Clip Studio Paint
by CELSYS
Clip Studio Paint is a subscription illustration, comic and animation app for iPad, with desktop and Android versions.
- Price
- Subscription: PRO from $4.89/month, EX from $9.69/month
- Runs on
- iPadOS, macOS, Windows, Android, ChromeOS
- Rating
- ★ 4.7 on the App Store (14K ratings)
ibis Paint X
by ibis
ibis Paint X is a free, ad-supported drawing and animation app for iPhone, iPad and Android with a huge online library of brushes and materials.
- Price
- Free with ads; Premium $4.49/month or ad removal $15.99
- Runs on
- iOS, iPadOS, Android
- Rating
- ★ 4.7 on the App Store (298K ratings)
Feature comparison
| Feature | Clip Studio Paint |
ibis Paint X |
|---|---|---|
| Price and platforms | ||
| Price | Subscription: PRO from $4.89/month, EX from $9.69/month | Free with ads; Premium $4.49/month or ad removal $15.99 |
| Free version | 30-day free trial; saving and exporting need a plan | Yes, ad-supported |
| Subscription | Required to save and export | Optional Premium membership |
| Ad-free | Not advertised | No, ads unless removed for $15.99 |
| No account needed | Clip Studio account needed to buy a plan | Not advertised |
| iPad | Yes | Yes |
| iPhone | Separate app, Clip Studio Paint for iPhone | Yes, same app |
| Mac | Yes, desktop version | Not advertised |
| Android and Chromebook | Yes | Yes |
| Brushes | ||
| Built-in brushes | Built-in set plus thousands of community brushes | 130,000+ |
| Brush customization | Brush shape, texture, paper quality and more | Customizable brushes |
| Brush import | Clip Studio Assets community brushes | Online brush library |
| Apple Pencil | Supported | Supported |
| Comics and manga | ||
| Comic panel layouts | Panel frames; multi-page projects with EX | Not advertised |
| Screentones | Yes | 46 screentones |
| Text and lettering | Text and speech balloons | 3,000+ fonts |
| Layers and editing | ||
| Layer limit | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Blend modes | Yes | 27 |
| Masks | Masks and clipping across multiple layers | Clipping |
| Adjustments and filters | Non-destructive color adjustment layers, gradient maps, filters | 86 image filters |
| Selection tools | Lasso, magnetic lasso and more | Selection tools |
| Liquify and distortion | Liquify, mesh transform, puppet warp | Not advertised |
| Clone tool | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Drawing aids | ||
| Symmetry | Symmetry ruler | Symmetry and radial rulers |
| Perspective guides | Perspective rulers and 3D shapes | Not advertised |
| Shape correction | Figure tools and rulers | Shape and vector tools |
| Gradients | Gradient tool and gradient maps | Not advertised |
| Paintable materials | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Seamless patterns | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Extras | ||
| Animation | Frame-by-frame; unlimited frames with EX | Frame-by-frame, with music and audio |
| 3D painting | 3D figures for reference, not painting | Not advertised |
| Timelapse | Yes | Yes |
| Live collaboration | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Generative AI | None advertised | No image generation; AI Disturbance protects art from AI training |
| Files | ||
| Photoshop PSD | Import and export | Not advertised |
| Export formats | PSD, PNG, JPEG, TIFF and more | Images and timelapse video |
| CMYK and print | CMYK export for print | Not advertised |
| App Store | ||
| Rating | 4.7 / 5 (14K ratings) | 4.7 / 5 (298K ratings) |
| Last updated | September 8, 2026 | September 29, 2026 |
| Languages | 10 | 18 |
Price
Both are free to download, but they charge for different things.
Clip Studio Paint on iPad is a subscription. There is a 30-day free trial, after which you need a plan to save and export: PRO starts at $4.89 a month and EX, which adds multi-page comics and unlimited animation frames, at $9.69 a month on the US App Store. Plans are priced by how many devices you use.
ibis Paint X is free with ads. Ads can be removed for $15.99 once, or Premium membership, which adds extra features and materials, costs $4.49 a month or $27.99 a year on the US App Store.
