ibis Paint X vs RoughAnimator
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Over 130,000 brushes
- 30,000+ materials
- Frame-by-frame animation
- Vector tools
- AI Disturbance feature
- Time-lapse video recording
- Reference window
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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
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.
- 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
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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
Verdict
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
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.
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.
ibis Paint X ships an update every 3 weeks, RoughAnimator fortnightly. Both last shipped on November 11, 2026.
| Parameter | ibis Paint X | RoughAnimator |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $7.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (303K ratings) — better | 4.6 (3K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 90.0% of reviews — better | 78.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 303K — better | 3K |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #8 — better | #16 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 13 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 149 MB | 31 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ibis inc. | Jacob KAFKA |
Customer experience
ibis Paint X
RoughAnimator
User reviews
ibis Paint X
From 303K App Store ratingsWhat 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 ratingsWhat 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
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- 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 moreShow fewer
- Implement a tween/animation feature
- Add layer grouping and organization tools
- Provide a dark mode option
In-app purchases
ibis Paint X
- Premium Membership (Monthly plan)7 Days trial$4.491 Month
- Premium Membership (Yearly plan)1 Month trial$27.991 Year
- Smart Credit 300pt$2.99
- Smart Credit 900pt$8.99
- Ad Removal Upgrade$15.99
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- Smart Credit 2,500pt$23.99
- Smart Credit 5,000pt$44.99
- Smart Credit 10,000pt$79.99
RoughAnimator
No in-app purchases









