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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Sketchbook® vs Whiteboard

Sketchbook® 4.8★ · Free + IAP 80
Winner Sketchbook®
Whiteboard 4.5★ · Free + IAP 40

Sketchbook® is the superior choice for digital drawing, offering a much richer feature set and better reliability, despite some user frustrations, while Whiteboard is plagued by critical data loss issues.

Full reviews: Sketchbook® · Whiteboard

Sketchbook® provides a comprehensive and user-friendly drawing experience with a wide array of brushes and tools, suitable for both beginners and experienced artists, though some users report bugs and missing features. Whiteboard, while simple and fun for some, suffers from severe issues with saving artwork and a very limited color palette, making it unreliable for serious use.

Head to head

Features and Tools edge: Sketchbook®R1R3R5R8
Sketchbook® Sketchbook® is praised for its diverse toolkit, wide range of adjustable brushes, and features like layers, making it suitable for various artistic needs R8R17. Users appreciate the ability to outline photos and use them as references . However, some users desire more advanced features like shape tools, alpha lock, blur/blending brushes, custom brush creation, and animation R3R5. The fill bucket tool is a common point of frustration R1.
Whiteboard Whiteboard is criticized for its extremely limited color palette, with users frequently requesting more colors, a color wheel, and shading options R61R63R71. Users also note a lack of features like textboxes and animation .
Ease of Use and User Experience edge: Sketchbook®R8R9R13R17
Sketchbook® Sketchbook® is generally considered user-friendly and organized, even for beginners, with many finding it easy to use R8R17R38. However, some novices report a lack of tutorials and difficulty finding basic tools like an eraser R9. There are also complaints about a pop-up that won't close, difficulty with brush size adjustment, and canvas movement R13.
Whiteboard Whiteboard is described as simple and easy to use by some , making it suitable for kids . However, others find it confusing or boring due to limited features and a black background that cannot be changed . The controls are also described as 'stupid' by some .
Reliability and Performance edge: Sketchbook®R4R6R10R18
Sketchbook® Sketchbook® has significant issues with reliability, including drawings being deleted or distorted R4, brushes not working or giving random colors R10, and the app force-closing when trying to save or delete work . Users also report problems with recording features and lack of autosave R6R18.
Whiteboard Whiteboard suffers from critical reliability issues, with numerous reports of drawings disappearing, being deleted unexpectedly, or not saving R64R69R79R91. Users also mention glitches, flickering, and the undo button not working . The delete button is noted as being too easy to press without confirmation .
Price and Value edge: Sketchbook®R2R7R14R32
Sketchbook® Sketchbook® is largely praised for being free with many features and no ads, offering great value R2R14R38. Some users are happy to pay for premium features because they feel the app deserves the money R32. There are a few complaints about features that used to be free becoming paid R7.
Whiteboard Whiteboard is criticized for its 'Creator kit' being unfair to those without money and for being a 'bait and switch' app that signs users up for monthly subscriptions . There are also complaints about ads and prompts to buy things .
Pick Sketchbook® if

You are looking for a feature-rich digital drawing app with a wide variety of brushes and tools, are willing to navigate some reported bugs, and appreciate a free app that offers significant value R8R14R17.

Pick Whiteboard if

You need a very simple, basic drawing app for young children or quick, non-critical sketches, and are aware of its significant limitations and potential for data loss .

Evidence note: Reviews for Whiteboard are heavily skewed towards negative experiences regarding data loss and limited features, making it difficult to find strong positive counterpoints beyond general statements of enjoyment for simple drawing. Sketchbook® reviews are more balanced, with positive feedback on features and value, alongside specific complaints.

