Procreate is a drawing and painting application for iPad, bought once for $12.99 with no subscription. Its companion apps cover animation and the iPhone. It is also the clearest counter-position in creative software: the studio has published a refusal to add generative AI, and states that it has no access to your artwork.
Procreate: the short answer
Every line below is drawn from facts verified on 19 August 2026.
- What it is
- Illustration on an iPad for $12.99 once, from a studio that refuses generative AI
- Best for
- Illustrators, concept artists and anyone drawing with an Apple Pencil
- Starts at
- $12.99 one-time for iPad; Pocket $5.99 one-time
- Free option
- No free plan, no trial
- Biggest strength
- $12.99 once, with no subscription, no account and no upsell
- Biggest drawback
- iPad and iPhone only; there is no desktop, Windows or Android version
- Based on
- Primary-source research, not hands-on use
- Closest alternative
- Adobe Fresco - Free tier and part of Creative Cloud, with cloud documents and Adobe file exchange
Procreate at a glance
| Best for | Illustrators, concept artists and anyone drawing with an Apple Pencil, Buyers who want a one-time purchase and no account, Artists who do not want generative AI in their tool |
|---|---|
| Category | Design, Marketing |
| Starting price | $12.99 one-time for iPad; Pocket $5.99 one-time |
| Free plan | No |
| Free trial | No trial offered |
| Pricing model | one time |
| Company | Savage Interactive Pty Ltd |
| Founded | Not disclosed |
| Headquarters | Hobart, Australia |
| Founders | Not disclosed |
| Platforms | iPadOS, iOS |
| Public API | No |
| Browser extension | No |
| Mobile apps | iOS |
| Self-hosting | No |
| Affiliate programme | No |
| Data source | Vendor pricing page and public records |
| Last checked | August 2026 |
Procreate pricing
Prices below were read from the vendor's own pricing page on 19 August 2026. Pricing model: one time. No free trial is offered.
| Plan | Price | Billing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Procreate for iPad | $12.99 | per one-time | One purchase from the App Store, no subscription. Brushes, layers, animation assist, 3D model painting and time-lapse recording |
| Procreate Dreams | $12.99 | per one-time | The companion animation and motion app for iPad, also a single purchase |
| Procreate Pocket | $5.99 | per one-time | The iPhone version, also a single purchase |
Which Procreate plan should you buy?
| Your situation | Recommended | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You draw or paint on an iPad | Procreate for iPad | $12.99 once. There is no cheaper professional illustration tool with this depth. |
| You animate, or make motion pieces from your drawings | Procreate Dreams | Also $12.99 once, and a separate app rather than a feature of the first. |
| You sketch on a phone | Procreate Pocket | $5.99 once for the iPhone version. |
| You need generative fill or AI image generation | Do not buy Procreate | The studio has published a refusal to add generative AI. That is a stated position, not a roadmap gap. |
| You work on Windows, Android or a desktop | Consider Affinity or Adobe Fresco instead | Procreate is Apple-only, and Affinity is free on Windows and macOS. |
Verdict by who you are
Illustrator or concept artistYes
At $12.99 once it is the least risky purchase in this category, and the drawing experience is the reason people buy iPads.
Designer doing layout, print or interfacesNo
It does none of those jobs and does not claim to.
Studio that needs shared files and reviewNo
Single-author files with no shared workspace or real-time editing.
Artist who objects to generative AIYes
The published position - no generative AI, no access to your art, no tracking - is the clearest in the category.
Should you buy Procreate?
Buy Procreate if…
- Illustrators, concept artists and anyone drawing with an Apple Pencil
- Buyers who want a one-time purchase and no account
- Artists who do not want generative AI in their tool
Do not buy Procreate if…
- Interface, layout or print production work
- Windows, Android or desktop users of any kind
- Teams that need shared files and real-time collaboration
Best Procreate alternative for each job
Chosen by what you are trying to do rather than by which product is closest overall, because the right replacement depends on the job.
