Comparison

Skillshare vs Drawing Desk

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

Head to head
About

Skillshare

Access thousands of online courses taught by industry professionals to develop your creative skills. Learn drawing, animation, design, photography, and more at your own pace. Offers free classes and a premium subscription for unlimited access.

Highlights
  • Thousands of online creative courses
  • Professionally led lessons
  • Offline viewing
  • Progress syncing across devices
  • Mini viewer for multitasking
  • Free classes available
Features
Read full description

Explore your creativity on Skillshare, the leading learning app for online courses where millions of creatives come together. Take the next step in your creative journey with thousands of inspiring classes on topics like drawing, animation, creative writing, and much more. With Skillshare you’ll take online classes hand-in-hand with leading professionals that will teach you to use the tools you need to excel in any creative endeavor. Discover lessons in everything from calligraphy and graphic design to photography and arts and crafts. Watch thousands of online classes on the creative education app made for everyone – whether it’s a hobby or professional pursuit. With Skillshare you’ll learn to use essential art tools like Procreate, Fresco, Illustrator, and Photoshop to polish your creative skills with the latest in industry tech. Learn piano, a new language, or digital marketing – the possibilities are endless. Discover online courses for the talent you’ve always wanted to develop with Skillshare today Start your creative career and download Skillshare now. SKILLSHARE FEATURES PROFESSIONALLY LED LESSONS - Discover hundreds of free classes and start learning as soon as you download - Find online courses that teach everything – from public speaking and art design to how to draw - Explore guided lessons that help teach the creative skills you’ve always wanted to develop EXPLORE ONLINE CLASSES FOR ALL CREATIVE NEEDS Develop your skills in: - Drawing - Calligraphy - Graphic Design - Photography - Animation - Arts & Crafts - Illustration - Hand Lettering - Pattern Design - Icon Design - Watercolor - Music - Animation - Creative Writing - Digital Marketing - and more! THE ON THE GO EDUCATION APP - Sync your progress across multiple devices for seamless learning - Skillshare is the learning app that goes where you go, with convenient offline viewing when needed - Multitask with a mini viewer to keep your lessons going and get more done Download Skillshare today and watch hundreds of free online classes to kickstart your creative journey. Start your free trial of Skillshare Premium to get unlimited access to our full library of premium, subscription-only classes. As a Skillshare Premium Member, you can also download classes to watch offline. Questions? Suggestions? Feel free to email us at help@skillshare.com. TERMS After your 30 day trial, payment will automatically be charged to your iTunes Account. Your subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. Your subscription and auto-renewal settings are managed via your iTunes Account Settings. For further information please refer to our privacy policy (https://www.skillshare.com/ss/privacy) and terms of use (https://www.skillshare.com/ss/terms).

About

Drawing Desk

Unleash your creativity with a comprehensive digital art studio. Explore a vast array of tools for drawing, sketching, painting, and pixel art. Create masterpieces, relax with coloring, or design intricate mandalas.

Highlights
  • 105+ drawing tools
  • 200+ brushes
  • Layer support
  • Smudge and blend effects
  • Pixel art creation
  • Coloring book with 500+ images
  • Mandala drawing tools
Features
Read full description

Welcome to our painting app, where the canvas is your playground and creativity knows no bounds. With our intuitive interface and comprehensive set of tools, you can unleash your inner artist and bring your imagination to life on a digital canvas. Drawing Desk: Drawing Desk offers a comprehensive digital art experience with 105 precise drawing tools, including pens, pencils, and brushes. It features popular canvases, customizable brush settings, photo import and editing, text addition, rotation and scaling, 200 HD stickers, undo/redo options, rulers, and various shapes. Enjoy a full-screen workspace, automatic saving, and easy sharing with 100+ custom drawing tools. Sketch Book: Sketch Book is a feature-rich digital art tool offering 200+ brushes, 12 popular brush categories, and advanced layer support. With features like layer transformation, brush adjustment, glowing lines, and 3D Touch compatibility, it provides a versatile and immersive drawing experience. Undo/redo, zoom, and easy export and sharing options make it a powerful choice for digital artists. Smudge Art: Unleash your creative flow with the Smudge Art feature. Blur and blend colors, transforming your digital canvas into a masterpiece that captures the essence of movement and emotion. Image Base Drawing: Image-based drawing allows artists to use existing images as references or foundations for their artwork, enhancing precision and creative possibilities. Doodle pad: Simple drawing tools like Doodle enable you jot down ideas and share them with others. Sharing your ideas with the community is simple. Pixel Art: Experience nostalgia and creativity with our 'Pixel Art' feature. Craft intricate digital art reminiscent of retro video games and 8-bit graphics. This grid-based tool empowers both enthusiasts and newcomers to design precise pixel images, sprites, and icons with old-school charm. Unleash your inner pixel artist and bring your 8-bit visions to life. Mandala Drawing: Mandala Desk provides a soothing drawing experience with playback options, customizable colors, fill tools, and pencil brushes. Users can set their preferred mandala size, complexity, and enjoy undo/redo options for creative freedom. Coloring Book: Coloring Book is the ultimate relaxation tool, offering 29 categories and 500+ images to color, including superheroes, fashion, patterns, and more. With a wide range of colors, community inspiration, advanced filters, and powerful editing tools, it's easy to create stunning art. Zoom features and seamless sharing on social platforms make it a perfect coloring companion. Subscriptions: You can choose between subscription options that closely match your needs. Premium subscriptions with 1 week and 3 days trial * Weekly / $4.99 * Monthly/$9.99 * Yearly/$39.99 These prices are for United States customers. Pricing in other countries may vary and actual charges may be converted to your local currency depending on the country of residence. Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at the confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions by going to your account settings on the App Store after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. Terms & Conditions : http://mubassher.me/terms.html Privacy Policy : http://mubassher.me/privacy.html Whether you are a seasoned artist or a novice, our app makes it easy for you to unleash your full potential and create stunning works of art that you can share with the world. So why wait? Download our painting app today and start exploring your creative side like never before!

