Comparison

RoughAnimator vs Reference Board

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

Head to head
About

RoughAnimator

Create traditional hand-drawn, frame-by-frame animations on your iPad. This app offers professional-grade tools like unlimited layers, onion skinning, and audio import, making it suitable for both beginners and experienced animators. Export your work in various formats or import it into professional animation software.

Highlights
  • Timeline with unlimited layers
  • Onion skinning
  • Audio and video import
  • Custom brushes
  • Apple Pencil support
  • Export to video, GIF, image sequence
  • Import to professional software
Read full description

A fully featured hand drawn animation application for iPad. Made by an animator, for animators. Powerful enough for professionals, simple enough for beginners. Everything you need to create traditional hand drawn frame-by-frame animation, anywhere you go! Features: - Timeline with unlimited layers and easily adjustable exposure length of individual drawings, for pose-to-pose or straight-ahead animating - Onion skinning - Preview playback - Scrub along timeline - Import audio for lip syncing - Import video for rotoscoping animation - Custom brushes - Supports Apple Pencil, Logitech Crayon - Control framerate and resolution - Export animation to Quicktime video, GIF, or image sequence - RoughAnimator projects can be imported to Adobe Flash/Animate, After Effects, and Toon Boom Harmony - Also available on desktop See a short film animated with RoughAnimator: https://youtu.be/vaHuJNNPoMM

About

Reference Board

This app offers an infinite canvas for visually organizing thoughts and inspiration. Users can drop in various media types, arrange them freely, and zoom in or out to explore connections. Instant search functionality helps locate specific items across all boards.

Highlights
  • Infinite canvas
  • Visual idea organization
  • Supports images, videos, quotes
  • Freeform arrangement
  • Instant search
  • Zoom in/out functionality
Features
Read full description

Reference Board is a private visual workspace for collecting inspiration, developing ideas, and keeping creative research close at hand on Mac, iPhone, and iPad. BUILD VISUAL BOARDS • Collect images, videos, links, text, colors, and PDFs in one place. • Arrange references freely on an infinite canvas or switch to an organized grid. • Move, resize, group, stack, crop, flip, and annotate without changing your original media. • Use the loupe to inspect fine details in images and videos. FIND WHAT YOU NEED • Search across boards and references. • Use on-device analysis, OCR, colors, metadata, and visual similarity to rediscover material quickly. • Keep notes and details attached to the work they describe. SYNC, COLLABORATE, AND SHARE • Keep your library in sync across Mac, iPhone, and iPad with iCloud. • Invite others to collaborate on shared boards. • Publish a separate public, view-only webpage when you want to present your work more widely. • Update or unpublish a published board whenever you like. WORK YOUR WAY • Import from Photos, Files, Safari, drag and drop, or the Share Sheet. • Export boards as images, PDFs, or Reference Board archives. • Use widgets, Shortcuts, the screen saver, and optional MCP automation to connect Reference Board to your workflow. ONE PURCHASE. NO SUBSCRIPTION. New customers receive Reference Pro with their App Store purchase, including unlimited private boards and items, Publish to Web, AI metadata and visual discovery, new collaborations, PDF export, and MCP automation. People who acquired Reference while it was free keep their existing Free plan with one private board and up to 20 items. They can unlock lifetime Reference Pro with a one-time in-app purchase. Reaching a Free limit never deletes or hides existing work. Original paid-app customers and people who already purchased lifetime Reference Pro keep permanent Pro access automatically.

Screenshots

RoughAnimator1 screens
Reference Board4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: RoughAnimator at none against Reference Board's 1. RoughAnimator also leads on ratings volume (3K vs 7) and rating (4.6 vs 4.3). Reference Board's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs fortnightly) and price ($5.99 vs $7.99). On ads, monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

RoughAnimator costs $7.99 and Reference Board $5.99 up front. Reference Board sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. RoughAnimator asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

RoughAnimator holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: RoughAnimator has 3K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 79% of RoughAnimator's written reviews are positive against 64% of Reference Board's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RoughAnimator ships an update fortnightly, Reference Board every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
RoughAnimator versus Reference Board: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRoughAnimatorReference Board
Price$7.99$5.99 — better
Rating4.6 (3K ratings) — better4.3 (7 ratings)
Positive reviews78.6% of reviews — better63.6% of reviews
Number of ratings3K — better7
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#10 — better#175
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS13 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJacob KAFKAJordan Ruchtie

Customer experience

RoughAnimator

All ratings2,936 ratings
Positive92.5%
Neutral3.3%
Negative4.2%
Written reviews852 reviews
Positive78.6%
Neutral9.4%
Negative12.0%

Reference Board

All ratings7 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.3%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive63.6%
Neutral9.1%
Negative27.3%

Bugs and requests

RoughAnimator

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes when importing audio
  • Onion skin not working
  • Pixelated drawings when playing animation
  • Laggy performance with larger projects

Requested features

8 requests
  • Add transparency support for exports
  • Implement a text tool
  • Provide more brush options and customization
  • Add a ruler/shape tool
  • Improve audio handling (record, import, sync)
Show 3 more
  • Implement a tween/animation feature
  • Add layer grouping and organization tools
  • Provide a dark mode option

Reference Board

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

RoughAnimator

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Reference Board

One-time1
  • Reference Pro$5.99

Questions

Is RoughAnimator free?
RoughAnimator costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Reference Board free?
Reference Board costs $5.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, RoughAnimator or Reference Board?
RoughAnimator is rated higher. RoughAnimator averages 4.6 out of 5 from 3K ratings, while Reference Board averages 4.3 from 7 ratings.
Do RoughAnimator or Reference Board have ads?
Neither RoughAnimator nor Reference Board shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RoughAnimator or Reference Board?
RoughAnimator ships an update fortnightly, and Reference Board every 4 days. Most recently, RoughAnimator was updated on November 6, 2026 and Reference Board on November 5, 2026.
Which is more popular, RoughAnimator or Reference Board?
RoughAnimator currently peaks at #10 in the App Store charts, and Reference Board at #175. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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