Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Animation Desk® Draw & Animate vs Motionleap

Animation Desk® Draw & Animate 4.2★ · Free + IAP 40
Winner Motionleap
Motionleap 4.8★ · Free + IAP 65

Motionleap is generally preferred for its ease of use and animation capabilities, despite recent complaints about feature limitations and stability, while Animation Desk struggles with significant bugs and aggressive paywalls.

Full reviews: Animation Desk® Draw & Animate · Motionleap

Motionleap offers intuitive tools for animating still images, though users are frustrated by recent feature limitations and app stability issues. Animation Desk, while offering traditional animation, is plagued by severe glitches, data loss, and extensive paywalls that hinder its usability.

Head to head

Features & Creativity edge: MotionleapR2R3R4R32
Animation Desk® Draw & Animate Animation Desk provides tools for traditional frame-by-frame animation, including onion skinning, but users report that essential features like colored onion skinning and object selection are locked behind paywalls or are nonexistent R3. The app also limits brush types for free users R4R2, and some users desire more professional features for complex animations . Audio import is restricted to iTunes, limiting creative options R32.
Motionleap Motionleap excels at animating still images with effects, overlays, and elements, with users praising its ability to create beautiful projects . However, many users express frustration over the lack of new features and updates, with some stating that content has become repetitive . There are also complaints about limitations such as being able to add only one overlay or a limited number of elements per image .
Ease of Use edge: MotionleapR32R42R46R53
Animation Desk® Draw & Animate Animation Desk is described as simple and easy to use for basic animations R32R53, with some tutorials available for beginners . However, other users find it hard to use R42 or struggle with a horrible UI R60. Some users also report difficulty getting the app to work at all R46.
Motionleap Motionleap is frequently praised for being intuitive and easy to use . Despite this, some users find it complicated and not user-friendly, especially for beginners, noting a lack of instructions .
Reliability & Performance tieR1R6R8R9
Animation Desk® Draw & Animate Animation Desk suffers from severe and frequent glitches, including videos failing to import R1, random app exits and frame deletion R6R8R9R31, inverted or duplicated drawings , and the app crashing or freezing R9. These issues often lead to significant loss of work R9.
Motionleap Motionleap also experiences significant reliability issues, with many users reporting continuous crashes . Some users cannot export or save their work or find that effects do not work even after paying for subscriptions . Reinstalling the app is sometimes necessary but results in losing all previous work .
Price & Value tieR2R3R4R5
Animation Desk® Draw & Animate Animation Desk is a free app with in-app purchases, but many users feel that too many essential features are behind paywalls or subscriptions R3R4R5. Users complain about having to pay for basic tools like different brush types, saving, and even starting to play R2R4R16.
Motionleap Motionleap is also a free app with in-app purchases, but users are increasingly frustrated by features that were once free now being moved behind a paywall R67. The subscription costs are considered steep, with some mentioning prices like $5/month or one-time purchases up to $200 . Some paid users also report not having access to all tools or being charged unexpectedly .
Support edge: MotionleapR1R4R6R8
Animation Desk® Draw & Animate Reviews for Animation Desk do not mention user support, focusing instead on pleas for developers to fix bugs and make the app more free R1R4R6R8.
Motionleap Motionleap users report mixed experiences with support. Some praise the team for being responsive and helpful , while others state they received no response to bug reports or issues with exporting .
Pick Animation Desk® Draw & Animate if

Pick Animation Desk if you are looking for a free app to experiment with traditional frame-by-frame animation, are willing to contend with frequent glitches and paywalls for advanced features, and are not working on critical projects .

Pick Motionleap if

Pick Motionleap if you want an easy-to-use app for animating still images with various effects and overlays, and are prepared to pay for a subscription to access most features, despite recent concerns about limited updates and app stability .

Evidence note: The evidence for Animation Desk is heavily skewed towards negative experiences, particularly regarding bugs and paywalls, despite its lifetime rating. Motionleap also has significant negative feedback, but a higher volume of positive reviews suggests a more satisfied user base overall.

Frequently asked

Are Animation Desk and Motionleap free to use?
Both Animation Desk and Motionleap are free to download and use, but they both rely heavily on in-app purchases and subscriptions to unlock most features, leading to user frustration over paywalls R4R16R49R67.
Do these apps have issues with saving or losing work?
Yes, both apps have significant issues with saving and losing work. Animation Desk users frequently report the app randomly exiting, deleting frames, or corrupting entire projects, sometimes after hours of work R6R8R9R31. Motionleap users also experience crashes that lead to lost work, and some cannot export or save their creations .
Which app is better for beginners?
Motionleap is generally considered easier to use and more intuitive for beginners looking to animate still images . Animation Desk can be simple for basic animations, but its numerous glitches and complex UI can make it harder for new users R32R42R46R60.