| If you mainly need to… | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Illustrate on a desktop | Affinity | Free, with vector and pixel tools, on Windows and macOS. |
| Draw with AI assistance | Adobe Creative Cloud | Firefly generative tools are included, which Procreate refuses on principle. |
| Animate a drawing | Procreate Dreams | The same studio's animation app, a separate $12.99 purchase. |
| Generate illustration and vector art from prompts | Recraft | The opposite philosophy, priced from $10 a month billed annually. |
Key features
- A brush library covering pencils, inks, charcoals and painterly textures, all customisable
- Brush Studio for building brushes, and thousands of third-party brushes
- Apple Pencil support tuned for pressure, tilt and low latency
- QuickShape, StreamLine and Drawing Assist for clean linework
- Page Assist for comics, storyboards and concept decks
- Painting directly onto 3D models
- Time-lapse recording of every piece
- No account required, and no tracking in the apps
Integrations
- Apple Pencil
- iCloud and Files export
- PSD, TIFF, PNG, JPEG and PDF export
Our assessment
Procreate is the rare piece of professional creative software with no subscription, no account and no recurring anything: $12.99 once, and the iPad becomes a studio. It earns its place on a design shortlist for illustration specifically - brushes, linework, painting, storyboards, painting onto 3D models - and it is not trying to do interfaces, layout or print production. The unusual thing worth reading before you buy is the studio's published position on generative AI, which is a flat refusal: no generative AI in the apps, no access to your artwork by design, no activity tracking. That is a real product decision with consequences in both directions. If you want AI fill or generation in your drawing tool, this is deliberately the wrong tool and Adobe or Canva are the right ones. If you want a tool that will not train on your work or hand you generated art, very little else in this category will state that as plainly. The limits are the obvious ones: Apple hardware only, and single-author files.
What works in Procreate
- $12.99 once, with no subscription, no account and no upsell
- The strongest drawing and painting experience on any tablet, tuned for Apple Pencil
- A published position against generative AI, and a stated policy of no access to your art
- Companion animation and iPhone apps are also one-time purchases
What doesn't
- iPad and iPhone only; there is no desktop, Windows or Android version
- No layout, print production or interface design capability
- No real-time collaboration and no shared workspace
- Deliberately no generative AI, which will rule it out for some workflows
EveryAny Decision Score
2 of these 7 dimensions are calculated from verified facts; the rest are our judgement, shown as a band rather than a figure unless something specific sits behind them. How each score works.
- Portability3/10
derivedno portability signals
- Subscription flexibility5/10
derivedone time
- Feature depthHigh
editorialour judgement, with no measurement behind it
- Ease of learningVery high
editorialour judgement, with no measurement behind it
- Collaboration2/10
editorialSingle-author documents, exported as files. There is no shared workspace.
- AI capability0/10
editorialZero by choice, not by omission. Procreate publishes a position against generative AI and states it has no access to your artwork.
- Professional adoption9/10
editorialProcreate describes itself as the number one drawing app for iPad and is a repeat Apple Design Award winner; no user count is published.
What leaving Procreate would cost
high lock-in
Procreate offers none of the four portability signals we check, so anything you build here stays here. Portability 3/10 ; lock-in is the inverse. How this is calculated.
Procreate competitors and alternatives
| Alternative | Why you might pick it instead |
|---|---|
| Adobe Fresco | Free tier and part of Creative Cloud, with cloud documents and Adobe file exchange. |
| Affinity | Free, and far better at layout and print, but Windows and macOS only for now. |
| Clip Studio Paint | Deeper comic and manga toolset, sold as a subscription or a licence. |
Adobe Creative Cloud
Design
The professional creative stack, rented rather than owned.
Affinity
Design
A professional photo, vector and layout suite that now costs nothing.
Three apps, three one-time prices
| App | Price | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Procreate for iPad | $12.99 once | Drawing, painting, illustration |
| Procreate Dreams | $12.99 once | Animation and motion |
| Procreate Pocket | $5.99 once | The iPhone version |
No subscriptions, and the pages say so in those words. Regional App Store pricing may differ, which Procreate notes itself.
Set that against the rest of this category: a year of Adobe Creative Cloud is $839.88 on a twelve-month commitment, and a year of Figma Professional is $192 a seat. Procreate is a rounding error, once.
