Comparison

ThreadABead vs Draw with Beads

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

Head to head
About

ThreadABead

Explore a vast collection of over 4,000 exclusive bead patterns for various jewelry and decorative items. Save your favorite designs to a personal wish list and discover new and popular patterns with an easy-to-use search function.

Highlights
  • Exclusive bead pattern collection
  • Save to wish list
  • Browse new and popular patterns
  • Search extensive catalog
  • Designs for jewelry and ornaments
Features
Read full description

Since 2007, ThreadABead has rapidly amassed a large collection of 4,000+ exclusive Bead Patterns making it the largest UK Bead Pattern site. It has become a favourite site for many beaders due to its diverse range of patterns specialising in bead designs for Size 11 Miyuki Delica beads. With ThreadABead you can find a treasure trove of patterns for ornaments, bracelets, earrings, necklaces and trinkets on many different topics such as seasonal, sports, hobbies and pets to name a few. If you are looking for an unusual design we most likely have just the thing! Now for the first time ThreadABead is making its on-site Wish List feature available in an app to all customers of ThreadABead and newcomers to browse our patterns and save them to their Wish List easily. Additionally new patterns to the site, and our most popular patterns can be also viewed, along with a search facility to trawl through our extensive catalogue.

About

Draw with Beads

Create custom bead patterns by drawing with your finger or an Apple Pencil. Choose from various plate sizes, utilize zoom and pan features for detail, and save or share your designs. This app is suitable for both children and adults looking to develop creativity.

Highlights
  • Draw bead patterns with finger or Apple Pencil
  • Multiple plate sizes (10x10 to 40x40)
  • Zoom and pan for detailed drawing
  • Save patterns to camera roll
  • Share patterns with others
  • Change color palettes
  • Freehand drawing
Features
Read full description

In this app you can make your own beadpatterns by drawing with your finger. Choose the size of your plate: - 10 x 10 beads - 20 x 20 - 30 x 30 - 40 x 40 Turn on the dots to make it easier to draw accurately. Zoom and pan for easy placement of details. Share your pattern with family and friends. Save image to camera roll. To draw, you can also use an Apple Pencil on an iPad Pro. It is not necessary to have either an Apple Pencil or an iPad Pro. The app also works on regular iPhone and iPad. * Change colorpalette * Draw freehand * Zoom and pan for better details * Works on iPhone and iPad You can use your bead pattern as a template to lay beads on a real bead plate. Drawing with beads and making beautiful bead patterns is a great way to spend time and develop your creativity. Drawing with Beads is an app for children as well as for adults.

Screenshots

ThreadABead3 screens
Draw with Beads4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: ThreadABead at 50% against Draw with Beads's 0%. ThreadABead also leads on price (Free vs $1.99). Draw with Beads's advantage is rating (3.8 vs 3.0) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 5 months). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

ThreadABead is free to download; Draw with Beads costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Draw with Beads holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 6 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 50% of ThreadABead's written reviews are positive against 0% of Draw with Beads's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ThreadABead ships an update every 5 months, Draw with Beads every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on June 1, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
ThreadABead versus Draw with Beads: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThreadABeadDraw with Beads
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating3.0 (2 ratings)3.8 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings26 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.013.0
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB18 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDavid GreenfieldBo Kalvslund

Customer experience

ThreadABead

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Draw with Beads

All ratings6 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral33.3%
Negative66.7%

In-app purchases

None

ThreadABead

No in-app purchases

None

Draw with Beads

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ThreadABead free?
ThreadABead is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Draw with Beads free?
Draw with Beads costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ThreadABead or Draw with Beads?
Draw with Beads is rated higher. ThreadABead averages 3.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Draw with Beads averages 3.8 from 6 ratings.
Do ThreadABead or Draw with Beads have ads?
Neither ThreadABead nor Draw with Beads shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ThreadABead or Draw with Beads?
ThreadABead ships an update every 5 months, and Draw with Beads every 9 days. Most recently, ThreadABead was updated on June 1, 2026 and Draw with Beads on September 23, 2026.

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