Comparison

Archisketch vs Arrette Sketch drafting tools

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

Head to head
About

Archisketch

This app allows users to sketch, doodle, and design to scale, similar to a tracing pad. It supports layering, adding text, dimensions, and symbols, with the ability to import images to set scale. Users can visualize ideas in 3D with perspective tools and export drawings for CAD or creative applications.

Highlights
  • Sketch and draw to scale
  • Layering and editing tools
  • Import images to set scale
  • 3D visualization with perspective tools
  • Export to CAD and Adobe Creative Cloud
  • Apple Pencil support
  • Print drawings up to A1 size
Features
Read full description

Sketch, Doodle and Design to Scale Use Archisketch as you would a tracing pad. Sketch. Draw to scale. Layer over your sketch to further develop your ideas. Erase. Add symbols, colour, text and dimension lines. Import images or plans to set the scale. Zoom in without loss of quality. Rotate a shape, a layer, or the entire drawing to try different options. Visualize your ideas in 3D and see them in context. Use smart one- and two-point perspectives, and adjust your perspective grid and view point. Align your perspective to an image, and your lines automatically snap to the vanishing point. Print your drawings to scale up to A1 size, or export sketches to use in a CAD application or Adobe Creative Cloud. Archisketch is a scale-aware sketching program ideal for Architects, interior and landscape designers, product designers, design students, or anyone working with design on an iPad. To learn more or watch a short video, visit our website. Key features include: * Apple Pencil support * Smart one- and two-point perspectives * Scaled grids, including isometric and axonometric grids * Guide lines, which can be subdivided equally or into specific distances * Infinite canvas size with infinite zoom * Zoom in and out without losing quality * Import and export PDFs * Build new drawings layered on archival drawings * Scrapbook for managing image assets * "Share Extension" adds images and PDFs from other apps * Cut and Paste retains scale awareness * Dimension lines * Add custom symbols to the set of included symbols * Export sketches into CAD applications * Add text and company logo to exports * Adobe Creative Cloud support for both importing and exporting * Print directly from the iPad up to A1 size

About

Arrette Sketch drafting tools

Create hand-drawn designs at a measurable scale, ideal for architects and designers. This app offers a simplified drawing experience with tools like freehand pens and an adjustable grid, allowing for easy sharing via email or saving to your device.

Highlights
  • Freehand drawing pens with vector scaling
  • Adjustable grid system (metric/decimal feet)
  • Load base images to draw on
  • Lasso tool for selections
  • Easy sharing via email
  • Save drawings to device
Features
Read full description

Rated #1 Technical App for Architects by ArchDaily! Arrette Sketch for iPad is an app for designers who want to draw freehand while maintaining a measurable drawing scale like vector drafting tools. Architects, urban planners, surveyors, home remodelers, field archaeologists and dozens of other kinds of professionals will find this app useful. Unlike other vector drawing tools, Arrette Sketch is simple to learn and use. Arrette Sketch is the basic version of Arrette Scale for iPad, available separately in the iTunes App Store. Compared to our professional version, Arrette Sketch is limited only in three ways: 1) distance and area measurement tools are disabled, 2) Edge drawing tools are disabled, and 3) users cannot export to PDF for sharing. For those functions, ideally suited for professionals working in business, Arrette Scale is the appropriate tool. Arrette Philosophy Arrette provides the platform to begin design work and generate ideas without moving too quickly to rigid straight lines and curves. We want to help you draw much as you would normally draw on paper, but to give you the extra tools and ways to share your work that make your life easier and make the design process simpler and more productive. The basic drawing structure is a familiar one - drawing layers which can be overlayed on a base image. The Grid keeps you aware of the size of what you're drawing at any scale. When you're ready, you can easily share drawings by email or save them to your device. We've designed Arrette to be extremely easy to learn. In a few minutes, you'll understand how to zoom and scale your canvas, draw lines, and load base images to work on top of. Our tools will seem familiar from other structured drawing applications, but every tool we've built has been simplified and optimized with scale in mind. Uses for Arrette Sketch for iPad: * An urban designer drafts plans for a new sub-division in a small town * A real estate agent snaps a photograph of a living space and begins to sketch out ideas for staging * A new home owner sketches the plan for an elaborate garden in the back yard * A construction manager notes progress on a work site, sending annotated precision-scale documents back to the general contractor live from the work site For these uses Arrette Sketch is a great tool for drawing freehand scale sketches, whether at home, on the go, or at work. For professional work, which includes sharing original Arrette documents for review, annotation, and modification, Arrette Scale is better suited for those purposes. Included drawing tools in Arrette Sketch (free application): * Freehand drawing pens that scale like vector lines but are as easy to use as pencil and paper * An adjustable grid system that you can easily flip between the metric system and decimal feet * The ability to load base images to draw on top of; base images respect their original scale and direction when the document is zoomed or panned * A lasso tool to select, move, copy and paste previously drawn lines * Layers, for separating out parts of composite objects or for adding new ideas to an existing document that overlay earlier designs * An eraser tool, for revising your designs or removing objects from previous work * The ability to adjust the width of all lines globally even after the lines have been drawn Additional professional features in Arrette Scale (available separately): * A tool for drawing perfectly straight lines, arrays of parallel lines, arcs and circles * Distance and area measurement tools for measuring the lengths, perimeters and areas of arbitrary pathways in your drawing at precise scale Document sharing features in Arrette Sketch: * Save your work to your Photo Gallery * Share raster versions of your work with anyone via email, Twitter, or Facebook Additional sharing features in Arrette Scale: * Send PDFs with scale and direction information to colleagues, clients, and other parties via email