The AI position is a product decision, and it is published
Most vendors are quiet about what their AI does with your work. Procreate has a page about it, and it is unambiguous: no generative AI, no access to your art “by design”, and no activity tracking in the apps. Its own words: “Generative AI is ripping the humanity out of things… We’re not chasing a technology that is a moral threat to our greatest jewel: human creativity.”
Whatever you think of the argument, it is a fact you can plan around, and it cuts both ways:
- If you want generative fill, expansion or image generation in your drawing tool, this is deliberately the wrong purchase. Adobe includes Firefly, and Recraft is built entirely around generation.
- If you want a tool that states it will not touch your artwork, almost nothing else in this category says so on the record.
What it does not do
No page layout. No print colour management. No components or design systems. No desktop version at all - Procreate is iPad and iPhone, so a Windows or Android artist cannot buy it at any price, and Affinity is the free alternative that runs on desktops.
It is also single-author: files export as PSD, TIFF, PNG, JPEG or PDF, and there is no shared workspace or live collaboration. For an illustrator that is usually irrelevant. For a studio passing work between three people daily, it is the thing that decides against it.
Where it sits in a stack
Procreate is where the drawing happens; something else is where the drawing gets used. The common pairing is Procreate for artwork, then Affinity or Canva for the layout that carries it, which together cost $12.99 and nothing. Our design tools guide prices that combination against the subscription suites.
Procreate questions, answered
- Is Procreate worth it?
- Procreate is the rare piece of professional creative software with no subscription, no account and no recurring anything: $12.99 once, and the iPad becomes a studio.
- How much does Procreate cost?
- $12.99 one-time for iPad; Pocket $5.99 one-time. Verified against the vendor's pricing page.
- Does Procreate have a free plan or free trial?
- Procreate has no free plan. No free trial is offered.
- What is the best Procreate alternative?
- It depends on the job. Adobe Fresco: Free tier and part of Creative Cloud, with cloud documents and Adobe file exchange. Affinity: Free, and far better at layout and print, but Windows and macOS only for now. Clip Studio Paint: Deeper comic and manga toolset, sold as a subscription or a licence.
- Can I self-host Procreate?
- No. Procreate is a hosted service only, so your data lives on the vendor's infrastructure.
What this profile is based on
Every claim below is about our work, not about Procreate. A "no" is recorded rather than omitted, because the difference between a tested review and careful desk research is the reader's to weigh. How we research a profile.
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Prices read from the vendor : yes
Read from Procreate's own pricing page on 19 August 2026
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Plans and terms recorded : yes
3 rows, each with its billing period
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Original screenshots : no
None captured
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Sources cited and dated : yes
5 primary sources, each with the date it was read
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Product used first-hand : no
Not tested. This profile is desk research from primary sources
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Alternatives used first-hand : no
None, so comparisons here rest on published facts rather than use
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Vendor contacted : no
Not contacted for this profile
Desk research from Procreate's own product, company and AI-position pages, read on 19 August 2026. Nobody here has used Procreate, and no drawing performance or brush quality was assessed.
Provenance and freshness
When each fact was last checked
- Pricing ·
- Plans ·
- Free trial
- Features
- Platforms ·
- Integrations
- Affiliate programme
- Company details ·
Individually sourced claims
-
Procreate for iPad is $12.99 USD as a one-time purchase, with no subscription
Procreate for iPad ↗ · checked
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Procreate Dreams is $12.99 and Procreate Pocket is $5.99, both one-time
Procreate Dreams and Pocket ↗ · checked
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Procreate publishes a position against generative AI: "We're not chasing a technology that is a moral threat to our greatest jewel: human creativity"
Procreate, AI is not our future ↗ · checked
What has changed
-
August 2026
- First published, with all three one-time prices read from the vendor's own pages
- Recorded the published no-generative-AI position as a product fact
Sources & verification
Facts on this page were read from the sources below on the dates shown. Where a vendor does not publish a figure, we record it as not disclosed rather than estimating it.
- Procreate for iPad - checked 19 August 2026
- Procreate Dreams - checked 19 August 2026
- Procreate Pocket - checked 19 August 2026
- Procreate, AI is not our future - checked 19 August 2026
- Procreate, who we are - checked 19 August 2026
Spotted something out of date? Email [email protected] and we will re-check it. Corrections are logged on the page.
