Comparison

Calligraphy HD vs Astropad Studio Drawing Tablet

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

Astropad Studio Drawing Tablet

Transform your iPad into a professional wireless drawing tablet for demanding creative work. Enjoy customizable workspaces, gesture shortcuts, and high-speed connectivity for efficient digital art creation on Mac and PC.

Highlights
  • Wireless or USB connectivity
  • Customizable gesture shortcuts
  • Keyboard support
  • Pressure curve customization
  • Second display functionality
  • Optimized for Apple Pencil
Features
Read full description

Go beyond a drawing tablet with Astropad Studio. Start a free 14-day trial today! Astropad Studio is the ultimate wireless drawing tablet, designed for the most demanding creative work. With complete workspace customization, Studio allows artists to work faster and more efficiently, with the freedom to work in the studio, at home, or on-the-go. Built for creative professionals with features like: · Wifi or USB connectivity · Built in 2nd display · Crystal clear & ultra-fast · Gesture shortcut customization · Keyboard support · Customizable pressure curves · Magic Gestures: Create your own gesture shortcuts with touch-Pencil combinations · Shortcut Sets: Sidebar shortcuts automatically adapt to match whatever Mac app you’re working in · Unlimited upgrades · Works on Mac and PC $14.99 monthly or $79.99 annually ___ STREAMLINED PRODUCTIVITY · Pinch to Zoom: Pinch to zoom and pan in Mac or PC Apps · Liquid Extreme: Up to 5x faster than baseline Liquid · Wifi & USB: Use your iPad as a drawing tablet plugged in or wirelessly · Keyboard Support: Access our built-in keyboard or use your own Bluetooth keyboard · Velocity Control: Analyzes network conditions dozens of times per second to balance image quality and latency COMPLETE CUSTOMIZATION · Magic Gestures: Create your own gesture shortcuts with touch-Pencil combinations · Shortcut Sets: Sidebar shortcuts automatically adapt to match whatever Mac app you’re working in BUILT FOR CREATIVES · Apple Pencil Optimized: Designed exclusively for the precision of Apple Pencil · Color Corrected: True to your source material with color corrected output and retina resolution ___ SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS · Mac: OS X 10.14 or later · PC: Windows 10 64-bit, build 1809 or later · iPad iOS 13.1 or later: iPad Mini 4 (2015+), iPad Air (2014+), iPad Pro (2016+), iPad 5th generation (2017+) · Optimized for iPad Pro and Apple Pencil SUBSCRIPTION TERMS · $14.99 monthly or $79.99 annually · Price may vary by location. ___ Subscriptions will be charged to your credit card using your iTunes account. Your subscription will automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period. Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. ___ MORE RESOURCES Download the free desktop companion app: astropad.com/downloads FAQ: astropad.com/faq Support: support@astropad.com Twitter: @astropad Instagram: @astropadco Facebook: facebook.com/astropadco ___ Privacy Policy: http://astropad.com/studio/privacy.html Terms of Use: http://astropad.com/studio/terms.html

Screenshots

Calligraphy HD4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Astropad Studio Drawing Tablet at 4.7 against Calligraphy HD's 1.6. Astropad Studio Drawing Tablet also leads on review sentiment (46% vs 10%) and ads (none vs shown). Calligraphy HD's advantage is monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, update cadence and in-app purchases 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 Astropad Studio Drawing Tablet sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Astropad Studio Drawing Tablet holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 1.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Astropad Studio Drawing Tablet has 3.8K 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 46% of Astropad Studio Drawing Tablet's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Calligraphy HD versus Astropad Studio Drawing Tablet: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCalligraphy HDAstropad Studio Drawing Tablet
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.6 (64 ratings)4.7 (3.8K ratings) — better
Positive reviews10.4% of reviews46.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings643.8K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS9.0 — better13
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB103 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTOUCHSCREEN LEARNING LTDAstro HQ

Customer experience

Calligraphy HD

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

Astropad Studio Drawing Tablet

All ratings3,772 ratings
Positive92.8%
Neutral2.1%
Negative5.1%
Written reviews607 reviews
Positive46.3%
Neutral7.4%
Negative46.3%

Bugs and requests

Calligraphy HD

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Astropad Studio Drawing Tablet

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Frequent crashes and disconnects
  • Compatibility issues with certain apps
  • Unresponsive or glitchy input

Requested features

3 requests
  • Ability to use iPad as a secondary display
  • More affordable one-time purchase option
  • Improved stability and performance

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Calligraphy HD

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

Astropad Studio Drawing Tablet

Subscriptions3
  • Subscription14 Days trial$14.991 Month
  • Subscription14 Days trial$99.991 Year
  • Astropad Studio Annual14 Days trial$99.991 Year

Questions

Is Calligraphy HD free?
Calligraphy HD is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Astropad Studio Drawing Tablet free?
Astropad Studio Drawing Tablet is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Calligraphy HD or Astropad Studio Drawing Tablet?
Astropad Studio Drawing Tablet is rated higher. Calligraphy HD averages 1.6 out of 5 from 64 ratings, while Astropad Studio Drawing Tablet averages 4.7 from 3.8K ratings.
Do Calligraphy HD or Astropad Studio Drawing Tablet have ads?
Calligraphy HD shows ads; Astropad Studio Drawing Tablet does not.
Which is updated more often, Calligraphy HD or Astropad Studio Drawing Tablet?
Calligraphy HD ships an update every 3 months, and Astropad Studio Drawing Tablet every 3 months. Most recently, Calligraphy HD was updated on October 20, 2026 and Astropad Studio Drawing Tablet on October 29, 2026.

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