Procreate vs Clip Studio Paint
Which is better in 2026? Five scores, side by side.
Procreate is the better app overall, scoring 9.4 to 8.3. Procreate wins on 4 of the 5 scores, Clip Studio Paint on 1.
Illustrators, letterers and hobby painters who draw on an iPad with Apple Pencil
Comic, manga and webtoon artists who want pro tools on iPad and desktop
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Procreate | Clip Studio Paint |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Design & Creativity | Design & Creativity |
| Category rank | #1 of 10 | #9 of 10 |
| Developer | Savage Interactive | CELSYS |
| Pricing | Paid | Subscription |
| Usable for free | No | No |
| iPhone & iPad | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | — | ✓ |
| Mac | — | ✓ |
| Windows | — | ✓ |
Common questions
Is Procreate better than Clip Studio Paint?
Procreate is the better app overall, scoring 9.4 to 8.3. Procreate wins on 4 of the 5 scores, Clip Studio Paint on 1.
Which is cheaper, Procreate or Clip Studio Paint?
Procreate: $12.99 once on the App Store; the iPhone version, Procreate Pocket, is $5.99. Clip Studio Paint: 30-day free trial on iPad, then plans from $4.89 a month; one-time buy on Windows and Mac. On value for money, Procreate scores higher.
Do Procreate and Clip Studio Paint work on the same devices?
Only Clip Studio Paint runs on Android, Mac, Windows.
Which is more private, Procreate or Clip Studio Paint?
Procreate scores higher on 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.
Strengths and weaknesses
Procreate
- Pay $12.99 once, with no subscription
- No account, no tracking and no data collected
- Huge brush set plus tools to build your own
- iPad only, with no Mac, Windows or Android version
- No account means no built-in cloud backup
- Still no built-in gradient tool
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.
Full Procreate review
Clip Studio Paint
- Complete comic toolkit, from storyboard to print
- Posable 3D models help with anatomy and perspective
- Same app on iPad, iPhone, Android, Windows and Mac
- Saving and exporting on iPad need a paid plan
- Busy, desktop-style interface takes time to learn
- Multi-page comics and long animations need pricier EX
Clip Studio Paint is built for comics and manga, and it shows. Panel frames, speech balloons, effect lines and screentones sit next to frame-by-frame animation and posable 3D models you can draw over. Version 5 added Smart Shape for clean lines, and the same tools run on iPad, iPhone, Android, Windows and Mac. The catch on iPad: after the free trial you need a plan just to save or export, and the interface feels like desktop software.
Full Clip Studio Paint review
