8 Best Procreate Alternatives for Digital Art [Free & Paid]

Procreate is a popular drawing app among many digital artists, but there are a few reasons you might look for a Procreate alternative. It only runs on iPad (and iPhone, through Procreate Pocket). It has no free version. And if you want vector tools, comic features, or animation, you'll also find it limited in those areas.

To give you more choices, this article recommends 8 apps similar to Procreate. Pick the one that matches your device and budget, or read through to see how they compare.

How We Test It

To find the best Procreate alternatives, we looked for apps that offer a similar drawing experience or provide features that Procreate lacks. We compared each app based on the tools and functions that matter most to digital artists, including:

• Drawing and painting tools: We considered the available pencils, pens, brushes, selection tools, and color options for different art styles.
• Brush customization: We looked at how much control each app offers over brush size, texture, opacity, and other settings.
• Animation support: We examined features such as frame-by-frame animation, timelines, and tools for creating moving illustrations.
• Platform compatibility: We compared which apps support iPad, Android, Windows, and macOS.
• Price: We compared free versions, one-time purchases, subscriptions, and paid upgrades.
• Beginner-friendliness: We considered how easy it is to navigate the interface, learn the tools, and start drawing.

These factors help us compare each app's strengths and limitations so you can choose an alternative to Procreate that suits your device, budget, art style, and specific needs.

Part 1. Top 8 Apps Like Procreate for Digital Drawing and Illustration

With those factors in mind, we narrowed the list to eight apps similar to Procreate. Each one comes with a short breakdown of platforms, pricing, pros, cons, and who it suits best.

1. Clip Studio Paint

Clip Studio Paint is a digital drawing and painting app designed for illustrators, comic artists, manga creators, and animators. It offers a broad set of drawing tools, customizable brushes, perspective rulers, and 3D reference models to help you with character poses and drawing references.

2. Krita

If you want a free alternative to Procreate with a good brush engine, Krita is the most common answer. Krita is free, open-source software designed for digital painting and illustration. Unlike Procreate, it runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, making it a practical choice for artists who prefer drawing on a computer rather than an iPad.

3. MediBang Paint

MediBang Paint is another free alternative to Procreate that you can consider, especially if you create illustrations, manga, and comics. Its main draw is cloud saving, which lets you start a drawing on your phone and finish it on a desktop. However, some materials and advanced features require a subscription, and the free experience may include advertisements.

4. Affinity Designer

The next Procreate alternative on our list is Affinity Designer. It's a vector and raster design app that artists often use for illustration, logos, and icons. It focuses on precise shapes, curves, and scalable artwork rather than a painting-first experience like Procreate, so it suits clean, sharp artwork better than textured paintings. After Canva acquired Affinity, the app became free for individual use.

5. Infinite Painter

Infinite Painter is a digital painting app designed for mobile and tablet artists. Among the Procreate similar apps available, it stands out for its interface, which is built around drawing directly on a screen. Infinite Painter is worth considering if you want an experience closer to Procreate on a tablet. You can start with the available free features and purchase additional access through in-app purchases.

6. ibisPaint

ibisPaint is a popular drawing app for anime art, character illustrations, manga, and casual digital sketching. It supports multiple platforms and offers cloud storage to help you access your artwork across compatible devices. The free version is fairly generous, though it displays ads. Its paid upgrades are relatively affordable compared with other drawing apps, making ibisPaint a good option if you want a Procreate alternative without a costly subscription.

7. Artstudio Pro

Artstudio Pro is a digital painting app that also includes photo-editing tools for artists who want more control over their artwork. It sits somewhere between Procreate and Photoshop, with features such as advanced brushes, layer controls, and image adjustments. Since Artstudio Pro's designed for Apple devices, it can be a good Procreate alternative for iPad.

8. Adobe Fresco

Fresco is a drawing and painting app from Adobe that supports both realistic painting effects and precise vector illustrations. You can layer soft watercolor washes under sharp vector lines, and use vector trimming to clean up shapes. If you want to add a simple movement, there are also built-in motion presets that add a quick bob, bounce, or spin to a finished drawing.

Part 2. Which Procreate Alternative Is Right for You? A Quick Comparison

If you have trouble choosing between all eight apps, use this table to compare the best Procreate alternatives at a glance. The quick matches after it point you to the right app for your situation.

So, what are you looking for in a Procreate alternative?

• If you are not an iPad user: Clip Studio Paint, MediBang Paint, ibisPaint, and Krita
• If you want a free app like Procreate: Krita, Adobe Fresco, ibisPaint, MediBang Paint, and Affinity Designer
• If you draw comics or manga: Clip Studio Paint and MediBang Paint
• If you want a one-time purchase: Artstudio Pro and Infinite Painter
• If you want vector tools: Affinity Designer and Adobe Fresco.

Part 3. Do More With Your Digital Artwork Using Filmora

There's more than one road to a great drawing. Even with apps like Procreate above, you can still create and share work you're proud of. The same idea also applies when you want to show that work to more people.

But to get it seen, a short video of your process or a small animation usually stands out more than a still image in a feed. If video editing feels like a hassle, Wondershare Filmora is a simple editor to start with.

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Filmora is a video editor that handles the post-production side of your art. There are animation tools like keyframes and built-in motion presets. You can also add music, place text and captions over your artwork, and edit in a multi-track timeline to make vertical videos for Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts.

For extra polish, Filmora includes a pen tool, templates, perspective text, a screen recorder, and creative assets like stickers and effects. Together with the animation and editing tools above, you can make:

• Art process and speed-drawing videos
• Animated artwork and illustrations
• Digital art tutorials
• Art portfolio and showcase videos
• Before-and-after artwork videos
• Slideshow videos featuring multiple artworks

Filmora

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Conclusion

Procreate is a great app, but it isn't the only way to make good digital art. If you're not using an iPad, check out Clip Studio Paint or MediBang Paint. If you want an app like Procreate but free, try Krita, Adobe Fresco, or ibisPaint. Most of these apps have a free version or trial, so shortlist the ones that interest you most and try them out.

If you want to show your work to more people, Filmora can turn your drawings into videos worth sharing on social media. Don't keep it to yourself, because your art deserves more than a spot in your camera roll.