# Sketchbook® vs GoAnimate

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Sketchbook® at 77% against GoAnimate's 25%. Sketchbook® also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.8) and ratings volume (220K vs 27). GoAnimate's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Sketchbook® sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. GoAnimate asks for nothing beyond the download.

Sketchbook® holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sketchbook® has 220K ratings behind it against 27, 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 25% of GoAnimate's.

Sketchbook® ships an update every 6 weeks, GoAnimate every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Sketchbook® | GoAnimate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (220K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sketchbook/id883738213/reviews)** | [3.8 (27 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/goanimate/id1672602033/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **220K** | 27 |
| Positive reviews | **76.7% of reviews** | 25.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | **Every 5 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#39** | — |
| Size | 142 MB | 14 MB |
| Requires iOS | 14 | 14.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Sketchbook, Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/1569383806) | [Irina Scelcunova](https://appshunter.io/developer/1737748446) |

## What reviewers say

### Sketchbook®

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sketchbook/id883738213)

**Currently charting:** #39 Top Free · Graphics & Design (US App Store)

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)

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium Bundle | $2.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 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

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 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

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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


### GoAnimate

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/goanimate/id1672602033)

Easily create stunning GIF animations with frame-by-frame drawing tools. Customize your animations with various brushes, colors, and aspect ratios. Save and share your animated masterpieces with friends and family.

**Highlights:** Frame-by-frame animation drawing, Variety of drawing tools and colors, Customizable canvas aspect ratio, Adjustable frames per second, Save animations as GIF, Suitable for all ages

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Sketchbook® free?

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

### Is GoAnimate free?

GoAnimate is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Sketchbook® or GoAnimate?

Sketchbook® is rated higher. Sketchbook® averages 4.8 out of 5 from 220K ratings, while GoAnimate averages 3.8 from 27 ratings.

### Do Sketchbook® or GoAnimate have ads?

Neither Sketchbook® nor GoAnimate shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Sketchbook® or GoAnimate?

Sketchbook® ships an update every 6 weeks, and GoAnimate every 5 weeks. Most recently, Sketchbook® was updated on September 26, 2026 and GoAnimate 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.*