# Sketchbook® vs 29sec

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: 29sec at none against Sketchbook®'s 1. 29sec also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 6 weeks). Sketchbook®'s advantage is ads (none vs shown) and chart position (#42 vs unranked). On price, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Sketchbook® sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. 29sec asks for nothing beyond the download.

Sketchbook® ships an update every 6 weeks, 29sec every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Sketchbook® | 29sec |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (221K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sketchbook/id883738213/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **221K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 76.7% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | **Every 3 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Best chart rank | **#42** | — |
| Size | 142 MB | 25 MB |
| Requires iOS | 14 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Sketchbook, Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/1569383806) | [juhan kim](https://appshunter.io/developer/1495289453) |

## What reviewers say

### Sketchbook®

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

**Currently charting:** #42 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


### 29sec

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/29sec/id6760794251)

**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 29sec free?

29sec is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Sketchbook® or 29sec have ads?

29sec shows ads; Sketchbook® does not.

### Which is updated more often, Sketchbook® or 29sec?

Sketchbook® ships an update every 6 weeks, and 29sec every 3 days. Most recently, Sketchbook® was updated on October 24, 2026 and 29sec on October 15, 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.*