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Archisketch at 4.3 against Arrette Sketch drafting tools's 3.4. Archisketch also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (266 vs 9). Arrette Sketch drafting tools's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5). On price, review sentiment, update cadence 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. Archisketch sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Arrette Sketch drafting tools asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Archisketch holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Archisketch has 266 ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 51% of Archisketch's written reviews are positive against 56% of Arrette Sketch drafting tools's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Archisketch ships an update every 2 months, Arrette Sketch drafting tools every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and June 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Archisketch versus Arrette Sketch drafting tools: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterArchisketchArrette Sketch drafting tools
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (266 ratings) — better3.4 (9 ratings)
Positive reviews51.4% of reviews55.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings266 — better9
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
DevicesiPadiPad
Requires iOS13.612.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB53 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOpen Screen LimitedArrette, Inc.

Customer experience

Archisketch

All ratings266 ratings
Positive82.0%
Neutral7.9%
Negative10.2%
Written reviews146 reviews
Positive51.4%
Neutral8.2%
Negative40.4%

Arrette Sketch drafting tools

All ratings9 ratings
Positive55.6%
Neutral22.2%
Negative22.2%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive55.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative44.4%

Bugs and requests

Archisketch

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Compatibility issues with iOS 11 and newer
  • Disappearing toolbars and interface elements
  • Inability to save or export drawings
  • Unreliable performance and stability

Requested features

5 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • More export options (vector, higher resolution)
  • Improved documentation and tutorials
  • Better support for mixed units (feet + inches)
  • Freehand drawing tools with less smoothing

Arrette Sketch drafting tools

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Archisketch

One-time5
  • Colour Plus Pack$7.99
  • iCloud Plus Pack$8.99
  • Advance Colour & iCloud Bundle$14.99
Show 2 more
  • Archisketch - Full Version$17.99
  • Full Version with All Add-ons$30.99
None

Arrette Sketch drafting tools

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Archisketch free?
Archisketch is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Arrette Sketch drafting tools free?
Arrette Sketch drafting tools is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Archisketch or Arrette Sketch drafting tools?
Archisketch is rated higher. Archisketch averages 4.3 out of 5 from 266 ratings, while Arrette Sketch drafting tools averages 3.4 from 9 ratings.
Do Archisketch or Arrette Sketch drafting tools have ads?
Arrette Sketch drafting tools shows ads; Archisketch does not.
Which is updated more often, Archisketch or Arrette Sketch drafting tools?
Archisketch ships an update every 2 months, and Arrette Sketch drafting tools every 3 months. Most recently, Archisketch was updated on September 20, 2026 and Arrette Sketch drafting tools on June 8, 2026.

Other comparisons