Platforms
Both run on iPad, iPhone and Android. Only Clip Studio Paint runs on Mac, Windows and Chromebook.
Clip Studio Paint runs on iPad, with a separate app for iPhone, desktop versions for Mac and Windows, and versions for Android and Chromebook. Buying a plan requires a Clip Studio account.
ibis Paint X is one app for iPhone and iPad, and it is also available on Android.
Brushes
Clip Studio Paint ships with brushes that mimic real art materials and lets you adjust brush shape, texture and paper quality in detail. Its Clip Studio Assets community offers thousands of artist-made brushes and materials.
ibis Paint X advertises more than 130,000 brushes along with 30,000+ materials and 46 screentones, which makes it one of the biggest brush collections of any drawing app.
Comics and manga
Clip Studio Paint is the most complete comic tool here: panel frames, speech balloons, text, effect lines and screentones, with multi-page projects for print, web comics and webtoons in the EX plan.
ibis Paint X is popular for manga, with 46 screentones, more than 3,000 fonts for lettering and a large online library of inking brushes.
Layers and editing
Clip Studio Paint: Layers support masks and clipping across multiple layers, non-destructive color adjustment layers and gradient maps. Liquify, mesh transformation and puppet warp let you fix proportions after you draw, and Color Match pulls colors from a reference image.
ibis Paint X: It offers 27 layer blend modes, clipping, 86 image filters, vector tools and a reference window, which is a lot of power for a free app.
Drawing tools and extras
Clip Studio Paint has posable 3D figures and 3D shapes for reference and perspective, perspective and symmetry rulers, Shading Assist for lighting, and frame-by-frame animation, with unlimited frames in EX.
ibis Paint X: Drawing aids include radial and symmetry rulers. ibis Paint X also does frame-by-frame animation with music and audio, records a timelapse, and has an AI Disturbance feature meant to protect your art from AI training.
Which should you choose?
Choose Clip Studio Paint if
- You make comics, manga or webtoons and want panels, balloons and screentones
- You want posable 3D figures as a drawing reference
- You want non-destructive adjustment layers
Choose ibis Paint X if
- You want a powerful free app and do not mind ads
- You mostly draw on a phone
- You want a huge library of brushes, materials and fonts
Frequently asked questions
Is Clip Studio Paint better than ibis Paint X?
Neither is better for everyone. Clip Studio Paint is the better pick if you make comics, manga or webtoons and want panels, balloons and screentones, or you want posable 3D figures as a drawing reference. ibis Paint X suits you better if you want a powerful free app and do not mind ads, or you mostly draw on a phone.
Is Clip Studio Paint free?
Not fully. Clip Studio Paint has a 30-day free trial on iPad, but saving and exporting need a paid plan afterwards. Plans start at $4.89 a month for PRO and $9.69 a month for EX on the US App Store.
Is ibis Paint X free?
Yes, ibis Paint X is free with ads. You can remove ads for $15.99 once, or subscribe to Premium for $4.49 a month or $27.99 a year for extra features and materials.
Which works on iPhone, Clip Studio Paint or ibis Paint X?
Clip Studio Paint has a separate iPhone app, Clip Studio Paint for iPhone. ibis Paint X runs on iPhone in the same app as on iPad.
Do Clip Studio Paint and ibis Paint X work on Android?
Clip Studio Paint has an Android version. ibis Paint X has an Android version.
Do Clip Studio Paint or ibis Paint X use generative AI?
Clip Studio Paint does not advertise any generative AI features. ibis Paint X does not advertise AI image generation, and its AI Disturbance feature is designed to make your artwork harder for AI to learn from.
Sources
Facts checked on October 2, 2026. Prices are from the US App Store, and features from each app's listing and official site. Apps change often, so check the App Store for current prices and features. Clip Studio Paint and ibis Paint X are trademarks of their respective owners. App icons come from each app's App Store listing and belong to their owners. Paintrix Studio is not affiliated with the makers of Clip Studio Paint and ibis Paint X.