitally - Expand your drawings to 4K resolution without losing quality by saving it as vector data ●Grade features ・PRO: All the tools you need to create stunning illustrations & short animations ・EX: All the above + multi-page functionality for comic/manga artists and unlimited animation frames *Clip Studio account needed to buy a plan. ● Target Devices and Specifications ・Minimum free storage space: 3GB, 4GB recommended ・Recommended display size: 10.5"+ Please see the following for supported devices. https://support.clip-studio.com/en-us/faq/articles/20200153 Supported pressure-sensitive pens ・Apple Pencil ● In-app purchases ・Required to save the canvas and export it to various file formats on iPad. Note: You will be charged to the Apple ID used for subscription. Terms of Service https://www.celsys.com/en/information/csp/ https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Clip Studio Paint at Free against Procreate's $12.99. Clip Studio Paint also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.4). Procreate's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 11) and review sentiment (70% vs 46%). On update cadence, ads 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
Clip Studio Paint is free to download; Procreate costs $12.99 up front. Clip Studio Paint sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $4.89 per month. Procreate asks for nothing beyond the download.
Clip Studio Paint holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 51K and 14K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 70% of Procreate's written reviews are positive against 46% of Clip Studio Paint's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Procreate ships an update every 2 weeks, Clip Studio Paint every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Procreate | Clip Studio Paint |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $12.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.4 (51K ratings) | 4.7 (14K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 69.7% of reviews — better | 45.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 51K — better | 14K |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | #90 — better | — |
| Devices | iPad | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.3 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1.1 GB | 583 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Savage Interactive Pty Ltd | CELSYS,Inc. |
Customer experience
Procreate
Clip Studio Paint
User reviews
Procreate
From 51K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Smooth and intuitive drawing experience
- 💡 Vast selection of customizable brushes
- 👍 Simple and clean user interface
- 🚀 Efficient workflow with gestures and shortcuts
- 👍 Great value for the one-time purchase price
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional freezing and crashing issues
- 🔧 Limitations in the animation and audio features
- 🔧 Frustrations with the fill bucket tool and color selection
- 🔧 Lack of advanced organization tools like folders within folders
Clip Studio Paint
From 14K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Best drawing software for iPad
- 🎨 Powerful features like vector layers
- 💻 Seamless transition from desktop to iPad
- 👍 Great for comics and illustrations
- 🎨 Diverse brushes and materials
Room to improve
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 🔍 Confusing interface for beginners
- 🔒 Requires internet connection to save
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 💻 Lacks full desktop feature parity
Bugs and requests
Procreate
Reported bugs
3 issues- Random freezing and crashes, especially after recent updates
- Issues with the fill bucket tool not working as expected
- Problems with exporting animations and preserving the animation quality
Requested features
4 requests- Implement a proper stroke stabilizer and shape tools
- Add the ability to import audio and sync animations to audio
- Improve the fill bucket tool to work across layers
- Introduce a folder system for better organization of artworks
Clip Studio Paint
Reported bugs
4 issues- Inability to save work without subscription
- Laggy performance with large files
- Unreliable auto-save and recovery
- Issues with brush and tool responsiveness
Requested features
4 requests- One-time purchase option
- Improved file management and cloud integration
- Simplified interface for casual users
- More animation and 3D tools
In-app purchases
Procreate
No in-app purchases
Clip Studio Paint
- PRO Monthly$4.891 Month
- PRO Monthly Single-Device Plan3 Days trial$4.891 Month
- PRO Monthly Single-Device Plan3 Months trial$4.891 Month
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- PRO Monthly Dual-Device Plan3 Days trial$7.991 Month
- EX Monthly3 Months trial$9.691 Month
- EX Monthly Single-Device Plan3 Months trial$9.691 Month
- EX Monthly Single-Device Plan3 Days trial$9.691 Month
- EX Monthly Dual-Device Plan3 Days trial$13.491 Month
- PRO Annual$28.901 Year
- PRO Annual Single-Device Plan3 Days trial$28.901 Year
- PRO Annual Single-Device Plan3 Months trial$28.901 Year
Questions
Is Procreate free?
Is Clip Studio Paint free?
Which has better reviews, Procreate or Clip Studio Paint?
Do Procreate or Clip Studio Paint have ads?
Which is updated more often, Procreate or Clip Studio Paint?
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