Comparison

Concepts vs Art Set 4

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

Head to head
About

Concepts

This flexible vector-based sketchbook offers an infinite canvas for ideation and design. Easily sketch, take notes, and create detailed designs with editable strokes and powerful tools. Share your work in various formats for seamless collaboration and professional output.

Highlights
  • Infinite canvas
  • Vector-based sketching
  • Realistic pens, pencils, and brushes
  • Editable vector elements
  • Unlimited layers
  • Scale and measurement tools
  • Object libraries
Features
Read full description

Think, plan & create – Concepts is a flexible vector-based sketchbook where you can take your ideas from concept to reality. Concepts reimagines the ideation process – offering a safe and dynamic workspace to iterate and explore your ideas, organize your thoughts, and experiment with designs. With our infinite canvas, you can: • Sketch plans and whiteboard ideas • Make notes, doodles, and mindmaps • Draw storyboards, product sketches and designs Concepts is vector-based, making every stroke editable and scalable. With our Nudge, Slice and Select tools, you can easily change any element of your sketch without redrawing it. Talented creators at Disney, Playstation, Philips, HP, Apple, Google, Unity and Illumination Entertainment use Concepts to develop and realize extraordinary ideas. Join us! Concepts has: • An infinite canvas with optional paper types and grids • Realistic pens, pencils and brushes that flow with pressure, tilt and velocity or create your own • A tool wheel or bar you can personalize • HSL, RGB and COPIC color wheels • Editable vector-based sketching – move, organize and edit the tool, color, size, scale, smoothing, opacity; transform or nudge lines to shape them • Unlimited layers • Scale and measurement tools that calculate real-world dimensions With Concepts, you can: • Drag + drop images + PDF files • Create, store and share vector Object libraries • Export images, vector SVG + PDFs to scale for printing or efficient flow between apps (including Procreate, Sketchbook, AutoCAD and Adobe) • Share directly to email, text, Files, cloud, photos, or your favorite social apps and present with AirPlay or a second screen • Store your work safely in your personal iCloud Drive FREE FEATURES • Infinite canvas • A selection of paper, grid types & tools to get you started • The full COPIC color spectrum, RGB and HSL color wheels • Five layers • Unlimited drawings • JPG exports PAID FEATURES Subscription: • 200+ brush and Object libraries, features, and services • Enjoy Team Sharing for smooth collaboration, including live-sharing of object libraries, color palettes & brushes, with new updates arriving all the time • Unlocks everything across platforms • TRY PREMIUM FREE FOR 7 DAYS One-time-purchases: • Buy the Essentials for life and unlock selection & editing tools, infinite layers, shape guides, custom brushes, custom grids, and exports to PNG / PSD / SVG / DXF. • Pay for advanced features as you need them – object packs & professional brushes are sold separately • Limited to the platform you purchase on Terms & Conditions: • Monthly and yearly subscription payments are charged to your iTunes account at the time of purchase. • Your plan will renew automatically at the end of the billing period unless canceled 24 hours before the billing period ends. • You can cancel or make changes to your subscription at any time in your iTunes Account settings. • Unused portions of any free trial period are forfeited if you make changes to your subscription. We’re dedicated to quality and update frequently based on your feedback. Your experience matters to us. Chat with us in-app via Ask Us Anything, email us at concepts@tophatch.com, or find us anywhere with @ConceptsApp. COPIC is the trademark of Too Corporation. Many thanks to Lasse Pekkala and Osama Elfar for the cover art!

About

Art Set 4

Experience hyper-realistic digital art creation with advanced tools for painting and drawing. Explore a vast array of brushes, fluid simulations, and 3D paint effects. This app offers a customizable workspace and professional features for artists of all levels.

