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

Animation Desk® Draw & Animate vs Sketchbook®

Animation Desk® Draw & Animate 4.2★ · Free + IAP 30
Winner Sketchbook®
Sketchbook® 4.8★ · Free + IAP 80

Sketchbook is the clear winner for digital drawing and sketching due to its superior reliability, broader feature set, and more generous free offering, while Animation Desk is plagued by critical bugs and aggressive paywalls.

Full reviews: Animation Desk® Draw & Animate · Sketchbook®

Sketchbook offers a robust, user-friendly digital drawing experience with a wide array of free tools and strong reliability, making it suitable for both beginners and experienced artists. Animation Desk, while designed for animation, suffers from severe glitches, data loss, and extensive paywalls that hinder its usability and value.

Head to head

Features edge: Sketchbook®R3R32R45R51
Animation Desk® Draw & Animate Animation Desk is specifically for animation, offering tools like onion skinning, though some users find essential features like colored onion skinning and object selection behind paywalls or nonexistent R3. It also has limitations with audio import, only allowing iTunes music, which restricts animators' creative options R32R45R51.
Sketchbook® Sketchbook is praised for its diverse toolkit, wide range of adjustable brushes, and features like layers and image outlining for reference R68R77. Users appreciate the ability to customize brushes and edit pictures R77. However, some users note the absence of features like shape tools, blur/blending brushes, alpha lock, and a curve line option . There's also a notable complaint about the lack of an animation feature on the iPad Pro version R75.
Ease of Use edge: Sketchbook®R32R42R46R53
Animation Desk® Draw & Animate Some users find Animation Desk simple and effective for basic animations R32R53. However, others report a horrible user interface and difficulty getting started or understanding how to use the app R42R46.
Sketchbook® Sketchbook is generally considered user-friendly and easy to use for both beginners and pros R68R77. Many appreciate the organized interface and intuitive tools R68. However, some beginners find it not very friendly due to a lack of tutorials or difficulty locating basic tools like an eraser R69. Issues with the fill bucket tool and brush size adjustment are also mentioned .
Reliability edge: Sketchbook®R6R8R9R10
Animation Desk® Draw & Animate Animation Desk is severely criticized for major glitches, frequent crashes, and significant data loss. Users report animations freezing, apps force-closing, and hours of work being deleted or corrupted R6R8R9R10. Common glitches include drawings duplicating flipped or inverted, and onion skin layers being hard-printed onto frames R13.
Sketchbook® Sketchbook is generally seen as reliable, with many users stating it has 'never failed' them over years of use R68. However, recent reviews indicate some reliability issues, including drawings being deleted, the app freezing and crashing, and work being distorted . Some users also report brushes not working or color selection issues . A significant complaint is the lack of an autosave feature on iPad, leading to lost work .
Price/Value edge: Sketchbook®R2R4R5R16
Animation Desk® Draw & Animate Animation Desk is free with in-app purchases, but users frequently complain about extensive paywalls. Many essential features, like different brush types, are locked behind payment R2R4R5R16. Some feel they have to pay for 'everything' or even to start playing and save work R16. The free version is often described as having limited functionality .
Sketchbook® Sketchbook is also free with in-app purchases, but it is widely praised for offering a vast array of free brushes and tools without ads R98. Users feel it provides excellent value, with many choosing to pay for premium features simply to support the developers . While some older reviews mention that features used to be free and are now paid , the current sentiment is that the free tier is very generous.
Support edge: Sketchbook®R1R6R8R9
Animation Desk® Draw & Animate Users frequently ask developers to fix bugs and glitches, indicating a perceived lack of responsiveness or effective support for critical issues like data loss and app crashes R1R6R8R9.
Sketchbook® Sketchbook has a 'whole site for help' according to one user . While users report bugs and issues, there isn't a strong sentiment of unaddressed concerns or calls for developer intervention as prominent as with Animation Desk.
Pick Animation Desk® Draw & Animate if

You are looking for a dedicated animation app and are willing to navigate significant bugs and paywalls for its specific animation tools, or if you only need to create very simple, short animations and are okay with potential data loss .

Pick Sketchbook® if

You need a reliable, feature-rich digital drawing and sketching app with a generous free tier and a wide variety of brushes. It's suitable for both beginners and experienced artists who prioritize stability and a strong toolkit over dedicated animation features R68R77R98.

