Adobe Fresco vs ibisPaint X
Which is better in 2026? Five scores, side by side.
Adobe Fresco is the better app overall, scoring 8.6 to 7.9. Adobe Fresco wins on 3 of the 5 scores, ibisPaint X on 0, with 2 tied.
Beginners and hobby painters who want a capable drawing app that costs nothing
Students and hobby artists who want a capable free app on an iPad or phone
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Adobe Fresco | ibisPaint X |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Design & Creativity | Design & Creativity |
| Category rank | #6 of 10 | #10 of 10 |
| Developer | Adobe | ibis inc. |
| Pricing | Free | Free + paid plans |
| Usable for free | Yes | Yes |
| iPhone & iPad | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | — | ✓ |
| Mac | — | ✓ |
| Windows | ✓ | ✓ |
Common questions
Is Adobe Fresco better than ibisPaint X?
Adobe Fresco is the better app overall, scoring 8.6 to 7.9. Adobe Fresco wins on 3 of the 5 scores, ibisPaint X on 0, with 2 tied.
Which is cheaper, Adobe Fresco or ibisPaint X?
Adobe Fresco: Free on iPad, iPhone and Windows; optional Adobe plans add Photoshop on iPad. ibisPaint X: Free with ads; ad removal is $15.99 once, or Premium is $4.49 a month. On value for money, Adobe Fresco scores higher.
Do Adobe Fresco and ibisPaint X work on the same devices?
Only ibisPaint X runs on Android, Mac.
Which is more private, Adobe Fresco or ibisPaint X?
Adobe Fresco scores higher on privacy (7.3/10). App Store label: no tracking, but financial info, location, contact info, contacts, user content, IDs, usage and diagnostics may be linked to you. Adobe says it doesn't train generative AI on your work.
Strengths and weaknesses
Adobe Fresco
- Free, with thousands of brushes and no ads
- Live, vector and pixel brushes on one canvas
- Animation built in, plus easy hand-off to Photoshop
- Privacy label links a lot of data to your identity
- Cloud saving and all brush packs need an Adobe sign-in
- No Android or Mac version
Adobe Fresco gives you a real painting studio on iPad, iPhone or a Windows PC for free. Live brushes that blend like real paint, crisp vector brushes and pixel brushes share one canvas, and frame-by-frame animation, motion paths and Photoshop brush import round it out. There are no ads, and you can start drawing before you sign in. A free Adobe account unlocks cloud saving and every brush pack, and the privacy label links plenty of data to you.
Full Adobe Fresco review
ibisPaint X
- Generous free version with a huge brush library
- Animation, vector and comic tools in one app
- Runs on iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows and Mac
- Ads in the free version unless you pay
- Privacy label lists data used to track you
- Free vector tool use is capped at an hour a day
ibisPaint X shows how deep a free drawing app can go. You get a huge brush library, layers with blend modes, vector and text tools, screentones, rulers, frame-by-frame animation and time-lapse recording, and it runs on phones as well as iPad. The catch is the business model: ads in the free version, Premium for the best filters and unlimited vector use, and a privacy label that lists data used to track you.
Full ibisPaint X review
