ibis Paint is a high-performance digital illustration app for mobile devices, offering professional-grade drawing and animation tools to hobbyists and artists.
Product velocity
Maintenance
Daily rank 🇺🇸
#3
▼1Graphics & Design · paid
Sentiment
4.5
2.9M reviews
Nemesis
Procreate
The App DNA
What makes this app unique?
Users open the app to create complex digital art on-the-go, replacing the need for desktop-bound software while accessing a massive, pre-loaded asset library.
For Digital artists and manga creators ranging from hobbyists to professionals seeking desktop-grade features on mobile devices.
What does it look like?
Key features
Captures creation sequences for social sharing, acting as a viral acquisition channel.
Access to over 47,000 brushes and 27,000 materials, acting as a retention lever.
Adds noise to illustrations to prevent unauthorized AI training, gated behind Premium.
How much does it cost?
Hybrid model combining one-time ad-removal with recurring subscriptions for advanced tools and cloud capacity.
Velocity
Maintenance developmentperformanceUX improvementsShow more...
With 9 releases over the observed window and a last update 110 days ago, the development cadence is currently in a maintenance phase. The latest release addresses specific crash triggers related to layer management and tool usage, following a pattern of incremental stability improvements. Development activity has been stable but focused exclusively on technical refinements rather than new feature expansion. The current pace of roughly one release every 6 to 8 weeks suggests a focus on long-term stability over rapid feature iteration.
Who built it?
User Sentiment
What do users think recently?
Recent user voice shows a thrilled sentiment. Users appreciate extensive brush library and custom import capabilities allow artists to achieve professional-grade digital illustration results and intuitive animation features enable beginners to create high-quality motion content without complex professional software, but report unexpected app crashes and frame drops during intensive tasks disrupt the creative flow for many users.
How are ratings & reviews evolving?
What users say, by theme
- Extensive brush library and custom import capabilities allow artists to achieve professional-grade digital illustration results
- Intuitive animation features enable beginners to create high-quality motion content without complex professional software
- Offline functionality ensures artists can maintain their creative workflow without constant internet connectivity or ad interruptions
- Unexpected app crashes and frame drops during intensive tasks disrupt the creative flow for many users
108 of 156 recent reviews analyzed · high confidence · Thrilled overall
Read the full review analysisUnlock 2 more frustration themes and 2 user requests, each backed by review evidence.
Access the full report for freeCompetition
Competitive landscape for ibis Paint
How's the Graphics & Design market?
ibis Paint maintains a #1 Paid position in the Art & Design category across multiple markets, signaling strong brand authority despite the subscription friction. The gap between its #1 Paid rank and lower Grossing positions indicates potential for better conversion of the free-tier user base.
Read the market outlookThe rivals identified
By Savage Interactive Pty Ltd
Procreate maintains the highest market share and brand authority among professional digital illustrators, serving as the primary benchmark for high-performance mobile painting.
- One-time purchase model avoids the recurring subscription friction found in many modern design tools
- Industry-standard brush engine and layer management workflows define the professional mobile illustration category
- Deep integration with Apple Pencil hardware provides a tactile latency-free experience for professional artists
FlipaClip: Draw 2D AnimationContender
Adobe Firefly: AI GeneratorContender
Leonardo.Ai - Image GeneratorContenderUnlock the head-to-head verdict: where this rival wins, and where it loses.
Access the full report for freeThe Analyst's Read
Key takeaways for ibis Paint
Where is it heading?
The graphics market is consolidating around high-performance mobile tools, and ibis Paint's maintenance-heavy cadence leaves it vulnerable to rivals with faster feature-release cycles. Addressing the stability gaps and clarifying the subscription value will determine if the app can retain its professional user base against more specialized competitors.
- Stability issues on large canvases disrupt the creative flow, which compounds the rating drag already visible on Android.
- The community-sharing feature continues to drive organic acquisition, maintaining the app's chart position despite the maintenance-only release cadence.
The SWOT
- Process-recording social sharing drives organic install velocity.
- 47,000+ brush library functions as a barrier to entry for casual competitors.
- Audio support integration would capture the animation-focused segment currently served by niche rivals.
Next best moves
Ship stability patches for large canvases because crashes are the #1 frustration theme → reduce churn
+ 1 more prioritized moveThe counter-intuitive read
The app's massive asset library is a double-edged sword…
Read the full takeFeature gaps
Audio support for animation (available in FlipaClip but missing here) +1
Since the last report: The app has shifted its strategic focus toward community-driven acquisition via gallery integration, while simultaneously facing increased churn risk from monetization friction and unresolved stability regressions on large canvases.
Bottom line
Stabilizing the rendering engine for high-resolution canvases would unlock the professional segment currently lost to Procreate. The current monetization friction is a self-inflicted churn risk that, if addressed, would allow the app to better capitalize on its massive user base.
Unlock 2 critical frictions, 1 market threat, 1 more prioritized move and the analyst’s take.
Access the full report for freeFAQ
Is ibis Paint good for professional digital art?
How does ibis Paint compare to Procreate?
Does ibis Paint have intrusive ads?
What is a free alternative to ibis Paint?
Sources
Report last updated