8 Best Drawing Apps for iPad [2025]

Nothing unleashes creativity quite like iPads. Don’t let the ultra-compact, slimline style fool you. Illustrators, graphic designers, and budding artists all over the world use iPads to bring their ideas to life, boost their designs into the public sphere, and nurture their creative passions. 

Looking for the best drawing apps for your iPad? There’s a lot of competition. Luckily, we’ve curated a list of drawing apps for every iPad user, including something for beginners, comic book fans, artists who want to branch out into other creative digital disciplines, and professionals. 

best drawing apps for ipads: rasters vs. vectors

So, what is the best drawing app for iPad? To find an answer, we first need to understand the difference between rasters and vectors. Some drawing apps are vector-based, and others are raster-based. A select few apps are both, but most artists prefer one or the other. 

raster-based apps 

Raster images are made up of individual pixels, just like a photograph. When you enlarge a raster-based image, the quality will decrease. This is the main downside, but there are still plenty of benefits. 

You can edit the pixels individually, giving you an unbeatable level of control over details and colors. Raster-based apps are great for digital photography, detailed graphics, illustrations, and paintings. 

Raster-based images also have a distinctive look that many artists use to create a nostalgic, retro feel. You can see pixelated art in the wildly popular game Stardew Valley, as well as old classics like Pac-Man, Frogger, and Space Invaders.

vector-based apps

Vector images are made up of mathematical points and lines. You can scale these images up or down without compromising the quality of the image. 

Seamless scalability is great for logos, icons, illustrations, drawings, and typography. Basically, if you plan to print your drawings, resize them to fit prints, mugs, or t-shirts, or import them to websites, vectors are the way forward. 

However, there are a few downsides. Vector-based apps fail to reflect the complexities of photorealistic images, and vector images take longer to render than raster images.  For those not aware of the lingo, rendering happens when your computer turns data into an image. 

Now you know which type of app you need, let’s jump straight into the best drawing apps for iPads. 

astropad studio

Price: $79 per year or $149 one-time payment – but you can nab a 14-day free trial 

Good for: Full-scale access to your favorite desktop apps on iPad

Astropad Studio is one of those revolutionary apps that has really changed the digital drawing landscape and is at the head of the pack when it comes to the best drawing apps for iPad. With Astropad Studio by your side, you can use any desktop program on your iPad. You can combine the power of creative programs like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Fresco with the ergonomic controls and intuitive user interface of your iPad. 

Although most popular creative programs are available on iPad, few offer full access to all the creative tools on offer. For instance, the Adobe Illustrator iPad app doesn’t have all the same tools as the desktop version. But with Astropad, you get the best of both worlds. 

More than 100,000 digital artists around the world use Astropad Studio, and here’s why. You can completely customize your digital art workflows with features built specifically for artists:

• Magic gestures – Instantly change tools with fully customizable finger tap and Apple Pencil gestures.
• Shortcut sidebar – Customizable sidebar shortcuts allow you to quickly access your favorite tools and automatically match whatever desktop application you’re using.
• Pressure curves and smoothing – Choose between hard and soft pressure curves and adjust your level of pressure smoothing to match your workflows.

Pros: 

• Access to full-scale apps: Some drawing apps won’t have your favorite tools. Astropad Studio solves this problem, giving you access to full-scale versions of all the most popular creative programs. 
• Personalized workflows: Shortcuts and Magic Gestures provide a personalized experience, allowing you to create artwork that reflects your unique style. 

Cons: 

• Only compatible with iPads: Astropad Studio is specifically designed for iPads. 

procreate

Price: $12.99 one-off purchase

Good for: Pixel-based drawings, animations, and 3D models 

We can’t talk about the best drawing apps for iPads without mentioning Procreate. Since 2011, Procreate has transformed the world of digital drawing, giving beginners and professionals a platform to express their creativity. 

It uses a proprietary graphics engine called Valkyrie specifically designed for iPads. One of the most unique selling points is that Valkyrie allows you to create customizable brushes and import Adobe Photoshop brushes. But if you want to get started straight away, there are over 200 presets to choose from, including watercolor, oil, acrylic, Avalon, and Tamar, and rounded brushes.

Procreate is raster-based, making it great for detailed work. It also pioneered Gestures, a feature that many other creative programs have adopted. Using a range of customizable gestures, you can easily activate the Undo, Redo, Zoom, Move, and Fit tools with a single touch. 

Procreate has truly earned its reputation as one of the best drawing apps for iPads, and it only costs $12.99. It’s affordable, personalized, and seamless. 

