Comparison

Lux Draw vs Drawing Pad

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

Head to head
About

Lux Draw

Create unique art with light-inspired tools and gritty textures. Draw from scratch or enhance photos with glow pens and special effects. Offers advanced features like HDR brushes and Apple Pencil support for a professional artistic experience.

Highlights
  • Live-calculated HDR brushes
  • Glow Pen, Hot Pen, Light Spheres
  • Gritty paper/canvas textures
  • Smear tool for flame art
  • Apple Pencil support
  • Multiple layers
  • Photo tracing mode (Pro)
Features
Read full description

Draw with light-inspired tools, for a unique art style! Create a drawing from scratch, or add effects to your photos. Let your creativity run wild! • LIVE-CALCULATED HDR BRUSHES • The app features live-calculated brushes and strokes, that together with HDR values make it feel like drawing with light! Drawing tools include Glow Pen, Hot Pen, Light Spheres, and more. Tip: Use the Smear tool on a photo or drawing to achieve immensely cool flame art (seriously, try it!). • GRITTY PAPER/CANVAS TEXTURES • Having a paper/canvas texture interacting in real-time with the drawing tools will give your artwork a satisfying, gritty look. You can remove or change the default-generated texture to something else. • 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++). • FINGERTIP = STROKE SIZE • CHANGE SIZE/FORCE/COLOR WHILE DRAWING • • APPLE PENCIL SUPPORT • FULL SCREEN DRAWING • SEAMLESS PATTERN EDITING MODE • • DARK MODE • LANDSCAPE • PORTRAIT • WIDE COLOR • • MULTIPLE LAYERS • PHOTO TRACING MODE (Pro feature) •

About

Drawing Pad

Create sketches, doodles, and digital art with a variety of brushes, stamps, and effects. Features include a coloring book, video recording of your drawing process, and photo editing tools. Export your creations to physical products.

Highlights
  • Sketching and doodling tools
  • Digital art creation
  • Coloring book with multiple categories
  • Photo editing with magic brush effects
  • Video recording of drawing process
  • Export artwork to physical products
  • Apple Pencil support
Features
Read full description

Drawings is a cool doodling app that allows you to draw, sketch, doodle while you are traveling or just relaxing a home! **Kids Doodle** (NEW) - Creative Kids Doodle brings to life your unique designing experience - 10+ unique canvas backgrounds that you can change while drawing. - You can record your drawing on canvas as a video and share it with your friends - Beautiful preset color palettes: choose one that fits best and fill a picture with colors from soft and muted to bold and lively - Apple Pencil support: enjoy an easy and intuitive process of coloring on the crisp screen of iPad Pro. 1. Doodle Desk! Are you a Doodle Lover? - Yes! Unleash your creativity and create amazing Doodles with getting Drawing Pad. Create beautiful Doodles with different tools like 3D brushes, stickers, stamps and so on. Want to show you doodling skills to your friends/family? Share it on social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram. No happy with your Doodle? Want to give a perfect finishing touch? Drawing Pad comes with smooth erasing, undo, redo & specific brushes for a perfect Doodle. 2. Sketch Desk! You love sketching, but cannot carry your sketchbook, everywhere? Don’t worry install Drawing Pad in your iPhone/iPad and sketch while on a go! You can create beautiful sketches with various brush tools like as pen, pencil, highlighter & so on. Also, you can pick up your favorite colors from the quick colors tool. With options like Undo, Redo and flexible eraser, you can create that perfect sketch. 3. Photo Desk for Creative Editors Are you an artist who also creates beautiful effects for your photos? Drawing Pad comes with Magic brush stroke effects. This allows you to add more liveliness to your photos. Moreover, beautify your photos with a collection of attractive stamps & stickers, vibrant frames, & a cropping tool. You can import photos from Facebook, Instagram, Flickr, & other networks. Export your ArtWork :- You can export your sketches, drawings, & doodles to other physical products like Phone cases, Posters, Cushions, Frames, & many more. 4. Coloring Book - Creative coloring book brings to life your unique designing experience - 10+ categories of unique coloring pages from talented illustrators - with frequent collection updates you’ll always have something new to color - Custom palettes: combine any colors you like to create a matchless work of art Drawing Pad app is always easy to use, but you can enjoy even more powerful drawing features with the auto-renewed subscription. Subscription Terms for Drawing Premium • Length of subscription: Month • Introductory Trial: 3 Days free trial • Price of subscription: 3 Day Free Trial then $8.99 / month • Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase • The account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, & identify the cost of the renewal • Subscriptions may be managed by the user & auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase • Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period • Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. • Subscriptions will be charged to your credit card through your iTunes account. Your subscription will automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of your current subscription, & you can cancel a subscription during the active period. You can manage your subscription at any time, either by viewing your account in iTunes from your Mac or PC or Account Settings on your device after purchase. Privacy Policy: https://drawingsdesk.com/privacy-policy/ Terms of Use: https://drawingsdesk.com/terms-of-use/

