Procreate review
Pro painting on iPad for a one-time $12.99
- Savage Interactive
- Paid
- iPhone & iPad
Does it deserve #1?
Is Procreate worth it?
Yes. Procreate scores 9.4/10 and ranks #1 in Design & Creativity. It's best for illustrators, letterers and hobby painters who draw on an iPad with Apple Pencil. Skip it if you draw on a Windows PC, a Mac or an Android tablet. Price: $12.99 once on the App Store; the iPhone version, Procreate Pocket, is $5.99.
The verdict
Procreate turns an iPad and Apple Pencil into a serious sketchbook. You get hundreds of brushes, a Brush Studio for making your own, QuickShape and StreamLine for clean lines, Page Assist for comics and even painting on 3D models. You pay $12.99 once, there's no account, and Apple's label says it collects no data. The catch: it's iPad only, and there's still no built-in gradient tool.
- 300+ brushes and Brush Studio
- Brush libraries with search
- QuickShape and StreamLine
- Painting on 3D models
- Time-lapse replay
- Page Assist for comics
Score breakdown
Overall = features 30% · design 20% · speed 20% · value 15% · privacy 15%. Why these weights?
What's new
- Oct 2026Procreate Pocket 5 for iPhone adds brush libraries, 150+ new brushes and Page Assist
- Jul 2026The Eyedropper can sample just the active layer, plus Spanish language support
- Sep 2025Procreate 5.4 added brush libraries, Brush Search and about 180 new brushes
Privacy 9.8/10
App Store label: Data Not Collected. There are no accounts and no tracking, and Procreate has publicly committed to keeping generative AI out of its apps.
What we like
- Pay $12.99 once, with no subscription
- No account, no tracking and no data collected
- Huge brush set plus tools to build your own
What could be better
- iPad only, with no Mac, Windows or Android version
- No account means no built-in cloud backup
- Still no built-in gradient tool
Illustrators, letterers and hobby painters who draw on an iPad with Apple Pencil
you draw on a Windows PC, a Mac or an Android tablet
Questions about Procreate
Is Procreate worth it in 2026?
Yes. Procreate scores 9.4/10 and ranks #1 in Design & Creativity. It's best for illustrators, letterers and hobby painters who draw on an iPad with Apple Pencil. Skip it if you draw on a Windows PC, a Mac or an Android tablet. Price: $12.99 once on the App Store; the iPhone version, Procreate Pocket, is $5.99.
Is Procreate a subscription?
No. Procreate is a one-time $12.99 purchase on the App Store, and the company says it has no subscriptions.
Is Procreate on Android or Windows?
No, Procreate runs only on iPad. Procreate Pocket is the iPhone version, and Procreate Dreams is its iPad animation app.
Does Procreate use generative AI?
No. Procreate has publicly committed to keeping generative AI out of its apps and says it has no access to your artwork.
What are the best alternatives to Procreate?
The closest alternatives are Krita, Affinity and Blender. See all of them ranked on our Procreate alternatives page.
Where does Procreate rank?
Procreate ranks #1 of 10 in our Design & Creativity ranking, with an overall score of 9.4 out of 10.