By ibis
Report updated Apr 16, 2026
ibis Paint
For digital artists, manga creators, and illustrators ranging from hobbyists to professionals who value social sharing and high-performance mobile drawing tools.
ibis Paint is a market-leading graphics & design app that is free with in-app purchases. With a 4.5/5 rating from 2.9M reviews, it delivers strong user satisfaction. Users particularly appreciate feature richness, though ui/ux friction remains a common concern.
What is ibis Paint?
Current Momentum
v14.0 · 3d ago
Steadyibis Paint 14.0.0 introduced multi-palette management, QR code sharing, and expanded CMYK/grayscale export support. The app maintains a steady cadence of feature-rich updates.
Active Nemesis
Procreate
By Savage Interactive Pty
Other Rivals
7-Day Rank Pulse 🇺🇸
Graphics & DesignRating Pulse 🇺🇸
Recent User MoodAI-powered deep analysis surfacing high-signal insights. Still in beta, accuracy improves daily. For informational purposes only.
What makes this app unique?
What Does It Look Like?
How Is The App's Momentum Right Now?
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What Are The Key Features?
Records the entire drawing process as a video for sharing and learning
Over 47,000 types of brushes including various pens, markers, and stamps
Integrated platform to share artwork, watch process videos, and learn techniques
Includes AI Disturbance to prevent unauthorized AI training and AI Super-resolution
How much does it cost?
- Free version (ibis Paint X) with advertisements
- Paid version (ibis Paint) at $15.99 (one-time)
- Premium Membership (Monthly/Yearly) for cloud storage and advanced tools
Uses a high-volume free-to-play model to drive acquisition, monetizing through ad-removal upgrades and recurring subscriptions for power users requiring cloud storage and vector tools.
Who Built It?
ibis
Empowering digital artists with professional-grade illustration tools and a social ecosystem for sharing the creative process on mobile.
Portfolio
2
Apps
Who is ibis?
ibis inc. has established a dominant position in the mobile illustration market by prioritizing social learning and process recording over traditional static toolsets. Their primary moat is a massive community-driven network effect where users share time-lapse videos of their work, creating a self-sustaining educational environment that desktop-legacy incumbents struggle to replicate. The publisher maintains a disciplined dual-track monetization strategy, successfully balancing a high-volume ad-supported version with a premium paid tier.
Who is ibis for?
- Digital artists
- Manga creators
- Ranging from hobbyists to professionals
- Who value mobile portability
Portfolio momentum
Maintains an active development cycle with 9 updates across its 2 flagship titles in the last 6 months, with the most recent major release occurring 15 days ago.
What other apps does ibis make?
What do users think recently?
High confidence · Latest 100 of 2.9M total reviews analyzed
How did the latest release land?
What is the recent mood?
Recent user voice shows a thrilled sentiment. Users appreciate feature richness and accessibility and value, but report ui/ux friction and ad-related stability.
What Users Love
What Frustrates Users
What is the competitive landscape for ibis Paint?
How's The Graphics & Design Market?
How does it evolve in the Graphics & Design market?
| Chart | Rank | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Paid | #6 |
The rivals identified
The Nemesis
Head to Head
ibis Paint should defend its position by doubling down on its 'all-in-one' asset library and Android accessibility, while Procreate remains the target for high-end professional iPad workflows.
What sets ibis Paint apart
Cross-platform availability on Android allows ibis to capture the massive non-Apple hardware market where Procreate is absent.
Deep specialized toolset for Manga/Webtoon creators, including 46 screentones and 27,000+ pre-made materials.
What's Procreate's Edge
Professional-grade 3D texture painting and AR preview capabilities for industrial designers and character artists.
Superior brush customization engine (Brush Studio) with more granular dual-brush and stabilization settings.
Contenders
Hybrid vector and raster workflow allows users to scale artwork infinitely without losing pixel quality.