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. [R2] Animation Desk® Draw & Animate 5/5 · US Absolutely FANTASTIC: It’s so fun and there are almost NO adds im NOT exaggerating. Only thing I DONT like is that you have to pay for the different brush types that’s the only thing so if the developers could update that it’ll be like a million stars
  2. [R3] Animation Desk® Draw & Animate 3/5 · US Decent enough: I feel like it’s so hard for a single animation app to actually include all the things that I feel like should come with it. Colored onion skinning and being able to move around things in a selection should be a basic essential and not behind a gamble or nonexistent!
  3. [R4] Animation Desk® Draw & Animate 2/5 · US It could be better: I would have liked it if I didn’t have to pay for everything. I could only use one brush ( and the brush sucked) also it was kinda glitchy. So if you are planning on getting this app I would not recommend it. Developers please make this app more free!! It would be sooooo much better!
  4. [R32] Animation Desk® Draw & Animate 4/5 · US Pretty cool: It was super cool to use, simple, but effective, and I really love the fact that when you’re animating, it looks like you’re doing it with an actual animation desk. Though, if you’re making a story time animation, it only lets you import music from iTunes. Still pretty good.
  5. [R42] Animation Desk® Draw & Animate 3/5 · US Ugh really hard: This was really hard
  6. [R46] Animation Desk® Draw & Animate 1/5 · US SOS: So, I got this app, and I can’t make an animation. I’ve tried everything. Please help. I’d love to be able to use this app. Thanks! -CozyFox26
  7. [R53] Animation Desk® Draw & Animate 5/5 · US Easy: Easy to use app and it’s very appropriate to use her children and adults
  8. [R1] Animation Desk® Draw & Animate 2/5 · US Wasn’t very satisfied: This app seems good, but I waited half an hour for a video to import, and it didn’t even show at all. Do I just need to wait for it to load, or is it not working? It made me really sad, by the fact that it wasted my time. Please fix :(
  9. [R6] Animation Desk® Draw & Animate 3/5 · US Doesn’t Save???: This app was good but while I was in the middle of animating it randomly exits me out and deletes some frames of my work. Idk what’s happening, but maybe fix it?
  10. [R8] Animation Desk® Draw & Animate 4/5 · US It’s good but it’s not all that: Hey y’all so the app is good but there are some bugs it’s minor but annoying. First when I zoom in and when I try to get back out I can’t I have to exit the app and go back in. Next is like a toca boca glitch if you work on it for a while you get kicked out it happened to me and when I went back in my animation I was working on was gone. So yeah if you can fix that
  11. [R9] Animation Desk® Draw & Animate 3/5 · US 2 Hours of work, GONE!: I was working hard on an animation that I really wanted to be one of my best. I had been drawing for 2 hours straight. 120 frames or so. I really loved it so far. And then, the screen froze. The app force closed and when I re-entered all of my work had erased. I was devastated. This app has done this 3 times now, and my i-Pad is never slow. Be prepared to lose your artwork.
  12. [R5] Animation Desk® Draw & Animate 4/5 · US I love it but…: I love this I have made comics and stuff but you do have to pay for certain stuff # a lot. But I still really love it.
  13. [R16] Animation Desk® Draw & Animate 1/5 · US ABSOLUTELY GARBAGE: HORRIBLE. YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR EVERY FREAKING THING SEPARATELY YOU HAVE TO PAY TO START PLAYING. YOU HAVE TO PAY TO USE A PENCIL AND YOU HAVE TO PAY TO SAVE IT. HONESTLY VERY STUPID. DEFINITELY WOULD NOT RECOMMEND
  14. [R49] Animation Desk® Draw & Animate 1/5 · US Idk: I feel like there are a lot of stuff you need to buy just to make a basic animation
  15. [R67] Motionleap 1/5 · US Not worth it anymore: Now they want you to pay for everything on this app which is very ridiculous!!!!! Every update they adding cost to the app. These apps are really starting to be very useless!!!!! Stop switching it up!!!!! We already have to pay for certain things on here why keep adding!!!!! You guys are useless!!!!!!!!!!
  16. [R31] Animation Desk® Draw & Animate 1/5 · US 30 to 5: I made an animation like 30 pages long. I came back to check, it shortened to 5!
  17. [R60] Animation Desk® Draw & Animate 3/5 · US Horrible ui: This app is great but the ui is so horrible it’s barely usable

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