Sketch vs Intention
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sketch
Create drawings and sketches directly on your device. Offers a wide range of colors, adjustable brush thickness, and transparency options for detailed artwork. Compatible across Apple devices.
- Minimalist interface
- 16 million+ color selection
- Adjustable brush thickness
- Color transparency
- Cross-device compatibility
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Sketch Notes is a simple application that allows you to draw on the device. Several functions available : - Look minimal - Choose more than 16 million colors with RGB selection - Choose the thickness of the brush - Added the color transparency - Compatible with iPhone, iPad and Mac
Intention
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The apps you lose the most time to, kept behind a short pause. Intention keeps your most distracting apps closed until you choose to open them. There's no hard block. Instead, you pause for a moment: take a breath, write down what you're opening the app for, choose how long you need, and it unlocks. When the time is up, it closes again automatically. No account. No streaks. No guilt. Just a small pause between the impulse to open an app and actually opening it. Behind the scenes, Intention uses Apple's built-in Screen Time controls, the same technology used for parental controls, but here you're the one deciding the rules. HOW IT WORKS • Choose the apps and websites you want to be more intentional about. This is your Managed Set. Everything else on your phone works normally. • Those apps stay shielded until you decide to open one. • To unlock an app, declare an Intention: pause for a moment, write why you're opening it, choose a time limit, and continue. • When your time is up, the shield returns automatically. • Every day, your Managed Set shares a Daily Budget — 30 minutes by default. You can also give individual apps their own limits. When the budget is used up, the apps stay closed until midnight. • Need more time? You can Override a limit, but it asks you to wait briefly and explain why. Sometimes that's enough to decide you don't actually need it. • With At Ease, you can schedule times when apps open normally — during lunch, after work, or on a quiet Sunday afternoon. You decide these in advance, so they stay part of your routine instead of becoming an excuse in the moment. REFLECTION Every Intention you write is saved exactly as you wrote it. Reflection is a simple history of what you opened, how long you spent, and why you said you were there. Over time, it becomes a record of your habits and the promises you keep to yourself. There are no scores, achievements, or streaks — just your own words. MAKE IT STICK Intention works because you choose to use it. If you want a little extra friction for moments of temptation, you can turn on a Screen Time passcode in iOS. Once it's enabled, deleting Intention or disabling its protections requires that passcode. The passcode is managed entirely by Apple. Intention never knows it, stores it, or has access to it. YOUR WORDS STAY ON YOUR PHONE Everything stays on your device. There are no accounts, no servers storing your data, no analytics, and no internet connection required. The reasons you write are yours alone. They never leave your phone, and Intention has no way to read them. WHO IT'S FOR Intention is for anyone who wants a more deliberate relationship with their phone. It isn't parental controls, and it isn't designed to lock you out. It's simply a pause that helps you decide whether opening an app is really what you want to do. Use your phone the way you meant to.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Intention at every 3 days against Sketch's every 7 months. Sketch's advantage is iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Sketch ships an update every 7 months, Intention every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on June 8, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sketch | Intention |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.6 (7 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 25.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 7 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Francesco Abbondo | Ariana Xu |
In-app purchases
Sketch
No in-app purchases
Intention
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Sketch free?
Is Intention free?
Do Sketch or Intention have ads?
Which is updated more often, Sketch or Intention?
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