Comparison

Concepts vs Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad

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

Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad

Create professional documents like books, brochures, and magazines on your iPad. This powerful app offers advanced layout, typography, and image editing tools optimized for touch and Apple Pencil. Seamlessly manage files and export in various professional formats.

Highlights
  • Optimized iPad gesture controls
  • Professional layout tools
  • Advanced typography controls
  • Image and graphics editing
  • Productivity features
  • Import/export options
  • Professional output formats
Features
Read full description

Work wherever and whenever you want without compromise, with Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad, the on-the-go version of our award-winning desktop publishing software. This equally powerful page layout and design app has everything you need to create books, brochures, posters, reports, letters, portfolios, magazine layouts, book covers, ebooks, and so much more. OPTIMIZED FOR IPAD • Fully integrated and optimized iPad gesture controls to speed up your workflow • Command controller hosting on-screen modifiers • Quick Menu for context-sensitive access to commands • Context bar for all tools • Sliders for various attributes • Zoom to fit/zoom to previous, snapping, and preview mode options • Metal accelerated to achieve blazing-fast performance, even when editing large images • Sensitive to pressure, tilt, and angle, the app harnesses the full power and precision of Apple Pencil • Full iCloud drive integration allows for seamless file management, storage, and sharing • External display support with separate configuration options PROFESSIONAL LAYOUT TOOLS • Facing page spreads • Live master pages • Advanced guides, grids, and snapping • Tables and custom table formats • Wrap text around any object or image • Create text frames of any shape • Link multiple text frames together across your document • Footnotes, sidenotes, and endnotes ADVANCED TYPOGRAPHY • Full control over character and paragraph styles • Comprehensive OpenType support • Write text along any path • Advanced flow options and hyphenation PERFECT IMAGES & GRAPHICS • Link or embed images in your document • Place PSD, AI, PDF, JPG, TIFF, PNG, DWG, or Affinity files • Correct and enhance images with non-destructive adjustment layers • Precision engineered pen and node tools for creating vector curves and shapes • Boolean operations to add, subtract, combine, and divide shapes BUILT FOR PRODUCTIVITY • Section manager to organize your documents • Savable undo history with alternate futures • Smart master pages • Automatically generate indexes and table of contents • Manage and create anchors • Save documents as template files to re-use time and time again • Collate your document alongside all used image and font resources into a folder using the Package feature • PDF passthrough • Autoflow of multiple images and multi-page PDFs • Running headers • Cross-references ADVANCED OPTIONS FOR PLACING CONTENT & IMPORT/EXPORT • IDML & XLSX import • Import/export from Adobe InDesign ® and other programs • Layer visibility override for placed linked files (PDF/DWG/DXF/PSD and Affinity files) • Place linked web images using URLs • Dropbox API integration to retain placed resource linkage across multiple devices • AutoCAD DWG/DXF import, place, and edit (maintaining layer structure and scaling) PROFESSIONAL OUTPUT • End-to-end CMYK, PANTONE© and spot color • Live preflight checking • PDF/X-1a, PDF/X-3, PDF/X-4 output for professional printed works FULL INTEGRATION WITH OTHER AFFINITY APPS • Instantly switch to the advanced photo editing features of Affinity Photo and precise vector tools of Affinity Designer without leaving Affinity Publisher with StudioLink • The most fluid workflow ever conceived in a creative suite of applications

Screenshots

Concepts4 screens

Verdict

The call

Concepts and Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 77% of Concepts's written reviews are positive against 47% of Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad's. Concepts also leads on ratings volume (26K vs 581) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 weeks). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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 Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. 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 Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Concepts has 26K ratings behind it against 581, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 77% of Concepts's written reviews are positive against 47% of Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Concepts ships an update fortnightly, Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Concepts versus Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterConceptsAffinity Publisher 2 for iPad
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (26K ratings) — better4.6 (581 ratings)
Positive reviews77.1% of reviews — better47.0% of reviews
Number of ratings26K — better581
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank#185 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size258 MB1.7 GB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTopHatch, Inc.Serif (Europe) Ltd.

Customer experience

Concepts

All ratings26,451 ratings
Positive94.3%
Neutral3.0%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews1,909 reviews
Positive77.1%
Neutral8.9%
Negative14.0%

Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad

All ratings554 ratings
Positive90.3%
Neutral2.3%
Negative7.4%
Written reviews321 reviews
Positive47.0%
Neutral13.4%
Negative39.6%

User reviews

Concepts

From 26K 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)

Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad

From 581 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Powerful, desktop-level design
  • 👍 Seamless integration with other Affinity apps
  • 🚀 Smooth and responsive on iPad
  • 💡 Universal license for all platforms
  • 👍 Intuitive and clean user interface

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🐛 Stability and reliability issues
  • 🐛 Compatibility problems with external keyboards
  • 🐛 Glitches with linked images and text
  • 🐛 Lack of precision and customization options

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

Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashing when working with large files
  • Corrupted layers and lost work
  • Printing issues and scaling problems
  • Inconsistent behavior with text formatting and layout
  • Laggy performance and freezes when scrolling through font lists

Requested features

5 requests
  • Support for right-to-left text (Arabic, Persian, etc.)
  • More templates and pre-designed layouts
  • Improved file management and renaming capabilities
  • Better support for large, complex documents
  • Enhanced keyboard shortcuts and power user features

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
4 purchases

Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad

One-time4
  • Free 7-Day TrialFree
  • Publisher 2 for iPad LicenseFree
  • Affinity Collection for iPad$36.99
Show 1 more
  • Affinity V2 Universal License$164.99

Questions

Is Concepts free?
Concepts is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad free?
Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Concepts or Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad?
Concepts is rated higher. Concepts averages 4.7 out of 5 from 26K ratings, while Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad averages 4.6 from 581 ratings.
Do Concepts or Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad have ads?
Neither Concepts nor Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Concepts or Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad?
Concepts ships an update fortnightly, and Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad every 6 weeks. Most recently, Concepts was updated on September 24, 2026 and Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad on September 19, 2026.

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