Expand your toolbox with our top ten best free Procreate brushes. 

Pros: 

• Affordable: Few creative apps cost as little as $12.99, and once you’ve bought it, you own it forever.
• Customizable: Easily create customized workflows.  
• Range of tools: No other drawing app boasts over 200 preset brushes. 

Cons: 

• Exclusive to iPads: Procreate is only available on iPadOS. 

illustrator for ipad 

Price: $9.99 per month, or $79.99 per year

Good for: Logos, icons, typography, graphics 

Illustrator is part of Adobe Creative Suite, and you can purchase it separately or alongside the entire package. It’s a vector-based app that’s great for icons, graphics, and packaging. It’s not ideal for free-form drawing and is much more suitable for structured, symmetrical designs. 

Illustrator for iPad doesn’t have the same tools as the desktop version, but it is effective enough to act as a standalone piece of software. Besides, you can use Astropad Studio to gain access to all the tools. 

For more in-depth insights, explore the pros and cons of Procreate and Illustrator for iPad Users. 

Pros: 

• Great for commercial designs: The structured approach and vector-based system are great for commercial designs. 

Cons: 

• Not full-scale: Illustrator for iPad only has the most popular tools and features. 
• Structured: The structured approach might be a downside for artists who prefer more flexible creative programs. 

adobe fresco

Price: Free

Good for: Low learning curve and experimenting with raster and vector art

Adobe Fresco made it onto our list of the best drawing apps for iPads because of its fantastic range of brushes and intuitive user interface. It focuses on painting and drawing and gives you all the necessary tools to experiment with all sorts of brush strokes and textures. 

This program is both vector and raster-based, with brushes to suit every style of art. It’s one of the few creative programs with this sort of versatility. And once upon a time, Adobe Fresco was $9.99 per month. But now, it’s free. 

Hobbyists, hopeful digital artists, and experienced professionals all use Adobe Fresco to create eye-catching designs. Fresco isn’t the best option for commercial, crisp graphics, but it’s gained a reputation for hand-drawn art. 

Pros: 

• Find your style: The range of raster and vector-based brushes allows you to experiment and find your niche. 
• Scale hand-drawn art: Reduce or enlarge your digital creations without compromising on quality. 

Cons: 

• Limited brush customization: You can create your own brushes but can’t import brushes from other software. 
• Limited color options: You can’t create custom color palettes. 

sketchbook

Price: Free

Good for: People new to digital drawing, customizing brushes 

Here’s another free drawing app for iPad users. Sketchbook is a raster-based app that’s fantastic for free-form drawing and painting, with a focus on brushes and textures. 

Some say it’s a mixture of Adobe Fresco and Procreate. Like Adobe Fresco, Sketchbook focuses on realistic drawing tools that simulate real brushstrokes, sketches, and watercolors. And like Procreate, Sketchbook has a Brush Library with loads of customization options. It’s got all the basics like opacity, size, and pressure sensitivity.

There are over 15 types of brushes to choose from. If you choose the Ballpoint Pen, you’ll see dozens of pens nestled under subheadings like ‘Basic’, ‘Markers’, and ‘Legacy’. 

Sketchbook ranks as one of the best drawing apps for iPad users who want to dip their toes into the digital world. If you want to transition from pen and paper to iPad, this is the app for you. 

There’s only one catch – if you want access to even more features, you have to shell out for Sketchbook Pro. It’s a separate app entirely, and it requires a one-off purchase of $24.99. You get access to more brushes, rulers to make your creations more crisp, in-depth tutorials, and more. 

Pros: 

• Decent brush selection: The built-in brushes and Brush Library are impressive, especially for an app that’s free. 
• Offline drawing: Whether you’re at home connected to your WiFi or offline on a train to work, you can use Sketchbook to create dazzling digital art. 

Cons: 

• Disorganized user interface: Some users say the tools are scattered across different tabs, making navigation more difficult than necessary. 
• Limited layers: The free version has a limited number of layers, restricting your creativity. 

medibang paint

Price: Free

Good for: Beginners, comic book fans

If you’re into manga and comics, MediBang could be the best drawing app for iPads. This app is packed full of comic templates, allowing you to whip up a new panel in just a few seconds. 

MediBang Paint isn’t just for manga fans. It’s been downloaded over 100 million times, and for good reason. The interface was designed to be simple, encouraging newbies to explore the world of digital drawing without intimidating tools and features. 

