# Procreate Pocket vs Artstudio Pro

The clearest difference is price: Artstudio Pro at Free against Procreate Pocket's $5.99. Artstudio Pro also leads on rating (4.6 vs 3.8) and update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). Procreate Pocket's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and chart position (#1 vs unranked). On ads there is nothing between them.

Artstudio Pro is free to download; Procreate Pocket costs $5.99 up front. Artstudio Pro sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.49 per year. Procreate Pocket asks for nothing beyond the download.

Artstudio Pro holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 13K and 4.1K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 59% of Procreate Pocket's written reviews are positive against 74% of Artstudio Pro's.

Procreate Pocket ships an update every 3 months, Artstudio Pro monthly. Both last shipped on October 25, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Procreate Pocket | Artstudio Pro |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $5.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [3.8 (13K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/procreate-pocket/id916366645/reviews) | **[4.6 (4.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/artstudio-pro-draw-paint/id1244142051/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **13K** | 4.1K |
| Positive reviews | 59.4% of reviews | **74.2% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Best chart rank | **#1** | — |
| Size | 1.1 GB | 385 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Savage Interactive Pty Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/363433636) | [Lucky Clan](https://appshunter.io/developer/294866851) |

## What reviewers say

### Procreate Pocket

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/procreate-pocket/id916366645)

**Currently charting:** #1 Top Paid · Graphics & Design, #5 Top Paid, #36 Top Grossing · Graphics & Design (US App Store)

Create expressive sketches, rich paintings, and beautiful illustrations on your iPhone. This app offers a complete art studio with hundreds of brushes, advanced layering, and powerful design tools.

**Highlights:** Hundreds of handmade brushes, Advanced layer system, High resolution canvases, Revolutionary QuickShape feature, Frame-by-frame animation, Customizable brush studio

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Excellent drawing app for iPhone
- 👍 Customizable brushes and palettes
- 👍 Convenient for on-the-go sketching
- 👍 Affordable price point
- 👍 Seamless integration with iPad version

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔍 Limited features compared to iPad version
- 🔍 Lack of undo/redo buttons
- 🔍 Pixelated output when transforming layers
- 🔍 Difficult to draw precise lines and shapes

**Reported bugs**

- Imported images/brushes not showing up
- Layers merging unexpectedly
- Color issues when tracing or filling
- Navigation bar disappearing during use

**Requested features**

- Add blending and smudge tools
- Increase layer limit and canvas size
- Implement dark mode option
- Add text and fill tools
- Improve undo/redo functionality


### Artstudio Pro

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/artstudio-pro-draw-paint/id1244142051)

This powerful app offers advanced drawing, painting, and photo editing tools for creative professionals and enthusiasts. It features a robust engine, flexible layer system, and an advanced brush engine for realistic strokes. Users can also create animations and import/export various image formats.

**Highlights:** GPU accelerated ArtEngine, Unlimited layers and large canvas sizes, Advanced brush engine with 150+ brushes, Flexible layer system with groups and masks, Professional photo editing tools, Animation creation and export, Import/Export ABR/TPL brush and pattern formats

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Game Controller support, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Yearly Subscription | $3.49 | per year |
| Lifetime License | $14.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Powerful and feature-rich
- 👍 Familiar Photoshop-like interface
- 💡 Supports Photoshop brushes
- 🎨 Excellent brush engine and painting experience
- 🔍 Robust selection and adjustment tools

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- 🤔 Steep learning curve
- 🔀 Confusing UI and navigation
- 🖌️ Inconsistent palm rejection and input issues
- 💾 Unreliable saving and file management

**Reported bugs**

- Gradient tool not working as expected
- Brush settings not saving properly
- Unexpected canvas resizing and cropping
- Layers disappearing or not rendering correctly

**Requested features**

- Add custom brush creation
- Improve canvas resizing and previewing
- Implement better layer and mask management
- Add more blending and color adjustment tools
- Introduce keyboard shortcuts and gesture support


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Procreate Pocket free?

Procreate Pocket costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Artstudio Pro free?

Artstudio Pro is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Procreate Pocket or Artstudio Pro?

Artstudio Pro is rated higher. Procreate Pocket averages 3.8 out of 5 from 13K ratings, while Artstudio Pro averages 4.6 from 4.1K ratings.

### Do Procreate Pocket or Artstudio Pro have ads?

Neither Procreate Pocket nor Artstudio Pro shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Procreate Pocket or Artstudio Pro?

Procreate Pocket ships an update every 3 months, and Artstudio Pro monthly. Most recently, Procreate Pocket was updated on October 25, 2026 and Artstudio Pro on October 25, 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.*