Screenshots

Skillshare4 screens
Drawing Desk4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Skillshare at 4.8 against Drawing Desk's 4.3. Skillshare also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (62% vs 45%). On price, ratings volume, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Skillshare sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $18.99 per month and Drawing Desk sells 14 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Skillshare holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 25K and 15K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 62% of Skillshare's written reviews are positive against 45% of Drawing Desk's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Skillshare ships an update every 10 days, Drawing Desk every 4 weeks. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Skillshare versus Drawing Desk: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSkillshareDrawing Desk
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (25K ratings) — better4.3 (15K ratings)
Positive reviews61.8% of reviews — better44.6% of reviews
Number of ratings25K — better15K
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 4 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size64 MB149 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperSkillshare, Inc.Farida Afrose

Customer experience

Skillshare

All ratings25,411 ratings
Positive96.4%
Neutral0.8%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews1,522 reviews
Positive61.8%
Neutral7.7%
Negative30.6%

Drawing Desk

All ratings15,167 ratings
Positive80.7%
Neutral8.4%
Negative10.9%
Written reviews552 reviews
Positive44.6%
Neutral13.8%
Negative41.7%

User reviews

Skillshare

From 25K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Excellent variety of creative classes
  • 🤓 High-quality instruction from industry professionals
  • 🕰 Flexible learning at your own pace
  • 💡 Inspiring and motivating content
  • 📚 Broad range of topics covered

Room to improve

  • 🔍 Lacking search and organization features in the app
  • 🖥 Limited functionality compared to the website
  • 🔌 Offline viewing issues and inconsistencies
  • 🤖 Buggy and unstable app performance
  • 🔒 Questionable billing and cancellation practices

Drawing Desk

From 15K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 User-friendly
  • 🎨 Good for beginners
  • 💡 Variety of tools and colors
  • 🚀 Efficient for quick illustrations

Room to improve

  • 💰 Too many paid features
  • 📢 Excessive ads
  • 🐛 Glitchy performance
  • 🎨 Limited brush/tool options

Bugs and requests

Skillshare

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App crashes and freezes frequently
  • Video playback issues and syncing problems
  • Inconsistent user interface and navigation
  • Inability to access class resources and materials
  • Account management and cancellation difficulties

Requested features

6 requests
  • Ability to sort and organize saved classes
  • Offline class downloads and viewing
  • Seamless integration between app and website
  • More advanced search and filtering options
  • Picture-in-picture mode for multitasking
Show 1 more
  • Direct class enrollment and feedback from the app

Drawing Desk

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Drawings become pixelated
  • App crashes when undoing complex drawings
  • Saved images disappear
  • Brush/tool selection window blocks drawing area

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add layers and selection tools
  • Improve undo/redo functionality
  • Implement color picker and fill tool
  • Provide more brush/pencil options
  • Add text and blending tools

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Skillshare

Subscriptions8
  • Premium Membership1 Month trial2 variants$18.991 Month
  • Skillshare Monthly Membership1 Month trial$19.991 Month
  • Monthly Premium Membership1 Month trial2 variants$31.991 Month
Show 5 more
  • Monthly Premium Membership7 Days trial$31.991 Month
  • Skillshare Monthly Membership1 Month trial$49.991 Month
  • Skillshare Annual Membership1 Month trial$167.991 Year
  • Annual Premium Membership1 Month trial2 variants$169.991 Year
  • Annual Premium Membership7 Days trial$169.991 Year
14 purchases

Drawing Desk

Subscriptions3
  • Drawing Desk Weekly Offer3 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Drawing Desk Premium Monthly3 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Drawing Desk Yearly Trial7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time11
  • Unlock Moustaches $0.99$0.99
  • Unlock Hat & Helmet Stickers$0$0.99
  • Unlock Doll Stickers$0.99$0.99
Show 8 more
  • Unlock Toy Stickers$0.99$0.99
  • Unlock Emoji Stickers$0.99$0.99
  • Unlock Love Stickers$0.99$0.99
  • Unlock Vegetable Stickers$0.99$0.99
  • Unlock Car & Bike Stickers$0.9$0.99
  • Unlock Sports Stickers$0.99$0.99
  • Unlock All Stickers$4.99
  • Hide Ads$9.99

Questions

Is Skillshare free?
Skillshare is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Drawing Desk free?
Drawing Desk is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Skillshare or Drawing Desk?
Skillshare is rated higher. Skillshare averages 4.8 out of 5 from 25K ratings, while Drawing Desk averages 4.3 from 15K ratings.
Do Skillshare or Drawing Desk have ads?
Drawing Desk shows ads; Skillshare does not.
Which is updated more often, Skillshare or Drawing Desk?
Skillshare ships an update every 10 days, and Drawing Desk every 4 weeks. Most recently, Skillshare was updated on September 24, 2026 and Drawing Desk on September 24, 2026.

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