Another big plus point is the community. MediBang’s Pro Gallery acts as a platform for artists, and there’s also a thriving community on Discord and Steam. 

It’s raster-based, and if you’ve read this far, you know that means MediBang is great for freehand drawing. There are 18 default brushes, which doesn’t sound like much but you can access and download another 900 via the cloud. The selection is biased toward manga, but you can also choose classics like watercolor and pastel brushes. 

Of course, the raster style means MediBang isn’t great for commercial drawings that need to scale up or down.  

To get started, check out our article on anime drawing tips for beginners. 

Pros: 

• Built-in comic templates: Comicbook fans can experiment with preset templates. 
• Massive library of brushes: MediBang Paint offers over 900 brushes – more than enough to keep you busy! 
• Clean user interface: Navigation is intuitive, allowing you to focus on what matters most. 

Cons: 

• Limited complex tools: The tools aren’t comparable to some of the more professional digital drawing apps like Adobe Photoshop. 
• Few customization options: The customization options aren’t as robust as other apps – for example, Procreate – but the overwhelming number of brushes partly makes up for this oversight. 

artstudio pro 

Price: $11.99 one-off purchase

Good for: Freehand drawing, exploring other creative digital pursuits 

As far as drawing apps for iPads go, Artstudio Pro is at the top end. This raster-based app supports freehand drawing and animation, and even has photo editing capabilities, making it a good all-rounder for artists who want to explore other creative avenues. 

Artstudio Pro isn’t the most extensive animation tool, but it has a decent range of features, including the ability to create timelines, edit frame durations, add more layers, and export in a range of formats. 

The photo editing element was developed in conjunction with professional photographers, so it’s no surprise it’s so extensive. Alongside the basics like crop and trim, customizable brushes, and symmetric painting, you can also transform multiple layers simultaneously, clip masks, and take advantage of retouching tools like Heal, Dodge, Burn, and Sponge. 

Back to the drawing benefits: Artstudio Pro supports large canvas sizes, has a lag-free mechanism for smooth brush strokes, and has a wide range of brushes, blending modes, and layer adjustments. It also has a layer system with grouping, masks, and non-destructive effects. 

Pros: 

• Familiar user interface: The user interface resembles Photoshop, which might ease the learning curve for more experienced artists. 
• Versatile: Artstudio Pro supports freehand drawing, photo editing, and even animation. 

Cons: 

• Focus is too broad: If you want to exclusively focus on digital drawing, Artstudio Pro might feel a bit overwhelming.  
• Learning curve: The complex brush customization options might prove difficult for some, giving the app a medium learning curve. 

ibis paint

Price: Free

Good for: New digital artists  

Here’s another top pick for beginners looking for drawing apps on iPads: Ibis Paint has a user-friendly interface that keeps the learning curve low, ideal for experimenting with digital drawing without barriers.  

It’s free to download, and it comes with over 45,000 brushes, 20,000 materials 1,300 fonts, 80 filters, 46 screen tones… the list goes on! And despite being primarily a raster-based drawing app, you can add vector layers to scale drawings without compromising on quality.  

The biggest downside of the free version is the ads. But if you pay for a Prime Membership, you can turn the ads off and get a whole host of other benefits, including cloud storage and unlimited use of the vector tool. The membership is $2.99 per month or $27.99 per year, making it a relatively affordable option for digital drawing.

Pros: 

• Rasters and vectors: You can switch between raster and vector art on the same app, ideal for beginners who want to experiment.
• Variety of brushes: Ibis Paint has over 15,000 brushes, an astounding feat that few other drawing apps can claim. 

Cons: 

• Paywall: Some of the best features are hidden behind the subscription. 

rock paper pencil for a pen-on-paper feel 

Struggling to transition from traditional pen and paper to digital alternatives? Rock Paper Pencil gives you the best of both worlds, creating the most realistic pen-on-paper feel for iPad.

Rock Paper Pencil is the only iPad accessory with both a screen protector and ballpoint Apple Pencil replacement tips. 

Unlike a lot of paper-like screen protectors, Rock Paper Pencil doesn’t use adhesive and is completely reusable. We use a specialized applicator (called NanoCling) to securely bond the screen protector to your iPad with static electricity.  It’s stronger than magnets, non-adhesive, and leaves no residue when removed.  

You can peel it off and snap it back on in a matter of seconds. Seamlessly switch from watching movies on your iPad’s glossy screen to creating art on a paper-like screen protector. 

For an unbeatable pen-on-paper digital drawing experience, try Rock Paper Pencil.