Screenshots

Lux Draw4 screens
Drawing Pad4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Lux Draw at 82% against Drawing Pad's 44%. Lux Draw also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.3) and device support (4 vs 2). Drawing Pad's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (99K vs 939). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Lux Draw sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Drawing Pad sells 25 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Lux Draw holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drawing Pad has 99K ratings behind it against 939, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 82% of Lux Draw's written reviews are positive against 44% of Drawing Pad's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lux Draw ships an update every 2 months, Drawing Pad every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Lux Draw versus Drawing Pad: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLux DrawDrawing Pad
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (939 ratings) — better4.3 (99K ratings)
Positive reviews81.5% of reviews — better43.6% of reviews
Number of ratings93999K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size24 MB387 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNorbyteSunny Side Hurricane LLC

Customer experience

Lux Draw

All ratings939 ratings
Positive92.2%
Neutral4.7%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews92 reviews
Positive81.5%
Neutral10.9%
Negative7.6%

Drawing Pad

All ratings99,168 ratings
Positive82.2%
Neutral5.4%
Negative12.4%
Written reviews931 reviews
Positive43.6%
Neutral4.8%
Negative51.6%

User reviews

Lux Draw

From 939 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Excellent entertainment value
  • 👍 Creative drawing tools
  • 👍 No ads, totally free
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 👍 Variety of brushes and colors

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional glitches and freezing issues
  • 🐛 Compatibility issues with certain devices/platforms
  • 🔧 Limited functionality compared to other drawing apps
  • 🔧 Lack of advanced features like fill tool, shapes, and text
  • 🔧 Difficulty using with mouse/trackpad on laptops

Drawing Pad

From 99K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Simple and easy to use
  • 🎨 Good for basic drawing and doodling
  • 👍 Helpful for improving drawing skills
  • 🎨 Provides a variety of brushes and tools

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Requires subscription to access full features
  • 💰 Expensive subscription model
  • 🐛 Frequent pop-ups and ads
  • 🐛 Laggy performance and glitches
  • 🔒 Limited functionality without subscription

Bugs and requests

Lux Draw

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Freezing and unresponsiveness when switching tools
  • Leaving unwanted color dots when erasing
  • Compatibility issues with certain devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add fill tool, shapes, and text capabilities
  • Improve compatibility with tablets and styluses
  • Provide more customization options for brushes and colors
  • Implement undo/redo functionality
  • Add ability to export/share drawings easily

Drawing Pad

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Drawings not saving properly
  • Frequent crashes and freezes
  • Unresponsive touch controls

Requested features

4 requests
  • More drawing tools and customization options
  • Ability to save and export drawings
  • Smoother performance and fewer bugs
  • More affordable pricing model

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Lux Draw

One-time6
  • Tip Jar: Smallest Tip$1.00
  • Tip Jar: Small Tip$2.00
  • Pro Upgrade$5.00
Show 3 more
  • Tip Jar: Medium Tip$5.00
  • Tip Jar: Big Tip$10.00
  • Tip Jar: Biggest Tip$25.00
25 purchases

Drawing Pad

Subscriptions25
  • Weekly Subscription3 Days trial$2.997 Days
  • Weekly Subscription3 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Lite Weekly Trial3 Days trial$4.997 Days
Show 22 more
  • Pro Weekly Offer3 Days trial$6.997 Days
  • Pro Weekly Normal3 Days trial$6.997 Days
  • Weekly Trial3 Days trial$6.997 Days
  • Drawing Pad Subscriptions3 Days trial$8.991 Month
  • Pro Weekly Trial3 Days trial$9.997 Days
  • Pro Weekly3 Days trial$9.997 Days
  • Lite Weekly3 Days trial$9.997 Days
  • Monthly Lite3 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Premium Weekly3 Days trial$12.997 Days
  • Lite Monthly3 Days trial$14.991 Month
  • Pro Weekly3 Days trial$19.997 Days
  • Lite Three Months3 Days trial$19.993 Months
  • Premium Monthly3 Days trial$19.991 Month
  • Premium Monthly$19.991 Month
  • Lite Six Months3 Days trial$29.996 Months
  • Lite Yearly3 Days trial2 variants$49.991 Year
  • Yearly subscription3 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Lite yearly3 Days trial$69.991 Year
  • Lite yearly3 Days trial$99.991 Year
  • Pro Yearly3 Days trial$99.991 Year
  • Pro Classic Yearly3 Days trial$99.991 Year
  • Pro Yearly Trial3 Days trial$199.991 Year

Questions

Is Lux Draw free?
Lux Draw is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Drawing Pad free?
Drawing Pad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Lux Draw or Drawing Pad?
Lux Draw is rated higher. Lux Draw averages 4.7 out of 5 from 939 ratings, while Drawing Pad averages 4.3 from 99K ratings.
Do Lux Draw or Drawing Pad have ads?
Neither Lux Draw nor Drawing Pad shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Lux Draw or Drawing Pad?
Lux Draw ships an update every 2 months, and Drawing Pad every 6 days. Most recently, Lux Draw was updated on October 24, 2026 and Drawing Pad on October 31, 2026.

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