Comparison

Sketchbook® vs Figma

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

Head to head
About

Sketchbook®

This app provides a professional-grade drawing and painting experience for artists and illustrators. It offers a natural drawing feel with customizable tools, layers, and guides for precision. Unlock advanced features like custom brushes and canvas resizing with an optional premium purchase.

Highlights
  • Full complement of brush types
  • Highly customizable brushes
  • Guides, rulers, and stroke tools
  • Layers with blend modes
  • Clean and unobtrusive interface
  • Custom brush creation (premium)
  • Canvas resizing (premium)
Read full description

From quick sketches to fully finished artwork, Sketchbook goes where your creativity takes you. Sketchbook is an award-winning sketching, painting, and drawing app for anyone who loves to draw. Artists and illustrators love Sketchbook for its professional-grade feature set and highly customizable tools. Everyone loves Sketchbook for its elegant interface and natural drawing experience, free of distractions so you can focus on capturing and expressing your ideas. • A full complement of brush types: pencils markers, airbrushes, smear and more that look and feel just like their physical counterparts • Brushes are highly customizable so you can create just the look you want • Guides, rulers and stroke tools support precision when you need it • Layers with a full complement of blend modes deliver the flexibility to build up and explore drawings and color • Purpose-built for sketching, the interface is clean and unobtrusive so you can focus on drawing Purchase the Premium Bundle to unlock more... • Import and export brushes • Create your own custom brushes • Resize your canvas or image • Set canvas resolution in px/inch or px/cm • Clipping masks • Additional layer adjustments including blur, sharpen, brightness/contrast, greyscale, and invert • Additional color harmonies • Additional custom gradients • Select color from reference images • Extract color palettes from images • Import and export color palettes • Layer grouping • Layer masking Blend Modes • Draw Outline tool • Lasso Fill tool • Export to PDF • plus more to come!

About

Figma

Access and review design files, prototypes, and presentations on your mobile device. Collaborate with teammates by adding and replying to comments, sharing files, and managing permissions. Mirror designs in real-time and explore prototypes with interactive features.

Highlights
  • Access design, FigJam, prototype, and slides files
  • Create and reply to comments
  • Share files with collaborators
  • Play and replay prototypes
  • Mirror designs in real-time
  • Manage file permissions
Read full description

Create, prototype, and collaborate on the go. View, share, mirror, and build in just a few taps with Figma’s official mobile app. REVIEW YOUR FILES * Access Figma Design, Make, Slides, and FigJam files. * Search for files by name or browse your recent files. * Move between pages and flows with ease. COMMENT AND REPLY * Add comments and mention teammates across Figma Design, Slides, and FigJam files. * Get notified for new comments and replies. * Resolve and reply to comments on the go. * See every comment thread in one place. SHARE FILES WITH YOUR TEAM * Invite collaborators and share links to your files. PLAY DESIGN PROTOTYPES * Play and replay prototypes in full screen. * Adjust prototype scaling. * Toggle hotspot hints. MIRROR DESIGNS IN REAL-TIME * Sync selected frames from desktop to your mobile device. * Watch live desktop edits reflected on your device. * Preview designs scaled to a device screen. PROTOTYPE AND REVIEW WITH MAKE * Test mobile prototypes and validate on-device interactions * Share Makes with collaborators for review and approval EXPLORE SLIDES EFFORTLESSLY * View and comment on decks in both landscape and portrait mode. MANAGE PERMISSIONS ON THE FLY * Update file permissions to control who can view or edit your work. BROWSE AND SWITCH WORKSPACES AND ACCOUNTS * Navigate between teams, plans, projects, and accounts. On iPad, you can also use FigJam to: * Sketch with the Apple Pencil to explore and iterate on ideas more fluidly. * Share and riff on early thinking with your team. * Annotate designs to share feedback. * Jot down ideas whenever inspiration strikes.

Screenshots

Sketchbook®4 screens
Figma4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Sketchbook® at 77% against Figma's 29%. Sketchbook® also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.6) and ratings volume (220K vs 21K). Figma's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (weekly vs every 6 weeks). On price, ads, monetization model and chart position 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. Sketchbook® sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Figma asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Sketchbook® holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sketchbook® has 220K ratings behind it against 21K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 77% of Sketchbook®'s written reviews are positive against 29% of Figma's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sketchbook® ships an update every 6 weeks, Figma weekly. Both last shipped on September 25, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Sketchbook® versus Figma: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSketchbook®Figma
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (220K ratings) — better4.6 (21K ratings)
Positive reviews76.7% of reviews — better29.3% of reviews
Number of ratings220K — better21K
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
Best chart rank#41 — better#52
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size142 MB62 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSketchbook, IncFigma Inc.

Customer experience

Sketchbook®

All ratings220,344 ratings
Positive95.8%
Neutral2.4%
Negative1.8%
Written reviews1,673 reviews
Positive76.7%
Neutral7.0%
Negative16.3%

Figma

All ratings20,839 ratings
Positive90.1%
Neutral2.4%
Negative7.5%
Written reviews1,422 reviews
Positive29.3%
Neutral12.9%
Negative57.8%

User reviews

Sketchbook®

From 220K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Amazing, free, and no ads
  • 👍 Lots of brushes and customization options
  • 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
  • 👍 Great for beginners and professionals
  • 👍 Smooth performance and no lag

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional freezing and crashing issues
  • 🐛 Blurry or corrupted images when saving or copying
  • 🐛 Glitches with color selection and layers
  • 🐛 Inability to rotate canvas or access gallery easily
  • 🐛 Lack of blurring and clipping mask tools

Figma

From 21K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Useful for previewing designs
  • 👍 Great for prototyping
  • 🚀 Convenient to mirror screen on a real device

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and unreliable mirroring
  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes often
  • 👎 Limited functionality compared to desktop
  • 👎 Lacks essential editing capabilities
  • 👎 Useless without editing features

Bugs and requests

Sketchbook®

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Layers randomly deleted or corrupted
  • Freezing when using certain tools like the eyedropper
  • Saving issues leading to loss of progress
  • Incompatibility with newer iPad Pro devices

Requested features

7 requests
  • Add blurring and clipping mask tools
  • Improve gallery and canvas rotation functionality
  • Allow custom font import
  • Add effects like glow, stroke, and drop shadow
  • Implement layer grouping and organization
Show 2 more
  • Add real-time collaboration features
  • Improve time-lapse recording and saving

Figma

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Mirror feature doesn't work consistently
  • Prototype playback issues, like zooming in too much
  • App forgets scroll/zoom state when switching back
  • Crashes when trying to open large files
  • Login issues, constantly requiring re-login

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add editing capabilities, especially for iPad
  • Improve Apple Pencil support in FigJam
  • Allow moving the toolbox out of the way on the screen
  • Implement multi-account support
  • Add option to change sharing permissions

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Sketchbook®

One-time1
  • Premium Bundle$2.99
None

Figma

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Sketchbook® free?
Sketchbook® is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Figma free?
Figma is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Sketchbook® or Figma?
Sketchbook® is rated higher. Sketchbook® averages 4.8 out of 5 from 220K ratings, while Figma averages 4.6 from 21K ratings.
Do Sketchbook® or Figma have ads?
Neither Sketchbook® nor Figma shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sketchbook® or Figma?
Sketchbook® ships an update every 6 weeks, and Figma weekly. Most recently, Sketchbook® was updated on September 25, 2026 and Figma on September 25, 2026.
Which is more popular, Sketchbook® or Figma?
Sketchbook® currently peaks at #41 in the App Store charts, and Figma at #52. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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