Live Brushes use AI to simulate the physical behavior of oil and watercolor, providing a more 'analog' feel than ibis's digital-first brushes.
Ultra-clean 'Zen' interface that hides all UI elements during active strokes to maximize screen real estate.
Perspective guides and predictive stroke tools optimized for industrial design and architectural sketching rather than finished illustration.
Integrated cloud-saving and team project features allow multiple artists to work on the same comic manuscript simultaneously.
Specialized 'Snap' rulers for perspective and speed lines are more robust for comic paneling than ibis's general-purpose rulers.
Advanced 3D posing mannequins that allow artists to set up complex anatomy references directly on the canvas.
Vector layer support specifically for line art, allowing users to move and edit individual strokes after they are drawn.
Peers
Infinite canvas architecture allows for unlimited brainstorming and large-scale mural planning.
Precision-focused toolset including CAD-like measurement tools and object-based editing.
Frame-by-frame animation timeline with onion skinning and audio syncing capabilities.
Social-first export options optimized for TikTok and YouTube Shorts creators.
AI-powered 'Auto Trace' feature converts raster photos into editable vector paths instantly.
Focus on marketing assets (social media templates, icons) rather than freehand digital painting.
Advanced perspective grids (1-point, 2-point, 3-point, and curvilinear) that surpass ibis's standard rulers.
Unique 'Clone' tool that allows artists to turn any photo into a paintable texture in real-time.
New Kids on the Block
Introduces 'Performing'—a feature that records user gestures in real-time to create complex animations without keyframes.
Supports massive resolutions and hundreds of layers, leveraging iPad silicon in ways ibis Paint's general engine cannot.
The outtake for ibis Paint
Strengths to defend, gaps to attack
Core Strengths
- Massive asset library (47k+ brushes, 27k+ materials)
- Strong Android presence where Procreate is unavailable
- Unique integrated social learning via process videos
- High user loyalty with long-term retention
Critical Frictions
- Dated UI aesthetic causing friction with long-term users
- Stability issues (freezes/crashes) linked to ad-banner delivery
- Lack of audio support in the animation feature set
Growth Levers
- Modernize UI to compete with minimalist professional tools
- Add 3D painting capabilities to match Procreate's engine
- Enhance team collaboration tools for manga/comic manuscripts
Market Threats
- HiPaint capturing Android users with a modern Procreate-style UI
- Procreate Dreams disrupting the mobile 2D animation market
- Adobe Fresco's AI-driven 'Live Brushes' attracting analog-style artists
What are the next best moves?
Modernize the UI/UX layout
UI/UX Friction is a medium-frequency complaint theme where users explicitly state the design is 'old looking' and the recent update was unwanted.
Integrate audio support for Animation features
Users explicitly requested audio for animations in reviews, and competitors like FlipaClip already offer this functionality.
Optimize ad-banner stability
Ad-related crashes are a significant stability complaint that directly impacts the user experience for the high-volume free user base.
Feature Gaps vs Competitors
- 3D model painting and lighting (available in Procreate)
- Audio syncing for animations (available in FlipaClip and Procreate Dreams)
- Infinite canvas (available in Concepts)
- Advanced 3D posing mannequins (available in Clip Studio Paint)
- Real-time team collaboration for comic manuscripts (available in MediBang Paint)
Key Takeaways
ibis Paint is a feature-rich powerhouse that dominates the Android illustration market, but it is currently at a crossroads. To maintain its lead, the PM must prioritize a UI modernization that balances professional aesthetics with existing functionality, while addressing the stability of its ad-supported tier to prevent churn to emerging 'Procreate-style' clones on Android.
Where Is It Heading?
Stable
v14.0.1 (April 2026) added CMYK support and Shape tool enhancements — shows active investment in professional workflows.
User mood is 'Frustrated' regarding the recent UI update — indicates a risk of alienating the core loyal user base.
Maintains #5 Paid ranking in US — suggests strong commercial demand despite UI complaints.