Highlights
  • Hyper-realistic art tools
  • Fluid watercolor simulation
  • 3D paint effects
  • Customizable workspace
  • Time-lapse video recording
  • PSD export
  • Layer masks
Features
Read full description

Art Set has been No.1 iPad app in over 30 countries around the world. Now completely re-written with some of the most advanced artistic digital painting and drawing tools ever created! An 'App of Day', this giant new version has tools with incredible levels of realism and many professional features. Exclusive artistically created brushes, from real world art mediums through to the purely digital for all styles of artwork. Watch fluid Watercolor flow and run as you paint. Express your strokes in 3D giving thick gloopy paint you can even etch back into. It's also a must for any Apple Pencil owner! Art Set brushes have many additional expressions that come into play, some deeply integrated, with new levels of sensitivity you may have never experienced before! It's now free to download for the first time ever! INCLUDED FOR FREE : HYPER-REAL TOOLS - Oil Paint, Watercolors, Oil Pastel, Pencil, Biro Pen, Marker, Wax Crayon, Blenders and more! - Fluid dynamic simulation for Watercolor - 3D Paint - Custom blending achieving rich deep color - Art Set keeps track of where the canvas is wet, dry when needed - Turn on Slow Draw for drawing to lag your stroke. Create smooth curves and lines; great for calligraphy! - Blur Filter with localised quick masking - Color Wheel - User Editable Palette - Metallic Colors - Time-lapse Video Recording; share how you made your artwork stroke by stroke. - PSD Export UI - Fully customizable workspace; have just a single brush or tools on every side of your screen. - Zoom, Pan and Rotate the canvas for fine detail - Light low contrast or Dark high contrast mode - Minimalist UI for less interference with your artwork WORKFLOW - Latest graphics technology written entirely in METAL 2 - Supports the iOS Files app to manage or or transfer documents - iTunes File Sharing - Auto save - Split Screen Multitasking - use a reference image whilst you draw side by side - Export to your photo album, email, AirDrop or social networks etc. - In-depth User Guide in the app complete with video - Import photos and images at screen resolution PREMIUM PRO FEATURES - Single Upgrade Unlocks everything : 200 ADVANCED BRUSHES - Wide variety of extra hyper-real Paints, Pens, Pencils, Inks, Chalks, Pastels, Charcoal, Wet media, Stamps, Splatters, Form, Graphics, Patterns, Fabric, 3D Texture, Neon to basic Pixel and Flat Digital - You can try out all premium brushes on a test area before upgrading! DRAWING - Flood fill - Symmetry - Pixel Art - Shape primitives for Ellipse, Circle, Square, Rectangle and Line in any brush - Echo shapes for special FX - Erase mode - use any brush as an eraser - Adjust brush Size, Opacity, Flow, Grain, Loading and Dynamics LAYERS - Layer Masks - Transform, move, rotate and scale - Flip - Adjust Opacity - Layer maintains resolution whilst transformed - Blend Modes - Alpha lock - Cut, Copy and Paste, to and from other documents or other Apps - Drag and drop layers from other apps - Import from your photos CUSTOM HIGH-RESOLUTION CANVASES - Choose any resolution canvas size, the highest being dependent on your device capabilities - Set DPI and canvas dimensions in millimeters, inches or Points and Pixels - Great for pixel art or tens of millions of pixels - if device allows - Papers and Canvases from old cardboard, raw canvas, graph, squared and isometric paper COLOR - Display P3 WideColor on supported devices - Auto Color Sample, allows you to easily turn photos into paintings - Color picker - Toolbar placable HSB and RGB sliders ADJUSTMENTS - Localized adjustments, allow you to tweak all or just part of your image via quick masking - Change Hue, Saturation, Brightness, Recolor, Invert, Contrast and Blur WORKFLOW - Auto backup, saves snapshots - iOS Pasteboard or Drag and Drop to or from other apps - Import photos and images and high resolution Art Set is a wonderful creative addition to any iPad!

