# Drawing Desk vs Skillshare

The clearest difference is ads: Skillshare at none against Drawing Desk's shown. Skillshare also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.4) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 3 weeks). Drawing Desk's advantage is ratings volume (239K vs 25K). On price, review sentiment, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Drawing Desk sells 14 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days and Skillshare sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $18.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Skillshare holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drawing Desk has 239K ratings behind it against 25K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 55% of Drawing Desk's written reviews are positive against 62% of Skillshare's.

Drawing Desk ships an update every 3 weeks, Skillshare every 10 days. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Drawing Desk | Skillshare |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.4 (239K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/drawing-desklearn-how-to-draw/id588358613/reviews) | **[4.8 (25K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/skillshare-creativity-classes/id916819843/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **239K** | 25K |
| Positive reviews | 54.7% of reviews | **61.8% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Every 10 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 272 MB | 64 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.5 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Vision Pro | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [4Axis Technologies Pte Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1413114553) | [Skillshare, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/916819842) |

## What reviewers say

### Drawing Desk

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/drawing-desklearn-how-to-draw/id588358613)

Learn to draw with engaging, game-like lessons and expert tutorials. Explore diverse art styles, receive AI-powered feedback, and join a global community of artists. Includes advanced sketching tools for digital art creation.

**Highlights:** 1000+ guided drawing lessons, AI drawing progress evaluation, Expert artist tutorials, Advanced sketching tools, Creator community features, Game-like drawing challenges

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (14)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| DrawingDesk Weekly Trial Offer | $3.99 | per 7 days |
| Drawing Desk Weekly Offer | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| Drawing Desk Weekly Standard | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| DrawingDesk Weekly Trial Offer | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| DrawingDesk Weekly Trial Offer | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| Drawing Desk Premium Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| DrawingDesk Monthly Offer | $9.99 | per month |
| Drawing Desk Yearly Trial | $39.99 | per year |
| Drawing Desk Yearly | $39.99 | per year |
| Drawing Desk Premium Yearly | $39.99 | per year |
| Drawing Desk Kids Yearly | $45.99 | per year |
| Drawing Desk Yearly premium | $49.99 | per year |
| Drawing Desk Yearly Premium | $59.99 | per year |
| Deluxe Pack | $7.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great for beginners
- 👍 Lots of drawing tools
- 💡 Variety of desks (sketch, doodle, coloring, etc.)
- 🎨 Enables creativity and self-expression
- 🤩 Fun and addictive

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Too many premium features
- 🤖 Annoying pop-ups and ads for premium
- 🔒 Limited access without premium
- 🤔 Confusing layout and navigation
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and glitches

**Reported bugs**

- Lines become blurry when zooming in/out
- Eraser function not working properly
- Inability to save progress on drawings

**Requested features**

- Add blending tool
- Improve color selection and mixing
- Provide more free brushes and tools
- Allow drawing on uploaded photos
- Implement layer support for non-premium users


### Skillshare

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/skillshare-creativity-classes/id916819843)

Access thousands of online courses taught by industry professionals to develop your creative skills. Learn drawing, animation, design, photography, and more at your own pace. Offers free classes and a premium subscription for unlimited access.

**Highlights:** Thousands of online creative courses, Professionally led lessons, Offline viewing, Progress syncing across devices, Mini viewer for multitasking, Free classes available

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium Membership | $18.99 | per month |
| Skillshare Monthly Membership | $19.99 | per month |
| Monthly Premium Membership | $31.99 | per month |
| Monthly Premium Membership | $31.99 | per month |
| Skillshare Monthly Membership | $49.99 | per month |
| Skillshare Annual Membership | $167.99 | per year |
| Annual Premium Membership | $169.99 | per year |
| Annual Premium Membership | $169.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🎨 Excellent variety of creative classes
- 🤓 High-quality instruction from industry professionals
- 🕰 Flexible learning at your own pace
- 💡 Inspiring and motivating content
- 📚 Broad range of topics covered

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔍 Lacking search and organization features in the app
- 🖥 Limited functionality compared to the website
- 🔌 Offline viewing issues and inconsistencies
- 🤖 Buggy and unstable app performance
- 🔒 Questionable billing and cancellation practices

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes and freezes frequently
- Video playback issues and syncing problems
- Inconsistent user interface and navigation
- Inability to access class resources and materials
- Account management and cancellation difficulties

**Requested features**

- Ability to sort and organize saved classes
- Offline class downloads and viewing
- Seamless integration between app and website
- More advanced search and filtering options
- Picture-in-picture mode for multitasking


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Drawing Desk free?

Drawing Desk is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Skillshare free?

Skillshare is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Drawing Desk or Skillshare?

Skillshare is rated higher. Drawing Desk averages 4.4 out of 5 from 239K ratings, while Skillshare averages 4.8 from 25K ratings.

### Do Drawing Desk or Skillshare have ads?

Drawing Desk shows ads; Skillshare does not.

### Which is updated more often, Drawing Desk or Skillshare?

Drawing Desk ships an update every 3 weeks, and Skillshare every 10 days. Most recently, Drawing Desk was updated on September 24, 2026 and Skillshare on September 24, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*