# Procreate vs Affinity Designer 2 for iPad

The clearest difference is price: Affinity Designer 2 for iPad at Free against Procreate's $12.99. Affinity Designer 2 for iPad also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.4). Procreate's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and review sentiment (70% vs 52%). On ads, monetization model, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Affinity Designer 2 for iPad is free to download; Procreate costs $12.99 up front. Affinity Designer 2 for iPad sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Procreate asks for nothing beyond the download.

Affinity Designer 2 for iPad holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Procreate has 51K ratings behind it against 3.2K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 70% of Procreate's written reviews are positive against 52% of Affinity Designer 2 for iPad'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, Affinity Designer 2 for iPad every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Procreate | Affinity Designer 2 for iPad |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $12.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.4 (51K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/procreate/id425073498/reviews) | **[4.7 (3.2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/affinity-designer-2-for-ipad/id1616833418/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **51K** | 3.2K |
| Positive reviews | **69.7% of reviews** | 51.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 6 weeks |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | **#99** | — |
| Size | 1.1 GB | 1.7 GB |
| Requires iOS | 16.3 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPad | iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Savage Interactive Pty Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/363433636) | [Serif (Europe) Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/536107177) |

## What reviewers say

### Procreate

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/procreate/id425073498)

**Currently charting:** #99 Top Paid · Graphics & Design (US App Store)

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 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

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 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

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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


### Affinity Designer 2 for iPad

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/affinity-designer-2-for-ipad/id1616833418)

Create stunning illustrations, branding, logos, UI/UX designs, and more with a powerful touch-focused vector graphics app. Optimized for iPad and Apple Pencil, it offers real-time performance and precise tools for both vector and raster workflows.

**Highlights:** Vector Warp, Shape Builder Tool, Knife Tool, Drawing scale, Vector Flood Fill, Switch between vector and raster workspaces, Sophisticated typography

**Features:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free 7-Day Trial | Free | one-time |
| Designer 2 for iPad License | Free | one-time |
| Affinity Collection for iPad | $36.99 | one-time |
| Affinity V2 Universal License | $164.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Powerful vector tools
- 🎨 Excellent for digital art and illustration
- 💰 Great value for the price
- 👍 Intuitive and streamlined UI
- 🔄 Seamless integration between iPad and desktop versions

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
- 🔍 Cluttered and unintuitive UI in some areas
- 🖌️ Lacking advanced brush and pencil features
- 💾 Unreliable saving and file management
- 🔀 Confusing transition from Affinity Designer v1

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes when switching between vector and pixel layers
- Exported files not retaining expected quality or format
- Grid spacing and snapping issues
- Disappearing or unresponsive UI elements

**Requested features**

- Vector trace tool
- Better layer management and organization
- Improved Apple Pencil support and pressure sensitivity
- Ability to rename documents on creation
- Customizable keyboard shortcuts and UI


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Procreate free?

Procreate costs $12.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Affinity Designer 2 for iPad free?

Affinity Designer 2 for iPad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Procreate or Affinity Designer 2 for iPad?

Affinity Designer 2 for iPad is rated higher. Procreate averages 4.4 out of 5 from 51K ratings, while Affinity Designer 2 for iPad averages 4.7 from 3.2K ratings.

### Do Procreate or Affinity Designer 2 for iPad have ads?

Neither Procreate nor Affinity Designer 2 for iPad shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Procreate or Affinity Designer 2 for iPad?

Procreate ships an update every 2 weeks, and Affinity Designer 2 for iPad every 6 weeks. Most recently, Procreate was updated on October 14, 2026 and Affinity Designer 2 for iPad on October 13, 2026.

---

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