Comparison

ibis Paint vs Clip Studio Paint

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

Head to head
About

ibis Paint

This professional drawing application offers a vast array of brushes, materials, and fonts for digital art creation. Record your drawing process, utilize advanced layer features, and access helpful rulers and filters. It's designed for artists seeking powerful tools on their mobile devices.

Highlights
  • Over 47,000 brushes
  • Unlimited layers
  • Drawing process recording
  • Stroke stabilization
  • Various ruler types
  • Clipping mask features
  • Advanced text tool
Features
Read full description

For everyone around the world who wants to draw and animate, freely and without pressure. ibisPaint is a full-featured illustration and animation app for smartphones and tablets, with over 500 million cumulative downloads across the series. "Drawing looks hard" — this app is made especially for people who think that. A creative experience that doesn't compromise, an interface simple enough to use without hesitation, and a comfortable familiarity that grows the more you use it. ibisPaint keeps serving as an easy entry point for anyone to start "drawing," while continually expanding what's possible — from a single illustration to frame-by-frame animation, and on to videos with background music and audio. This app is the ad-free version of ibisPaint X. Unlocking all features additionally requires purchasing Premium Membership (an in-app purchase); in that case, downloading ibisPaint X and purchasing Premium Membership there works out cheaper. With over 130,000 brushes, 30,000+ materials, 3,000+ fonts, 86 image filters, 46 screentones, 27 layer blending modes, vector tools, a reference window, radial and symmetry rulers, animated filters, and an AI Disturbance feature, ibisPaint packs in serious functionality that rivals PC illustration software. It's a one-stop app that goes beyond drawing illustrations — into animation production, and even recording and sharing your creative process as a time-lapse video. It's chosen by people of all ages, countries, and experience levels around the world. *Drawing Tutorial YouTube Channel We post lots of videos on how to make the most of ibisPaint. Please subscribe! https://youtube.com/ibisPaint *Supported Digital Styluses https://ibispaint.com/stylus/supported_digital_stylus.jsp?platformType=1 *About Purchase Plans https://ibispaint.com/lecture/index.jsp?no=26 * If you do not cancel auto-renewal at least 24 hours before the free trial ends, you will be automatically charged upon renewal. *About App Access Permissions This app may access various device features to provide the service and improve usability. No access permission is required to use this app — all of the following are optional. You may decline any of these optional permissions. Even if declined, the app's core features remain available, but some features that require the relevant permission may be limited. •Photos/videos in your photo library To import artwork files and images, and to save the artwork files, images, and videos you create •Microphone audio input To connect and communicate with supported peripherals such as digital styluses •Bluetooth communication To connect and communicate with supported peripherals such as digital styluses •Push notifications To deliver notifications related to your artwork, app update information, and important announcements *Questions & Bug Reports We're unable to respond to questions or bug reports left in reviews. Please contact our support desk below instead. https://ssl.ibis.ne.jp/en/support/Entry?svid=25 *ibisPaint Terms of Service https://ibispaint.com/agreement.jsp

About

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.

Highlights
  • Unlimited custom brushes
  • Realistic color mixing
  • Artist-made materials
  • 3D model references
  • Comic creation tools
  • Animation features
  • Advanced layer editing
Read full description

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/

Screenshots

ibis Paint4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Clip Studio Paint at Free against ibis Paint's $15.99. Clip Studio Paint also leads on ratings volume (14K vs 4.1K). ibis Paint's advantage is review sentiment (86% vs 46%) and chart position (#6 vs unranked). On rating, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

Clip Studio Paint is free to download; ibis Paint costs $15.99 up front. ibis Paint sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $4.49 per month and Clip Studio Paint sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $4.89 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for ibis Paint against 4.7 for Clip Studio Paint. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4.1K and 14K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 86% of ibis Paint's written reviews are positive against 46% of Clip Studio Paint's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ibis Paint ships an update monthly, Clip Studio Paint every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
ibis Paint versus Clip Studio Paint: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameteribis PaintClip Studio Paint
Price$15.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (4.1K ratings) — better4.7 (14K ratings)
Positive reviews86.3% of reviews — better45.9% of reviews
Number of ratings4.1K14K — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#6 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size118 MB583 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developeribis inc.CELSYS,Inc.

Customer experience

ibis Paint

All ratings4,080 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral2.2%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews1,195 reviews
Positive86.3%
Neutral5.3%
Negative8.5%

Clip Studio Paint

All ratings13,919 ratings
Positive92.1%
Neutral2.4%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews942 reviews
Positive45.9%
Neutral11.8%
Negative42.4%

User reviews

ibis Paint

From 4.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💎 Excellent brushes and tools
  • 🎨 Customizable brushes and textures
  • 🔍 Helpful tutorials and guidance
  • 🚀 Smooth performance and responsiveness
  • 👍 Easy to use and navigate

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Premium features locked behind subscription
  • 🗂️ Lack of organization tools like folders
  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 🔍 Difficulty finding specific brushes
  • 🔋 High battery consumption

Clip Studio Paint

From 14K App Store ratings

What 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

ibis Paint

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Speedpaint feature not recording all actions
  • Blurring tool causing color leakage
  • Layers not working as expected on certain devices
  • Crashes when opening large files

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add animation tools and features
  • Implement better organization options like folders
  • Improve search and filtering for brushes
  • Add blending and liquify tools
  • Allow importing custom brushes and textures
Show 1 more
  • Improve speed and stability for larger canvases

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

7 purchases

ibis Paint

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Membership (Monthly plan)7 Days trial$4.491 Month
  • Premium Membership (Yearly plan)1 Month trial$27.991 Year
One-time5
  • Smart Credit 300pt$2.99
  • Smart Credit 900pt$8.99
  • Smart Credit 2,500pt$23.99
Show 2 more
  • Smart Credit 5,000pt$44.99
  • Smart Credit 10,000pt$79.99
11 purchases

Clip Studio Paint

Subscriptions11
  • 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
Show 8 more
  • 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 ibis Paint free?
ibis Paint costs $15.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Clip Studio Paint free?
Clip Studio Paint is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ibis Paint or Clip Studio Paint?
ibis Paint is rated higher. ibis Paint averages 4.7 out of 5 from 4.1K ratings, while Clip Studio Paint averages 4.7 from 14K ratings.
Do ibis Paint or Clip Studio Paint have ads?
Neither ibis Paint nor Clip Studio Paint shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ibis Paint or Clip Studio Paint?
ibis Paint ships an update monthly, and Clip Studio Paint every 3 weeks. Most recently, ibis Paint was updated on October 31, 2026 and Clip Studio Paint on October 31, 2026.

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