Is Procreate worth the price?
Procreate at $12.99 one-time is the best value proposition in digital illustration — bar none.
No subscription, no in-app purchases, no feature tiers. You pay once and get every feature, every update, forever.
The app that professional illustrators, concept artists, and hobbyists use daily costs less than a single month of Adobe Illustrator. The only real cost is the iPad itself — Procreate is iPad-exclusive, so you need Apple hardware ($329-2,499) to use it.
But if you already own an iPad, $12.99 for a professional-grade illustration tool is absurd value.
Pricing Plans
Procreate (iPad)
$12.99/one-time
Full version for iPad
- All brushes & tools
- Unlimited layers
- Animation assist
- Time-lapse recording
- PSD import/export
- Lifetime updates
Procreate Pocket (iPhone)
$6.99/one-time
For iPhone
- Optimized for iPhone
- Core Procreate features
- Touch gestures
- All brush types
- Lifetime updates
Procreate Dreams
$19.99/one-time
Animation app
- 2D animation
- Storyboarding
- Scene management
- Audio support
- Export to video
Hidden Costs & Gotchas
iPad requirement
Procreate is iPad-exclusive. The cheapest compatible iPad is $329 (10th gen). For a professional experience with Apple Pencil 2, budget $449-799 (iPad Air or iPad Pro). This is the real cost — not the $12.99 app
Apple Pencil is sold separately
1st gen $99, 2nd gen $129, Apple Pencil Pro $129. Procreate works with finger input but Apple Pencil is essential for serious illustration
Procreate Pocket (iPhone) and Procreate Dreams (animation) are separate purchases — $5.99 and $19.99 respectively. Files sync via iCloud but each is a distinct app purchase
Brush packs from third-party creators cost $5-50 each. While Procreate includes 200+ brushes, professional illustrators typically buy 5-15 specialty packs over time — adding $50-200 to the total investment
No Windows, Android, or web version. If you switch from iPad to a Surface Pro or Android tablet, you lose access to Procreate. No cross-platform alternative exists with the same file format
Layer count is limited by iPad RAM
iPad 10th gen gets ~22 layers at 4K canvas, iPad Pro M4 gets 100+. For complex illustrations with many layers, you need a newer, more expensive iPad
iCloud storage for large Procreate files (500MB-2GB per complex illustration) can fill up quickly. Apple's free 5GB iCloud fills after 3-10 illustrations. Additional storage: $0.99-9.99/mo
No CMYK color mode for print work — Procreate works in RGB only. Print designers need to convert colors in another app, which can shift colors unpredictably
How Procreate Compares
Individual digital artist, 3-year ownership cost, iPad-based
Which Plan Do You Need?
200+ brushes, advanced layering, animation assist, 3D painting, Apple Pencil pressure sensitivity, and a UI designed specifically for touch. Used by professional artists at Pixar, Marvel, and major studios.
No subscription pressure — pay once and learn at your own pace. Extensive community tutorials and brush packs. The low price removes the barrier to trying digital art.
Full 2D animation app with timeline, onion skinning, and frame-by-frame tools. Separate purchase from Procreate. At $19.99 one-time vs Animate CC at $22.99/mo, the savings are massive.
Same engine as iPad Procreate, optimized for iPhone screen. Separate purchase. No Apple Pencil support on iPhone limits precision but works for sketching and ideation.
Our Recommendation
Worth it if...
You own an iPad and want to do any kind of digital art — illustration, painting, sketching, or animation. At $12.99, buying Procreate is a no-brainer. Even if you only use it occasionally, the cost is less than a single lunch. For professional illustrators, it is genuinely the best illustration app available on any platform.
Skip if...
You don't own an iPad and would need to buy one ($329-799+) just for Procreate. Or if you need CMYK print production, vector illustration, or photo editing — use Affinity Designer, Illustrator, or Photoshop instead. Also skip if you need cross-platform support (Windows/Android) — Clip Studio Paint is the better choice.
Negotiation tips
No negotiation — App Store pricing is fixed globally. Procreate occasionally appears in 'App Store Best Of' promotions but has never been discounted. Educational institutions can request volume licensing through Apple Business Manager for bulk iPad deployments.
Team Cost Scenario
Team of 5, 36 months: Small illustration studio with 5 artists. 3-year cost including iPads and accessories.
| brush Packs | ~$100 total across team for specialty brushes |
| proc Dreams | 2 × $19.99 = $39.98 one-time (for animators) |
| procreate App | 5 × $12.99 = $64.95 one-time (year 1 only) |
| total Software | $204.93 total for 3 years of software |
| Annual Total | $68/yr (amortized) — vs Adobe Illustrator at $1,380/yr for 5 users ($22.99/user/mo) |
Overage & Usage Pricing
pricing
No overages — one-time purchase with no usage limits, no export limits, no feature paywalls
brush Packs
Optional third-party brushes: $5-50 per pack
apple Pencil
$99-129 one-time (sold separately, essential for serious work)
i Cloud Storage
Free 5GB fills fast with large files. Apple charges $0.99-9.99/mo for additional iCloud storage
Recent Pricing Changes
2021-2026
Procreate increased from $9.99 to $12.99 in 2022 — the first price change since launch and still the current price. Every major update (5.0 animation, 5.2 3D painting, 5.3 performance) has been free.
Procreate Dreams was launched in 2023 as a separate $19.99 app. The company has repeatedly stated they will never adopt a subscription model — a deliberate counter-position to Adobe.
How Procreate Compares to Competitors
Adobe Fresco (free basic, $9.99/mo premium or included in CC) offers vector and raster brushes with live Adobe brush library sync. Fresco is better for artists who also use Photoshop and Illustrator — the ecosystem integration is seamless. But at $120/yr for premium vs Procreate's $12.99 one-time, the value proposition is dramatically worse for standalone use. Clip Studio Paint ($49.99 one-time or $2.49-7.49/mo) is the manga and comic art standard with dedicated panel tools, vector layers, and 3D pose models. Better than Procreate for comics and manga. Available on Windows, Mac, iPad, and Android — the cross-platform advantage. Affinity Designer 2 ($21.99 iPad, $69.99 desktop) is a vector illustration alternative with some raster capabilities. Better for graphic design and logo work. Procreate is better for freehand illustration and painting.
Krita (free, open source, desktop only) is the closest free alternative with professional painting tools. But it runs on desktop only — no iPad version — and the interface is more complex. For iPad artists, there is no free equivalent to Procreate.
