Art · alternatives
Alternatives to Procreate
6 art tools sit alongside Procreate in this directory. Below is what separates each from Procreate on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 6
- With a free tier
- 2
- Cheaper to start
- 2
- Procreate starts at
- $12.99/one-time
Why people look past Procreate
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Procreate entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
There is no free tier
The record for Procreate carries no free tier, so evaluating it means paying first. 2 of the 6 alternatives below can be used without paying.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Professional illustration and animation software
- Starts $8.5 a month cheaper, at $4.49/month.
- 6 tiers to Procreate's 3.
Free and open-source digital painting software
- Can be used without paying; Procreate cannot.
Professional vector design for Mac and iPad
- Can be used without paying; Procreate cannot.
- Starts $1 a month cheaper, at $11.99/month.
A digital artist studio with tools that look and work like the real things
Priced and rated the same as Procreate on the figures we hold. The difference, if there is one, is in the feature records.
Edit. Animate. Create.
Priced and rated the same as Procreate on the figures we hold. The difference, if there is one, is in the feature records.
Hyper-realistic painting software for oils, acrylics and watercolors
Priced and rated the same as Procreate on the figures we hold. The difference, if there is one, is in the feature records.
Every Procreate alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Procreate (this page) | $12.99/one-time | - | 3 | |
| Clip Studio PaintProfessional digital art software available on iPad and desktop with comprehensive comic and manga tools. | $4.49/month | - | 6 | vs Procreate |
| KritaFree open-source digital painting software for desktop with similar layer management and brush customization. | Free | - | - | vs Procreate |
| Linearity CurveiPad vector graphics editor with intuitive interface and modern design tools similar to Procreate's approach. | Free, then $11.99/month | - | 3 | vs Procreate |
| ArtRage | On request | Subscription | - | vs Procreate |
| Procreate Dreams | On request | One-time | - | vs Procreate |
| Rebelle | On request | One-time | - | vs Procreate |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Procreate badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (2)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Krita , Free
- Linearity Curve , Free, then $11.99/month
Cheaper than Procreate (2)
Entry price under Procreate's $12.99/one-time. The record does not say what unit that price is charged in, so confirm per-seat versus flat rate before comparing budgets.
- Clip Studio Paint , $4.49/month
- Linearity Curve , Free, then $11.99/month
What you would be giving up
Procreate is most often brought in for digital illustration, concept art, character design, educational art, hobby drawing. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Procreate is broadly right and the question is cost, the Procreate pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Art category lists everything the directory holds, and best art tools ranks them.
Procreate runs on ipad. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Procreate alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Procreate?
- 6 other art tools are listed in this directory, led by Clip Studio Paint, Krita, Linearity Curve, ArtRage. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Procreate?
- 2 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Krita, Linearity Curve.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to Procreate?
- Yes. 2 of the alternatives below start under Procreate's $12.99/one-time: Clip Studio Paint at $4.49/month, Linearity Curve at Free, then $11.99/month.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Procreate?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: there is no free tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Procreate?
- Procreate is most often brought in for digital illustration, concept art, character design, educational art, hobby drawing. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Procreate?
- None of the art tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these Procreate alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Art, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored slot runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Procreate against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Procreate covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every art tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Art category, 6 tools beside Procreate. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.