Comparison

Calligraphy HD vs Linea Sketch

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

Head to head
About

Calligraphy HD

Explore the art of calligraphy with a wide selection of digital nibs and brushes. Customize stroke thickness, texture, and pen angle to develop your unique lettering style. Save your creations to your device's photo gallery.

Highlights
  • Customizable nibs and brushes
  • Adjustable stroke thickness
  • Varying stroke texture
  • Pen angle control
  • Variety of backgrounds
  • Save artwork to gallery
Features
Read full description

Develop and create your very personal lettering style with Calligraphy HD Calligraphy HD comes with a choice of nibs and brushes, simply select your favourite tool and instantly vary nib thickness, stroke texture and pen angle. Discover a variety of backgrounds and save your artwork to your device photo gallery.

About

Linea Sketch

This app provides a powerful yet intuitive drawing and note-taking experience. Its minimalist interface keeps the focus on your creations, offering features like intelligent shape creation, precise layer management, and artistic brushes. Record your process with time-lapse and utilize various grids and templates for diverse projects.

Highlights
  • Minimalist UI
  • Intelligent shape creation (ZipShapes)
  • Elegant layer management
  • Artistic watercolor brush
  • Time-lapse recording
  • Grids and templates
  • Annotation tools
Features
Read full description

Draw and take notes with ease. Linea Sketch gives you the right balance of power and control to capture thoughts and ideas effortlessly. The focus stays where it belongs: on your creations, not on the tools. Why Linea Sketch? ⁕ Minimal UI - Every control is designed to stay out of your way until you need it. Linea's elegant interface puts the focus on your creations. ⁕ Easy Colors - Choose from a wide range of pre-defined colors, or create your own with a single tap. Autogenerated tints & shades save time and effort. ⁕ Elegant Layers - Simplified set of layers that can be easily rearranged, merged, locked, or adjusted. Use the file browser and photo library to import images for reference and tracing. ⁕ ZipShapes & ZipLines - Simply hold still for a moment after drawing a line, rough square, circle, or triangle and ZipShape automatically creates a perfect version for you. You can then adjust final size, placement, and corner radius. ⁕ Move / Transform - Lasso part of your sketch, then move, rotate, flip, or resize. Transform one or more layers quickly & easily. ⁕ Watercolor Brush - Create rustic & artistic effects by painting with organic pigment in three modes: Simple, Wet, and Cloud. ⁕ Annotations - Add labels, notes, and callouts to your sketches using iOS Scribble or a keyboard. Fonts, colors, placement, and more can be adjusted effortlessly. ⁕ Time-Lapse - Record your creative process as you sketch! Save a video of the result as either a compressed 30 second clip or a full length movie. ⁕ Grids & Templates - A wide range of traditional grids, 3D isometric lines, storyboards, and templates for iOS screen or icon design. ⁕ Universal App - Linea Sketch is a universal app for iPad and iPhone. Your sketches seamlessly sync via iCloud to all of your devices, wherever you go. …………………………………… What do you get? Tools: • Technical Pencil - Hard lead, thin lines • Art Pencil - Soft lead, thick lines • Felt Tip Pen - Thin solid lines that vary in opacity • Marker - Fat solid lines • Watercolor Brush - Paint with organic, artistic pigment • Fill - Roll out wide areas of color or tap to flood fill • Blend - Smudge or soften strokes • Eraser - Clean up with your finger or Pencil • Pencil Plus! - Create additional effects using Apple Pencil pressure and tilt Colors: • Always on-screen & easily available • Tints and shades are automatically generated in six variations • 11 predefined color sets for various types of drawing • Create custom colors for branding and consistency • Drag & drop color swatches with other apps Layers: • Five flexible layers that can be dragged, merged, or cleared • Import any image from Files, Photo Library, or clipboard • Lockable to prevent accidental changes • Adjust opacity or double tap to toggle visibility on/off Templates: • Traditional grids displayed with lines & dots • Hexagonal, circular, and isometric (3D) grids • Notepads, to-do lists, and sheet music • App user interface and icon design • Storyboards in 16:9, 1.85:1, and 2.35:1 ratios • Adjustable intensity and can be hidden quickly Backgrounds & Paper Textures: • White Bond, Butcher’s Paper, Black Construction, Blueprint & many more • Adjustable custom background colors • Paper grain can be toggled on or off Exporting: • Save as PNG, JPEG, PSD, and PDF • Save entire sketch or crop a portion • Export to Slack, Dropbox, AirDrop & more • Presentation Mode shows just the canvas via AirPlay - perfect for classrooms Projects: • Organize drawings in project folders • Share, rename, or move drawings within projects • Thumbnail previews of drawings save time • Export PDF of entire project General: • Two-finger tap for Undo, three-finger tap for Redo • Pinch to zoom and rotate canvas • Tap Compass to lock, flip, or reset your canvas • Supports portrait & landscape orientations • Supports split screen and drag & drop Terms and Conditions: https://linea-app.com/terms Privacy Policy https://linea-app.com/privacy

Screenshots

Calligraphy HD4 screens
Linea Sketch4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Linea Sketch at 62% against Calligraphy HD's 10%. Linea Sketch also leads on rating (3.7 vs 1.6) and ads (none vs shown). Calligraphy HD's advantage is iOS requirement (9.0 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence, 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. Calligraphy HD sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Linea Sketch sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Linea Sketch holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 1.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Linea Sketch has 803 ratings behind it against 64, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 10% of Calligraphy HD's written reviews are positive against 62% of Linea Sketch's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Calligraphy HD versus Linea Sketch: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCalligraphy HDLinea Sketch
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.6 (64 ratings)3.7 (803 ratings) — better
Positive reviews10.4% of reviews62.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings64803 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS9.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB133 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTOUCHSCREEN LEARNING LTDThe Iconfactory

Customer experience

Calligraphy HD

All ratings64 ratings
Positive9.4%
Neutral9.4%
Negative81.3%
Written reviews135 reviews
Positive10.4%
Neutral8.1%
Negative81.5%

Linea Sketch

All ratings803 ratings
Positive65.9%
Neutral8.2%
Negative25.9%
Written reviews339 reviews
Positive62.2%
Neutral15.0%
Negative22.7%

Bugs and requests

Calligraphy HD

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Linea Sketch

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Drawings disappearing or not saving properly
  • Layers and colors not behaving as expected
  • Sudden crashes when switching tools or actions
  • Slow performance and loading issues

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add smudge/blending tool
  • Implement watercolor brush
  • Include text tool and annotation options
  • Support for higher resolution canvases
  • Introduce animation and video features
Show 1 more
  • Improve file management and organization

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Calligraphy HD

One-time1
  • Calligraphy HD Full App$2.99
3 purchases

Linea Sketch

Subscriptions2
  • Linea Monthly Subscription14 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Linea Yearly Subscription14 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Linea Full Purchase$59.99

Questions

Is Calligraphy HD free?
Calligraphy HD is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Linea Sketch free?
Linea Sketch is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Calligraphy HD or Linea Sketch?
Linea Sketch is rated higher. Calligraphy HD averages 1.6 out of 5 from 64 ratings, while Linea Sketch averages 3.7 from 803 ratings.
Do Calligraphy HD or Linea Sketch have ads?
Calligraphy HD shows ads; Linea Sketch does not.
Which is updated more often, Calligraphy HD or Linea Sketch?
Calligraphy HD ships an update every 3 months, and Linea Sketch every 3 months. Most recently, Calligraphy HD was updated on November 1, 2026 and Linea Sketch on November 11, 2026.

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