Comparison

ibis Paint X vs RoughAnimator

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

Head to head
About

ibis Paint X

This app provides a comprehensive suite of illustration and animation tools for smartphones and tablets. It offers a vast array of brushes, materials, fonts, and filters, suitable for both beginners and experienced artists. Users can create everything from single illustrations to frame-by-frame animations and videos.

Highlights
  • Over 130,000 brushes
  • 30,000+ materials
  • Frame-by-frame animation
  • Vector tools
  • AI Disturbance feature
  • Time-lapse video recording
  • Reference window
Read full description

For everyone around the world who wants to draw and animate, freely and without pressure. ibisPaint X 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 even for free, an interface simple enough to use without hesitation, and a comfortable familiarity that grows the more you use it. ibisPaint X 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. 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 X 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

RoughAnimator

Create traditional hand-drawn, frame-by-frame animations on your iPad. This app offers professional-grade tools like unlimited layers, onion skinning, and audio import, making it suitable for both beginners and experienced animators. Export your work in various formats or import it into professional animation software.

Highlights
  • Timeline with unlimited layers
  • Onion skinning
  • Audio and video import
  • Custom brushes
  • Apple Pencil support
  • Export to video, GIF, image sequence
  • Import to professional software
Read full description

A fully featured hand drawn animation application for iPad. Made by an animator, for animators. Powerful enough for professionals, simple enough for beginners. Everything you need to create traditional hand drawn frame-by-frame animation, anywhere you go! Features: - Timeline with unlimited layers and easily adjustable exposure length of individual drawings, for pose-to-pose or straight-ahead animating - Onion skinning - Preview playback - Scrub along timeline - Import audio for lip syncing - Import video for rotoscoping animation - Custom brushes - Supports Apple Pencil, Logitech Crayon - Control framerate and resolution - Export animation to Quicktime video, GIF, or image sequence - RoughAnimator projects can be imported to Adobe Flash/Animate, After Effects, and Toon Boom Harmony - Also available on desktop See a short film animated with RoughAnimator: https://youtu.be/vaHuJNNPoMM

Screenshots

ibis Paint X4 screens
RoughAnimator1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: ibis Paint X at Free against RoughAnimator's $7.99. ibis Paint X also leads on ratings volume (303K vs 3K) and review sentiment (90% vs 79%). RoughAnimator's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 8) and ads (none vs shown). On rating, update cadence, chart position 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

ibis Paint X is free to download; RoughAnimator costs $7.99 up front. ibis Paint X sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.49 per month. RoughAnimator asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for ibis Paint X against 4.6 for RoughAnimator. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ibis Paint X has 303K ratings behind it against 3K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 90% of ibis Paint X's written reviews are positive against 79% of RoughAnimator's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ibis Paint X ships an update every 3 weeks, RoughAnimator fortnightly. Both last shipped on November 11, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
ibis Paint X versus RoughAnimator: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameteribis Paint XRoughAnimator
PriceFree — better$7.99
Rating4.7 (303K ratings) — better4.6 (3K ratings)
Positive reviews90.0% of reviews — better78.6% of reviews
Number of ratings303K — better3K
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank#8 — better#16
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013 — better
Further details — not scored
Size149 MB31 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developeribis inc.Jacob KAFKA

Customer experience

ibis Paint X

All ratings301,529 ratings
Positive94.0%
Neutral2.3%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews11,669 reviews
Positive90.0%
Neutral4.3%
Negative5.7%

RoughAnimator

All ratings2,936 ratings
Positive92.5%
Neutral3.3%
Negative4.2%
Written reviews852 reviews
Positive78.6%
Neutral9.4%
Negative12.0%

User reviews

ibis Paint X

From 303K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💻 Versatile drawing tools
  • 🎨 Wide variety of brushes
  • 🔓 Majority of features are free
  • 🕰️ Ability to unlock all brushes for a period of time with ads
  • 🎥 Automatic recording of drawing process

Room to improve

  • 🔍 Difficulty navigating layers and organization
  • 🔊 Music playback issues
  • 💤 Occasional freezing and crashing
  • 📢 Frequent ads that can interrupt workflow
  • 🔒 Limited functionality in free version

RoughAnimator

From 3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Smooth animation
  • 💡 Useful features like camera and audio
  • 👍 Intuitive interface
  • 👍 Great for beginners

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes when importing video/audio
  • 🐛 Laggy performance with larger projects
  • 🐛 Pixelated/blurry drawings when playing animation
  • 🐛 Onion skin not working
  • 🐛 Brush issues like splotchy lines

Bugs and requests

ibis Paint X

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Brush size issues when using the smudge/blur tools
  • Inability to undo actions after exiting a drawing
  • Sudden loss of progress due to app crashes
  • Laggy performance on older devices

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add blending brush tool
  • Implement folder system for layers
  • Allow renaming and rearranging of layers
  • Add gradient tool
  • Improve speed controls for time-lapse playback
Show 1 more
  • Integrate social media sharing options

RoughAnimator

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes when importing audio
  • Onion skin not working
  • Pixelated drawings when playing animation
  • Laggy performance with larger projects

Requested features

8 requests
  • Add transparency support for exports
  • Implement a text tool
  • Provide more brush options and customization
  • Add a ruler/shape tool
  • Improve audio handling (record, import, sync)
Show 3 more
  • Implement a tween/animation feature
  • Add layer grouping and organization tools
  • Provide a dark mode option

In-app purchases

8 purchases

ibis Paint X

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Membership (Monthly plan)7 Days trial$4.491 Month
  • Premium Membership (Yearly plan)1 Month trial$27.991 Year
One-time6
  • Smart Credit 300pt$2.99
  • Smart Credit 900pt$8.99
  • Ad Removal Upgrade$15.99
Show 3 more
  • Smart Credit 2,500pt$23.99
  • Smart Credit 5,000pt$44.99
  • Smart Credit 10,000pt$79.99
None

RoughAnimator

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ibis Paint X free?
ibis Paint X is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is RoughAnimator free?
RoughAnimator costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ibis Paint X or RoughAnimator?
ibis Paint X is rated higher. ibis Paint X averages 4.7 out of 5 from 303K ratings, while RoughAnimator averages 4.6 from 3K ratings.
Do ibis Paint X or RoughAnimator have ads?
ibis Paint X shows ads; RoughAnimator does not.
Which is updated more often, ibis Paint X or RoughAnimator?
ibis Paint X ships an update every 3 weeks, and RoughAnimator fortnightly. Most recently, ibis Paint X was updated on November 11, 2026 and RoughAnimator on November 11, 2026.
Which is more popular, ibis Paint X or RoughAnimator?
ibis Paint X currently peaks at #8 in the App Store charts, and RoughAnimator at #16. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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