Comparison

Crayon Maestro vs Canvas Software

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

Head to head
About

Crayon Maestro

This app simulates wax crayon drawing with realistic stroke variations based on fingertip pressure. It offers a dynamic color palette, adjustable drawing parameters, and full Apple Pencil support for creating detailed art and sketches. Pro features like photo tracing are available via a one-time purchase.

Highlights
  • Fingertip-based stroke size adjustment
  • Live parameter changes (color, size, force)
  • Full Apple Pencil support
  • Customizable color palette
  • Multiple layers
  • Photo tracing mode (Pro feature)
Features
Read full description

This full-fledged wax crayon simulator lets you create art, whether a complete drawing or just a sketch, with a striking resemblance to its real life counterpart. • FINGERTIP = STROKE SIZE • When you draw, the app measures how much of your finger is touching the screen and changes the stroke size accordingly. Apply just the corner of your fingertip for a thin line, or the whole fingerprint area for a broad stroke. A 2nd tool assigned to your finger will still use this feature, so don’t ignore it just because you have an Apple Pencil! • PARAMETERS CAN BE CHANGED LIVE • Use any buttons or controls to change/adjust color, size, force, simultaneously while drawing. • APPLE PENCIL • Full support for Apple Pencil and Apple Pencil 2. In addition, you can assign a second drawing tool, such as Eraser, to the finger. • EASY AND QUICK TO USE COLOR PALETTE • Changing the color is only a tap away. The colors in the palette can be rearranged, adjusted, added and removed. • UNIVERSAL PURCHASE • If you choose to buy the Pro upgrade, this one-time in-app purchase will unlock all Pro features in the app on all available platforms (iPad-iPhone-Mac)! • METAL • The engine is based on Metal, with 128-bit color and floating-point arithmetic. • SWIFT • The app was developed entirely using Swift (earlier versions used C++). • FULL SCREEN DRAWING • SEAMLESS PATTERN EDITING MODE • • DARK MODE • LANDSCAPE • PORTRAIT • WIDE COLOR • • MULTIPLE LAYERS • PHOTO TRACING MODE (Pro feature) •

About

Canvas Software

A powerful yet user-friendly drawing application for iPad and Mac, powered by a custom engine for smooth 60fps rendering. Offers features like adjustment layers, timelapse recording, and filters for creative expression.

Highlights
  • Canvas7 drawing engine
  • 60fps rendering
  • Adjustment Layers
  • Timelapse recording
  • Filters
Read full description

Painter is a feature-rich, easy to use drawing app for the iPad and Mac. It uses the custom built Canvas7 drawing engine for rendering at 60fps. Some of the features include Adjustment Layers, Timelapse, Filters, and more. Make sure to leave a review and let me know how Painter can be improved!

Screenshots

Crayon Maestro4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Crayon Maestro at 4.6 against Canvas Software's 4.0. Crayon Maestro also leads on review sentiment (76% vs 40%) and ratings volume (225 vs 1). Canvas Software's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 6). On price 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

Both are free to download. Crayon Maestro sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Canvas Software asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Crayon Maestro holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Crayon Maestro has 225 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of Crayon Maestro's written reviews are positive against 40% of Canvas Software's.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Crayon Maestro versus Canvas Software: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCrayon MaestroCanvas Software
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (225 ratings) — better4.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews76.0% of reviews — better40.0% of reviews
Number of ratings225 — better1
Update frequencyMonthly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPad, Mac
Requires iOS12.0 — better14.4
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB27 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNorbyteCanvas Software LLC

Customer experience

Crayon Maestro

All ratings225 ratings
Positive90.7%
Neutral4.0%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive76.0%
Neutral8.0%
Negative16.0%

Canvas Software

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive40.0%
Neutral40.0%
Negative20.0%

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Crayon Maestro

One-time6
  • Tip Jar: Smallest Tip$1.00
  • Tip Jar: Small Tip$2.00
  • Pro Upgrade$3.00
Show 3 more
  • Tip Jar: Medium Tip$5.00
  • Tip Jar: Big Tip$10.00
  • Tip Jar: Biggest Tip$25.00
None

Canvas Software

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Crayon Maestro free?
Crayon Maestro is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Canvas Software free?
Canvas Software is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Crayon Maestro or Canvas Software?
Crayon Maestro is rated higher. Crayon Maestro averages 4.6 out of 5 from 225 ratings, while Canvas Software averages 4.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Crayon Maestro or Canvas Software have ads?
Neither Crayon Maestro nor Canvas Software shows ads.

Other comparisons