Comparison

Procreate vs Art Set 4

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Read full description

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

About

Art Set 4

Experience hyper-realistic digital art creation with advanced tools for painting and drawing. Explore a vast array of brushes, fluid simulations, and 3D paint effects. This app offers a customizable workspace and professional features for artists of all levels.

Highlights
  • Hyper-realistic art tools
  • Fluid watercolor simulation
  • 3D paint effects
  • Customizable workspace
  • Time-lapse video recording
  • PSD export
  • Layer masks
Features
Read full description

Art Set has been No.1 iPad app in over 30 countries around the world. Now completely re-written with some of the most advanced artistic digital painting and drawing tools ever created! An 'App of Day', this giant new version has tools with incredible levels of realism and many professional features. Exclusive artistically created brushes, from real world art mediums through to the purely digital for all styles of artwork. Watch fluid Watercolor flow and run as you paint. Express your strokes in 3D giving thick gloopy paint you can even etch back into. It's also a must for any Apple Pencil owner! Art Set brushes have many additional expressions that come into play, some deeply integrated, with new levels of sensitivity you may have never experienced before! It's now free to download for the first time ever! INCLUDED FOR FREE : HYPER-REAL TOOLS - Oil Paint, Watercolors, Oil Pastel, Pencil, Biro Pen, Marker, Wax Crayon, Blenders and more! - Fluid dynamic simulation for Watercolor - 3D Paint - Custom blending achieving rich deep color - Art Set keeps track of where the canvas is wet, dry when needed - Turn on Slow Draw for drawing to lag your stroke. Create smooth curves and lines; great for calligraphy! - Blur Filter with localised quick masking - Color Wheel - User Editable Palette - Metallic Colors - Time-lapse Video Recording; share how you made your artwork stroke by stroke. - PSD Export UI - Fully customizable workspace; have just a single brush or tools on every side of your screen. - Zoom, Pan and Rotate the canvas for fine detail - Light low contrast or Dark high contrast mode - Minimalist UI for less interference with your artwork WORKFLOW - Latest graphics technology written entirely in METAL 2 - Supports the iOS Files app to manage or or transfer documents - iTunes File Sharing - Auto save - Split Screen Multitasking - use a reference image whilst you draw side by side - Export to your photo album, email, AirDrop or social networks etc. - In-depth User Guide in the app complete with video - Import photos and images at screen resolution PREMIUM PRO FEATURES - Single Upgrade Unlocks everything : 200 ADVANCED BRUSHES - Wide variety of extra hyper-real Paints, Pens, Pencils, Inks, Chalks, Pastels, Charcoal, Wet media, Stamps, Splatters, Form, Graphics, Patterns, Fabric, 3D Texture, Neon to basic Pixel and Flat Digital - You can try out all premium brushes on a test area before upgrading! DRAWING - Flood fill - Symmetry - Pixel Art - Shape primitives for Ellipse, Circle, Square, Rectangle and Line in any brush - Echo shapes for special FX - Erase mode - use any brush as an eraser - Adjust brush Size, Opacity, Flow, Grain, Loading and Dynamics LAYERS - Layer Masks - Transform, move, rotate and scale - Flip - Adjust Opacity - Layer maintains resolution whilst transformed - Blend Modes - Alpha lock - Cut, Copy and Paste, to and from other documents or other Apps - Drag and drop layers from other apps - Import from your photos CUSTOM HIGH-RESOLUTION CANVASES - Choose any resolution canvas size, the highest being dependent on your device capabilities - Set DPI and canvas dimensions in millimeters, inches or Points and Pixels - Great for pixel art or tens of millions of pixels - if device allows - Papers and Canvases from old cardboard, raw canvas, graph, squared and isometric paper COLOR - Display P3 WideColor on supported devices - Auto Color Sample, allows you to easily turn photos into paintings - Color picker - Toolbar placable HSB and RGB sliders ADJUSTMENTS - Localized adjustments, allow you to tweak all or just part of your image via quick masking - Change Hue, Saturation, Brightness, Recolor, Invert, Contrast and Blur WORKFLOW - Auto backup, saves snapshots - iOS Pasteboard or Drag and Drop to or from other apps - Import photos and images and high resolution Art Set is a wonderful creative addition to any iPad!

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Art Set 4 at Free against Procreate's $12.99. Art Set 4 also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs every 2 weeks) and iOS requirement (12.4 vs 16.3). Procreate's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and chart position (#90 vs unranked). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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

Art Set 4 is free to download; Procreate costs $12.99 up front. Art Set 4 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Procreate asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Art Set 4 holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 51K and 26K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 70% of Procreate's written reviews are positive against 63% of Art Set 4's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Procreate ships an update every 2 weeks, Art Set 4 every 6 days. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Procreate versus Art Set 4: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterProcreateArt Set 4
Price$12.99Free — better
Rating4.4 (51K ratings)4.6 (26K ratings) — better
Positive reviews69.7% of reviews — better63.1% of reviews
Number of ratings51K — better26K
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#90 — better
DevicesiPadiPad
Requires iOS16.312.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1.1 GB158 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSavage Interactive Pty LtdLOFOPI

Customer experience

Procreate

All ratings50,591 ratings
Positive85.3%
Neutral5.0%
Negative9.7%
Written reviews3,322 reviews
Positive69.7%
Neutral10.6%
Negative19.7%

Art Set 4

All ratings25,885 ratings
Positive90.2%
Neutral4.3%
Negative5.5%
Written reviews1,702 reviews
Positive63.1%
Neutral10.9%
Negative26.0%

User reviews

Procreate

From 51K App Store ratings

What 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

Art Set 4

From 26K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Realistic paint and brush simulation
  • 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
  • 🎨 Excellent oil paint and watercolor tools
  • 🎨 Wide variety of art tools and materials
  • 👍 Responsive and smooth performance

Room to improve

  • 💰 Many features locked behind paywall
  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 🔒 Lack of layer management and export options
  • 🔒 Limited brush size and customization options in free version
  • 🔒 Confusing UI and hidden features

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

Art Set 4

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes when opening color palette or blending
  • Unexpected loss of work and canvas resets
  • Inability to resize canvas or change aspect ratio
  • Brush size and settings not preserved when switching tools

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add more free brushes and tools
  • Improve layer management and export options
  • Allow more brush size and customization options in free version
  • Provide better documentation and tutorials
  • Add undo/redo gesture support
Show 1 more
  • Improve color management and palette tools

In-app purchases

None

Procreate

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Art Set 4

One-time1
  • Unlock All$12.99

Questions

Is Procreate free?
Procreate costs $12.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Art Set 4 free?
Art Set 4 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Procreate or Art Set 4?
Art Set 4 is rated higher. Procreate averages 4.4 out of 5 from 51K ratings, while Art Set 4 averages 4.6 from 26K ratings.
Do Procreate or Art Set 4 have ads?
Neither Procreate nor Art Set 4 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Procreate or Art Set 4?
Procreate ships an update every 2 weeks, and Art Set 4 every 6 days. Most recently, Procreate was updated on September 24, 2026 and Art Set 4 on September 24, 2026.

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