Evidence note: Reviews for Animation Desk are heavily skewed towards negative experiences, particularly regarding glitches and paywalls, despite its lifetime rating. Sketchbook has a much higher lifetime rating and more positive reviews, though recent negative reviews highlight some emerging reliability issues.

Frequently asked

Does Animation Desk have a good free version?
While Animation Desk is free to download, many users report that essential features like different brush types, colored onion skinning, and even saving work are locked behind paywalls, making the free experience very limited and frustrating R2R4R5R16.
Is Sketchbook good for beginners?
Yes, Sketchbook is widely recommended for beginners due to its user-friendly interface, organized layout, and wide range of easy-to-use features and adjustable brushes R68R77R98. However, some beginners note a lack of in-app tutorials R69.
Do these apps have animation features?
Animation Desk is specifically designed for animation, offering frame-by-frame tools R32R59. Sketchbook, however, is primarily a drawing app, and some users express disappointment that it lacks an animation feature, especially on iPad Pro R75R90.
Are there many ads in these apps?
Animation Desk users report frequent ads, including pop-up questions every time a new frame is pressed R13R35R44R58. In contrast, Sketchbook is praised by many users for having 'NO ads' in its free version R98.

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. [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!
  2. [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.
  3. [R45] Animation Desk® Draw & Animate 3/5 · US Audio issues: The app is good and all but today I wanted to import audio for something important but it said to download music from iTunes and I’m broke so I really hope you can somehow make it to where you can import audio from: screen recordings, audio files, downloaded audio, ect please make my dream come true it would mean the world to me.
  4. [R51] Animation Desk® Draw & Animate 3/5 · US Audio Issues: Hi! This app is amazing! There’s so many features and helpful tools! However, there is one issue that makes this app feel more of a drawing app, and less of an animation app, and that’s the inability to add audio files, specifically on iPad’s IOS. This differs from adding iTunes/Apple music songs, as it allows animators to add snippets of things like rain they recorded, or a scene th
  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. [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?
  9. [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
  10. [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.
  11. [R10] Animation Desk® Draw & Animate 1/5 · US Just a bunch of glitches: I can’t go 3 slides without project destroying glitches
  12. [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
  13. [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!
  14. [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.
  15. [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
  16. [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 :(
  17. [R68] 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
  18. [R69] 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
  19. [R77] 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
  20. [R98] 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!
  21. [R59] Animation Desk® Draw & Animate 5/5 · US Amazing App 5 Stars But: Animation Desk Very Stupendous It's Like I Make Simple Animation Step By Step There's I Lot Of Tutorials To Do For Beginners The Good News Is The Twitter And YouTube Ratio Works Fine But Something Might Be Wrong With This TikTok Ratio It Might Be Glitched No Wonder It Didn't Test Out I Need You To Help Me Fix It Looks Like This Vid Is Turned Out As An Effect Or Glitched Bu
  22. [R75] Sketchbook® 3/5 · US No Animation Feature on iPad Pro?: I don’t understand why they don’t have the animation feature on the iPad Pro version. Pro Create has that feature, Clip Studio, Adobe, and now even apps that out right suck. I like this app’s tool and brushes the most. I just miss the animation feature, since I had projects I was working on before I lost access to the desktop version.
  23. [R90] Sketchbook® 3/5 · US Why can’t I access flipbook on mobile?: Pretty good not that bad but I wish I could access flipbook on mobile
  24. [R13] Animation Desk® Draw & Animate 1/5 · US Why?: I wanted to start my own YouTube channel and do storytime animations, but for some stupid reason, it kept making an inverted copy of my drawing upside down and inverted colors. I was going to ignore it and crop it out using my editing program, but it kept doing it over and over and it eventually messed with the original design on the bottom, and that's whenever I quit. Worst app ever, not to
  25. [R35] Animation Desk® Draw & Animate 4/5 · US It’s good, but…: I love the app, but I don’t understand why every time I try to work on one of my animations, an ad pops up. Other than that, the app is great!
  26. [R44] Animation Desk® Draw & Animate 5/5 · US Horrible!!: I only rated 5 so you can see IT KEEPS ON ASKING POP UP QUESTION EVERY TIME I PRESS NEW FRAME DO NOT DOWNLOAD
  27. [R58] Animation Desk® Draw & Animate 1/5 · US The most infuriating animation program I use: This program, not only has a limit to how far you can zoom in, but I am writing this after my FIFTH TIME, where it deletes 90% of my animation, and there have been countless other times where it corrupts or deletes several frames. On top of ALL of that, the amount of ads that appear is really annoying!!

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