Screenshots

Concepts4 screens

Verdict

The call

Concepts and Art Set 4 both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 77% of Concepts's written reviews are positive against 63% of Art Set 4's. Concepts also leads on chart position (#190 vs unranked) and device support (3 vs 1). Art Set 4's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs fortnightly) and iOS requirement (12.4 vs 15.0). On price, rating, ratings volume 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. Concepts sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Art Set 4 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. 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 Concepts against 4.6 for Art Set 4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 27K and 26K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 77% of Concepts's written reviews are positive against 63% of Art Set 4's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Concepts ships an update fortnightly, Art Set 4 every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Concepts versus Art Set 4: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterConceptsArt Set 4
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (27K ratings) — better4.6 (26K ratings)
Positive reviews77.0% of reviews — better63.1% of reviews
Number of ratings27K — better26K
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#190 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS15.012.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size267 MB158 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTopHatch, Inc.LOFOPI

Customer experience

Concepts

All ratings26,540 ratings
Positive94.3%
Neutral3.0%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews1,918 reviews
Positive77.0%
Neutral8.9%
Negative14.1%

Art Set 4

All ratings25,885 ratings
Positive90.2%
Neutral4.3%
Negative5.5%
Written reviews1,707 reviews
Positive63.1%
Neutral11.0%
Negative26.0%

User reviews

Concepts

From 27K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Infinite canvas
  • 👍 Intuitive and customizable interface
  • 🎨 Powerful drawing and sketching tools
  • 💡 Versatile for various use cases (architecture, design, note-taking)
  • 🔒 Responsive customer support

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 🔍 Steep learning curve for some users
  • 💰 Subscription model can be expensive for casual users
  • 🔧 Limited text handling and editing capabilities
  • 🔀 Inconsistent behavior of certain tools (e.g., eraser, alignment)

Art Set 4

From 26K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Realistic paint and brush simulation
  • 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
  • 🎨 Excellent oil paint and watercolor tools
  • 🎨 Wide variety of art tools and materials
  • 👍 Responsive and smooth performance

Room to improve

  • 💰 Many features locked behind paywall
  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 🔒 Lack of layer management and export options
  • 🔒 Limited brush size and customization options in free version
  • 🔒 Confusing UI and hidden features

Bugs and requests

Concepts

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Memory issues when working with large, complex drawings
  • Inconsistent behavior of the eraser tool
  • Inaccuracies in the snap-to-grid and measurement tools
  • Exporting issues, such as loss of data or poor quality

Requested features

5 requests
  • Improved text editing and formatting options
  • Better color selection and customization tools
  • Collaboration and real-time sharing features
  • Seamless integration with other design/productivity apps
  • Syncing and backup capabilities across devices

Art Set 4

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes when opening color palette or blending
  • Unexpected loss of work and canvas resets
  • Inability to resize canvas or change aspect ratio
  • Brush size and settings not preserved when switching tools

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add more free brushes and tools
  • Improve layer management and export options
  • Allow more brush size and customization options in free version
  • Provide better documentation and tutorials
  • Add undo/redo gesture support
Show 1 more
  • Improve color management and palette tools

In-app purchases

13 purchases

Concepts

Subscriptions4
  • Everything Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Everything Monthly + Trial7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Everything Yearly$29.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Everything Yearly + Trial7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time9
  • Shape Library$1.99
  • Pen Brush Pack$1.99
  • Body Forms$1.99
Show 6 more
  • Make Your Own Objects$3.99
  • Essentials (iPhone Only)$4.99
  • PDF Essentials$4.99
  • Pro Pack [Legacy]$7.99
  • 10 Object Packs$14.99
  • Essentials$39.99
1 purchases

Art Set 4

One-time1
  • Unlock All$12.99

Questions

Is Concepts free?
Concepts is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Art Set 4 free?
Art Set 4 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Concepts or Art Set 4?
Concepts is rated higher. Concepts averages 4.7 out of 5 from 27K ratings, while Art Set 4 averages 4.6 from 26K ratings.
Do Concepts or Art Set 4 have ads?
Neither Concepts nor Art Set 4 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Concepts or Art Set 4?
Concepts ships an update fortnightly, and Art Set 4 every 6 days. Most recently, Concepts was updated on October 16, 2026 and Art Set 4 on October 15, 2026.

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