Frequently asked

Is Sketchbook® good for beginners?
Yes, Sketchbook® is generally considered good for beginners due to its user-friendly interface and easy-to-use features, though some new users report difficulty finding basic tools like an eraser or a tutorial R8R9R17R38.
Does Whiteboard have many colors or brushes?
No, Whiteboard is frequently criticized for having a very limited color palette (often only 9 colors) and few brush options, with users requesting more variety and a color wheel R61R63R71R82.
Do drawings save reliably in Whiteboard?
No, many users report that drawings frequently disappear, are unexpectedly deleted, or do not save in Whiteboard, making it unreliable for important work R64R69R79R91.
Is Sketchbook® free?
Yes, Sketchbook® offers a robust free experience with many brushes and features and no ads, though some premium features are available via in-app purchases R2R14R38R53.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R1] Sketchbook® 1/5 · US no.: I spent over an hour for it to turn out that i cant fill in paint when i use the fill bucket on something and i made the stuff divided and guess what? STILL NO FILLING, IT FILLS THE ENTIRE THING INSTEAD.
  2. [R3] Sketchbook® 3/5 · US Idk: I like this app but I can’t use shapes to help and shapes are VITAL for me as a person who cant draw😭
  3. [R5] Sketchbook® 4/5 · US Needs more options: The app is a pretty good app but there arnt all the tools that I need for the my art
  4. [R8] Sketchbook® 5/5 · US Amazing: I have been using Sketchbook since about 2016-ish, and it has never failed me! As a lifelong illustrator, I could not recommend a better app for artists of all skill levels. It is clean, organized, user-friendly, and comes with a diverse toolkit that will surely satisfy any creative soul lucky enough to come across it. All in all, a very reliable, affordable app with the artist’s experien
  5. [R9] Sketchbook® 3/5 · US Not beginner friendly: I’ve never used a digital drawing app. I am a complete novice. I downloaded Sketchbook because of the reviews and felt optimistic, however, that led to frustration when upon opening the app, there was no tutorial. I had no idea what to do. I started experimenting with using the various tools, but when I needed to erase, there was NO ERASER! Why? It’s such a basic tool. How
  6. [R13] Sketchbook® 2/5 · US It won’t let me close this weird pop up: I don’t know when or how but when I was drawing This odd pop up showed up in the middle of the screen, it was oval shaped with two circles one showing the tool I was using & the color, dragging it either moved it or changed the opacity I want to get rid of it but nothing works. Not even closing the app and refreshing
  7. [R17] Sketchbook® 5/5 · US All-time favorite! Great for beginners and pros alike!: I’ve been using this app for years. It’s features are easy to use and great for beginners. On top of that, they have a wide range of different brushes which can be adjusted to your specific preference(size, blend,opacity, ect.), so it’s perfect for experienced artists as well! My one thing I would add (which may already be in the app but I ca
  8. [R4] Sketchbook® 1/5 · US deleting half my drawing: can u actually make it stop deleting half of my work ? fix it. pls n thank u
  9. [R6] Sketchbook® 3/5 · US Good app but needs some fixing: I really enjoy this app for art especially converting traditional art to digital so i can color it. However a big downside at least for me as someone who records speed pains was the fact the recording on this app also zooms in and moves whenever you do that to your drawing instead of recording the whole cavas. They act like its a perk but it just makes recordings lo
  10. [R10] Sketchbook® 2/5 · US This app is not working properly: I tried to choose a color and it didn’t work. It gave me random colors and when I tried to use the color picker tool it still gave me random colors.
  11. [R18] Sketchbook® 3/5 · US No autosave: I was all excited about this app. Excited about all the tools and possibilities. I jumped right in and started creating, spending hours working on my first project. When it was time to quit I closed the app and went on with my night. Only one problem. On iPad for some reason there is no auto save so all my hours of work are wasted. What creativity app these days does not auto save? Un
  12. [R2] Sketchbook® 5/5 · US Best app ever: If you're looking for a good app for drawing and writing i would recommend this app, it doesn't need you to watch an ad or anything like that to draw and if you want you can create an album and there are so many other stuffs that are so good! I can't recommend this app enough!
  13. [R7] Sketchbook® 1/5 · US Sucks: Everything used to be free like, BACK IN 2016, but now, y’all have just followed the current, greedy trend and made EVERYTHING paid now. Bye.
  14. [R14] Sketchbook® 5/5 · US Omg buy nowww: Sketchbook is literally amazing. First time. I tried it. It blew my mind of how many brushes there are for free. I mean, you don’t even have to pay for a certain amount of time and it’s just you can do whatever you want. There’s a lot of things that you can do, and you can make, however many, like untitled things you want. So amazing. You should totally buy it. Thank you for not mak
  15. [R32] Sketchbook® 5/5 · US I paid for the premium…: …but not cuz I needed any of the features, though they do add some handy stuff that I’m happy to have. I paid for it because they deserve the money. This is by far one of the best drawing experiences ever made, and it’s free. Couldn’t be happier to give them a few bucks.
  16. [R38] Sketchbook® 5/5 · US Best app ever!: As a beginning artist I recommend this app to anyone who wants to learn how to draw! It is free and has NO ads! I LOVE this app and use it daily. Thank you so much devs! I love this and you don’t need a membership to play!
  17. [R61] Whiteboard 2/5 · US No color wheel: Great drawing but stuck with 9 colors and just a rainbow brush for some reason with no color wheel despite how easy thatll be
  18. [R63] Whiteboard 3/5 · US ADD MORE COLORS OR ONE STAR: absolute cinema BUT PLZ PLZ PLZ PLZ ADD MORE FREAKING COLORS
  19. [R71] Whiteboard 4/5 · US Not to much colors: It’s not the right amount of colors for the app
  20. [R82] Whiteboard 1/5 · US More shapes of color: I wish people have more than one shade of color. It’s kind of boring to just have one Shane I thought you would have multiple shades on the whiteboard, but I guess not
  21. [R64] Whiteboard 1/5 · US Stupid app🤬: This app makes me feel like 🤬 I’m 8 years old and I HATE it when it decides to delete my drawings it’s July 4th off to a bad start and it makes me feel so 😡 “best” app ever made FIX IT NOW!!!!
  22. [R69] Whiteboard 3/5 · US Fuhdbdndbnd: It's good but it doesn't save my artwork
  23. [R79] Whiteboard 1/5 · US Sorry whiteboard: I just kinda hate this app becuase when a draw for a bit it deletes the drawing pls fix it
  24. [R91] Whiteboard 1/5 · US stupid: when I draw sometimes it erases my whole entire thing when I don’t even press the trash button and I can’t get it back
  25. [R53] Sketchbook® 5/5 · US Amazing no adds: This app has tons of free brushes and stencils you can also edit pictures if you are up to the task (it is hard but I enjoy it) I have created so many wonderful works of art on this app and I hope it stays the same . :) 🌠🌌🎑

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store