Comparison

FlipFrame vs Drawing Animation

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

Head to head
About

FlipFrame

Create hand-drawn, frame-by-frame 2D animations with essential tools for smooth motion. Sketch flipbooks or animate character sequences with features like onion skinning and instant playback. Export your creations for social media without watermarks.

Highlights
  • Frame-by-frame animation
  • Onion skinning
  • Instant playback
  • Shape guides
  • Flexible canvas sizes
  • Video export
  • Apple Pencil support
Read full description

FlipFrame is a lightweight 2D animation app built for hand-drawn, frame-by-frame animation on iPhone and iPad. Draw each frame, flip through your sequence, and instantly play back your animation with smooth motion. 
Whether you’re sketching a quick flipbook or animating a full character sequence, FlipFrame gives you the essential tools to animate without distractions. 

Core Animation Features • Frame-by-frame animation on a fast, responsive canvas • Onion skinning to see previous and next frames for precise motion • Instant playback to preview your animation in real time • Shape guides (circles & squares) • Flexible canvas sizes including 16:9, 4:3, and custom dimensions • Video export for sharing on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube


 • Background images (add photos as backgrounds) Built for Creators • Apple Pencil support for natural hand-drawn animation • No subscriptions — one-time purchase • No watermarks on exported videos • Works offline — animate anywhere

 Perfect for • Frame-by-frame animators • Flipbook artists and animation students • Social media creators • Artists who want a fast, focused 2D animation tool

About

Drawing Animation

Features
Read full description

Drawing Animation turns your sketches into moving cartoons. Draw frame by frame, play it back instantly, and export with no watermark and no ads, even for free. A sketch, art and GIF maker app in one place: a canvas that feels like paper, a flipbook timeline made for animators, and a drawing app that works just as well with Apple Pencil as with your finger. Sketch, paint, doodle a stickman, or animate a whole cartoon or anime short on iPhone and iPad. NO WATERMARK, NO ADS Every animation you export is clean. No logo burned into the corner, no banners, no interruptions while you work. This is true on the free tier as well, not just after you pay. NEW: SHAPES, LASSO AND SYMMETRY Draw straight lines, rectangles and ellipses with any brush, so a charcoal circle looks like charcoal and a pencil box looks like pencil. Circle part of a drawing with the lasso to lift it off the page, then move it, scale it, rotate it, flip it, copy it or delete it, then drop it in place. One undo takes it all back. Turn on symmetry and draw one half of a face, a butterfly or a pattern while the other half appears mirrored as you go, vertically, horizontally or in four quarters. DRAW OVER VIDEO Import a clip and it becomes a reference layer, frame by frame. Trace the motion, then hide the video and keep only your own drawing. Rotoscoping is open to everyone here, not locked behind a purchase. SEE THE MOTION WHILE YOU DRAW Onion skin shows the frames before and after in different colors, so you always know where the movement is heading. Hold any frame in the timeline to preview it over your canvas. Play back slower or faster, loop it, and fix the timing before you commit. A TIMELINE THAT KEEPS UP Add, duplicate, delete, and reorder frames by dragging. Select many at once and move them together. Work across layers, lock transparency, color with the bucket tool, add titles and captions with the text tool, and change brush thickness without leaving the canvas. Grid overlay and zoom help you keep proportions steady, and the grid never shows up in your export. YOUR WORK IS SAFE Everything saves by itself while you draw, and a crash brings your draft back. Deleting a frame or a layer can be undone. Deleted projects wait in the trash before they go for good. iCloud backup is on for free accounts too. SOUND AND MUSIC Record your own voice straight onto the animation, or pick a track from the built in music library. Trim it, mute it, and set the level for each track separately. EXPORT AND SHARE Save to Photos or share anywhere as video or GIF. An export keeps running when you leave the app, so you do not have to sit and watch the progress bar. MADE TO FEEL RIGHT Left handed mode, dark theme, keyboard shortcuts on iPad, and a streak counter to keep you drawing. Sample projects are there when you want to take something apart and see how it was built. PREMIUM For the creator who outgrows the free tier: unlimited projects and frames, and up to 20 layers. More brushes, including ink, charcoal, watercolor, chalk, pixel, spray, glow, and your own custom brush. Symmetry drawing in three modes. 2160p canvas and export, higher frame rates, transparent GIF, and PNG sequence. Blend modes, a reference photo layer, eyedropper, and custom palettes. Longer video import with Magic Cut, which lifts a person or object off the background onto its own layer. Longer voice recording, a second audio track, your own music files, and the full music library. Ping pong loop. Premium is available as a monthly or yearly subscription, or as a one time lifetime purchase. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. Subscriptions renew automatically unless turned off at least a day before the current period ends. Manage or cancel anytime in your Account Settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://rsndijital.com/link/drawing/privacy-policy.html

Screenshots

FlipFrame4 screens
Drawing Animation4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: FlipFrame at every 10 days against Drawing Animation's every 5 weeks. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. FlipFrame sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Drawing Animation sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

FlipFrame ships an update every 10 days, Drawing Animation every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
FlipFrame versus Drawing Animation: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFlipFrameDrawing Animation
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (9 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings9 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB50 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDinesh GurungAdem Uresin

In-app purchases

1 purchases

FlipFrame

One-time1
  • Firona Premium$2.99
3 purchases

Drawing Animation

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Premium$6.991 Month
  • Yearly Premium3 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Premium$49.99

Questions

Is FlipFrame free?
FlipFrame is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Drawing Animation free?
Drawing Animation is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do FlipFrame or Drawing Animation have ads?
Neither FlipFrame nor Drawing Animation shows ads.
Which is updated more often, FlipFrame or Drawing Animation?
FlipFrame ships an update every 10 days, and Drawing Animation every 5 weeks. Most recently, FlipFrame was updated on October 22, 2026 and Drawing Animation on October 17, 2026.

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