How Much Does Procreate Cost

Procreate costs $12.99.

One-time purchase. No subscription. No "premium tier" to unlock later. You pay once and that's it — every update, every new feature, yours.

That's genuinely unusual in software in 2024, and it's one of the reasons so many artists stick with Procreate for years.

If you're on iPhone rather than iPad, there's also Procreate Pocket at $4.99. It's a smaller version of the app designed for the phone screen. Most of the core tools are there, but if you want the full experience — the canvas size, the brush library, the Apple Pencil precision — you'll want the iPad version.

What you get for $12.99

Procreate comes with over 200 brushes out of the box, covering everything from watercolour to gouache to inking. You can create your own brushes too, which is where things get interesting once you start building a style. The canvas supports up to 16k resolution depending on your iPad model, and you get full layer support — the number of layers available scales with your device's RAM.

The app also records a time-lapse of everything you draw, automatically. A lot of students use this to post process videos on Instagram or just to watch their own progress, which turns out to be surprisingly motivating.

And it works with the Apple Pencil natively — pressure sensitivity, tilt, palm rejection. There's nothing to configure. You pick up the pencil and it just works.

How it compares to other apps

Adobe Photoshop runs $20.99 a month (and that's the entry plan). Corel Painter starts around $179 a year. Clip Studio Paint has a monthly option too.

Procreate's one-time price looks very different next to those numbers. For someone who draws regularly, it pays for itself within the first month compared to any subscription alternative.

The one real limitation: Procreate is Apple only. iPad and iPhone, that's it. If you're on Android or Windows, it's not an option — Krita (free, open-source) and Clip Studio Paint are the most common alternatives worth looking at.

Is it worth buying if you're just starting out?

Yes. The price is low enough that it's not a risky decision, and the app doesn't get in your way while you're learning. The interface keeps the tools close without overwhelming you — which matters a lot when you're still figuring out what half the tools even do.

The thing most beginners don't expect is how much the app rewards you as you improve. You can use Procreate as a complete beginner and still be discovering new things after two years of daily drawing.

If you're thinking about getting started, the Procreate Masterclass is the fastest way to actually understand what you're working with — not just the tools, but the decisions behind them.

The short version

$12.99. One-time. Works with Apple Pencil on iPad. No subscription, no upsell, no catch. For anyone who wants to draw digitally and has an iPad, it's the easiest recommendation to make.