Comparison

Comic Draw by plasq vs Charcoal

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

Head to head
About

Comic Draw by plasq

Create and view comics on your iPad with a comprehensive set of tools. Features include brushes, fonts, layers, and perspective guides. An in-app purchase unlocks full editing capabilities.

Highlights
  • Comic creation and viewing
  • 34 bundled brushes
  • 130+ bundled comic fonts
  • Layer support
  • Perspective guides
  • Comic lettering tools
  • In-app purchase for full editing
Features
Read full description

"I've only had it for a day but it is by far my favorite app on my iPad Pro. It is the app I have been waiting for. Thank you!" - Alex Ogle, Comic Book Artist. View and create awesome comics right on your iPad! Comic Draw comes with everything you need: brushes, fonts and tools to make reading & creating cartoons and comics easy and fun! While the basic app allows viewing and sharing of Comic Draw comics, an In-App Purchase unlocks the full editing capabilities. Start with a comic or cartoon template and get creating today! • Comic Viewer Feature Highlights - Optimized for iPad Pro - Integrated fullscreen comic reader - Import and Export Comic Draw files • Comic Editor Feature Highlights - Optimized for iPad Pro and Apple Pencil - Supports Adonit & Wacom pressure sensitive styluses - Standard comic and cartoon templates - 34 bundled brushes - 130+ bundled comic fonts - Layers and layer groups - 1, 2 & 3 point and isometric perspective guides - Fast and easy comic lettering - Auto-save enabled - never lose your artwork - Integrated publishing system • Brushes - 34 bundled brushes - Textures and screentones - Lots of customization options - Easy favoriting system - Import and export brushes for fast sharing • Layers - Build up your artwork with layers - Layer groups help separate your stages of work - Lock, hide and merge layers as you go - Layer blend modes for advanced effects - Clipping and masking modes • Color - Create custom color palettes - Multiple bundled palettes including a classic comic color palette - Fast color blocking with automatic edge detection from higher layers - Quick shade adjustment slider - Canvas color sampling • Perspective Guides - 1, 2 and 3 point guides available - Multiple guides per page - Automatic perspective snap of strokes, lines, rectangles and ovals - Simple guide calibration from reference photo or sketch • Selection and Masking - Copy, flip, distort and filter selected areas - Filters include hue, saturation, brightness, recolor, background exclusion and foreground selection. - Mask regions for safe painting • Lettering - 130+ bundled fonts - Advanced balloon support including extension balloons - Sophisticated lettering controls including warping and 3D effects - Advanced style system for consistent fonts and graphic design across multiple pages • Script Editor - Full comic script editor included - Automatic keyword recognition - Drag and drop lettering elements from the script to comic page • Sketchpad - Separate sketch area with simplified tools - Fast switching between sketch and final artwork - Lettering layer available for panel layout planning • Publishing & Sharing - Record video of your creative process - Upload to Comic Connect for fast and easy publishing - Import Comic Draw native format - Export as Comic Draw native format, PDF, ePub, JPG or PNG - Export to AirDrop, iCloud Drive, Photos, iTunes, email and many more

About

Charcoal

This app offers a simple yet powerful sketching experience with rich tools and beautiful color palettes. Easily create and export your artwork for use in other graphics programs. It supports modern iOS features like multiple windows and dark mode for enhanced productivity.

Highlights
  • Simple sketching interface
  • Rich drawing tools
  • Beautiful color palettes
  • Export sketches
  • Multiple window support
  • Dark mode
Features
Read full description

• Charcoal is incredibly easy to use: Just create or open a sketch and start sketching. There are no layers or confusing settings. Instead, Charcoal features rich tools and beautiful color palettes. • Charcoal allows you to export a sketch to use it in your favorite graphics program. • Charcoal supports modern iOS and iPadOS features like multiple windows and dark mode: use it at night or open multiple sketches, even side by side.

Screenshots

Charcoal3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Charcoal at none against Comic Draw by plasq's 3. Charcoal also leads on ads (none vs shown) and rating (4.5 vs 4.1). Comic Draw by plasq's advantage is ratings volume (750 vs 144) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.0). On price and update cadence 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. Comic Draw by plasq sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Charcoal asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Charcoal holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Comic Draw by plasq has 750 ratings behind it against 144, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Comic Draw by plasq's written reviews are positive against 77% of Charcoal's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Comic Draw by plasq versus Charcoal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterComic Draw by plasqCharcoal
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (750 ratings)4.5 (144 ratings) — better
Positive reviews67.2% of reviews76.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings750 — better144
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS11.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size240 MB29 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerplasq LLCLars Augustin

Customer experience

Comic Draw by plasq

All ratings686 ratings
Positive80.8%
Neutral5.0%
Negative14.3%
Written reviews329 reviews
Positive67.2%
Neutral9.1%
Negative23.7%

Charcoal

All ratings144 ratings
Positive86.8%
Neutral6.9%
Negative6.3%
Written reviews125 reviews
Positive76.8%
Neutral12.8%
Negative10.4%

User reviews

Comic Draw by plasq

From 750 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Powerful comic creation tool
  • 👍 Streamlined workflow from script to final comic
  • 🎨 Great drawing tools and brushes
  • 💡 Useful perspective guides
  • 📝 Integrated script writing feature

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 🔒 Locked behind paywall, free trial too short
  • 💤 Unintuitive UI and learning curve
  • 🎨 Limited customization options for brushes and tools
  • 🔍 Difficult to import/export files to/from other apps

Charcoal

From 144 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Simple and intuitive
  • 👍 Great for quick sketching
  • 🎨 Aesthetically pleasing design
  • 💰 Free with no ads

Room to improve

  • 🎨 Limited color palette
  • 🎨 Lack of customization options
  • 🎨 Missing advanced drawing tools
  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes

Bugs and requests

Comic Draw by plasq

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Brush freehand tool not working with Apple Pencil
  • Layers getting misaligned when using undo
  • Crashes when trying to drag and zoom images
  • Saved comics disappearing after updates

Requested features

6 requests
  • Ability to import/export PSD files
  • More keyboard shortcuts and power user features
  • Improved color picker with RGB/CMYK/Hex support
  • Ability to work on double-page spreads
  • Masking/clipping tools for panels
Show 1 more
  • More default font options, especially non-Latin scripts

Charcoal

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Saved sketches lose quality
  • Palette colors change unexpectedly
  • Freezing when opening color palette

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to change brush/pen size
  • Layers and blending tools
  • Color wheel and custom color selection
  • Import/export options

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Comic Draw by plasq

One-time2
  • Free Trial2 variantsFree
  • Unlock Full App$9.99
None

Charcoal

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Comic Draw by plasq free?
Comic Draw by plasq is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Charcoal free?
Charcoal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Comic Draw by plasq or Charcoal?
Charcoal is rated higher. Comic Draw by plasq averages 4.1 out of 5 from 750 ratings, while Charcoal averages 4.5 from 144 ratings.
Do Comic Draw by plasq or Charcoal have ads?
Comic Draw by plasq shows ads; Charcoal does not.
Which is updated more often, Comic Draw by plasq or Charcoal?
Comic Draw by plasq ships an update every 2 months, and Charcoal every 2 months. Most recently, Comic Draw by plasq was updated on October 24, 2026 and Charcoal on October 26, 2026.

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