Clip Studio Paint vs Procreate

by Gralio Apr 23, 2025

Clip Studio Paint and Procreate are both powerful digital art tools catering to slightly different needs. Clip Studio Paint offers cross-platform versatility and a deep feature set, especially strong for comic, manga, and animation creation with its vector and 3D model support. Procreate provides an exceptionally intuitive, touch-optimized painting and illustration experience exclusively on the iPad, favoured for its simplicity and value.

At Gralio.ai we help to simplify your decision-making process by offering detailed, side-by-side software comparisons like this one, to help you confidently choose the tool that aligns with your business goals.

This comparison was created by analysing 234 reviews and 60 websites, saving 1 hour, 48 minutes of reading.

Logo of Clip Studio Paint
Logo of Procreate

About

Clip Studio Paint is a digital art software for professionals and hobbyists. It offers a complete set of tools for drawing, painting, illustration, comics, and animation. Users praise its realistic drawing experience, vast material library, and efficient workflow features like vector layers and customizable workspaces. Available through various subscription or one-time purchase options for Windows, macOS, iPad, iPhone, Android, and Chromebook.
Procreate is an award-winning app designed for professional and amateur digital artists. This versatile studio offers a complete set of tools for sketching, painting, and illustration, all in one place. Procreate stands out with its intuitive interface, extensive brush library, and advanced features that help bring your artistic visions to life on a digital canvas. It is only available on Apple devices.

Summary

Main difference
The primary difference lies in platform availability and core focus: Clip Studio Paint is a multi-platform software with specialized tools for comics, manga, and animation, including vector capabilities. Procreate is an iPad-exclusive app renowned for its intuitive interface and powerful raster-based painting and drawing experience.

Relative strengths of Clip Studio Paint (compared to Procreate)

  • Cross-Platform Availability: Unlike Procreate which is limited to iPadOS, Clip Studio Paint runs on Windows, macOS, iPad, iPhone, Android, and Chromebook, offering flexibility for teams using diverse hardware.

  • Specialized Comic/Manga/Animation Tools: Clip Studio Paint provides dedicated features like vector lines with a hand-drawn feel, customizable 3D models for reference and posing, decoration brushes, and special rulers, which are specifically beneficial for structured illustration, comic creation, and animation workflows.

  • Vector Capabilities: Clip Studio Paint includes vector layers and tools, allowing for scalable linework that retains quality when resized. Procreate primarily functions as a raster graphics editor and lacks robust vector support.

Relative weaknesses of Clip Studio Paint (compared to Procreate)

  • User Interface and Ease of Use: Procreate is widely praised for its highly intuitive interface and gentle learning curve. Clip Studio Paint, while powerful, can feel more complex to navigate, with some users finding the UI, particularly the home screen, clunky.

  • Pricing Model Complexity: Procreate offers a straightforward, affordable one-time purchase. Clip Studio Paint has a more confusing mix of one-time purchase (limited to older versions) and subscription models, with updates often requiring ongoing payment, which can be less appealing for businesses seeking simple value.

  • Performance Concerns: Some Clip Studio Paint users report performance lag, particularly with newer versions or complex files. Procreate is generally known for its smooth performance optimized for the iPad, although it can have layer limits on larger canvases.

Who should use Clip Studio Paint VS. Procreate

Clip Studio Paint is a fantastic tool for digital artists, whether you're a pro or just starting out. We often hear users praise its realistic drawing feel, customizable brushes, and extensive library of materials. It's great for illustration, comics, manga, and even animation, offering helpful features like vector layers and 3D model posing. Many appreciate the option for a one-time purchase alongside subscriptions, making it accessible across various devices like Windows, macOS, iPad, and Android platforms. It's definitely a versatile choice for creative workflows.

We find that Procreate is a fantastic choice for digital artists, illustrators, and designers, whether they're seasoned pros or just starting out. Users frequently praise its intuitive feel and the sheer variety of brushes available right out of the box. It's particularly popular for its smooth performance with the Apple Pencil and its one-time purchase model, which many find very appealing. If you're creating digital art on an iPad, Procreate offers a really complete and enjoyable studio experience.

  • We find Clip Studio Paint works especially well for freelancers and small creative studios, typically those with up to 100 employees.

  • In our experience, it's a go-to tool for artists in Media & Entertainment, but also popular in Software/IT and Marketing/Advertising.

  • In our experience, Procreate works best for individual artists, freelancers, and small creative teams or studios up to around 100 employees.

  • While versatile across sectors, we see Procreate shine particularly bright in creative industries like digital art, graphic design, and illustration.

Clip Studio Paint and Procreate features

Supported
Partially supported
Not supported
Type in the name of the feature or in your own words tell us what you need

  • Customizable Brushes
    Supported

    Clip Studio Paint allows customization of brush size, shape, and opacity.

    Supported

    Procreate allows customization of brush settings like size, shape, and opacity via its Brush Studio.

  • Digital art studio
    Supported

    Clip Studio Paint offers comprehensive sketching, painting, and illustration tools.

    Supported

    Procreate is a comprehensive digital art studio for sketching, painting, and illustration.

  • 3D Model References
    Supported

    Clip Studio Paint allows importing, posing, and adjusting 3D models for drawing reference.

    Partially supported

    Procreate supports 3D model references but requires external tools for posing.

  • Canvas Tilt
    Not supported

    Canvas tilt for paint flow and dripping effects is not supported.

    Not supported

    Canvas tilt to control paint flow is not supported.

  • Airbrush tool
    Supported

    Clip Studio Paint has an airbrush tool for gradients and smooth transitions.

    Supported

    Procreate has a built-in airbrush tool for gradients and smooth transitions.

  • Pen tools
    Supported

    Clip Studio Paint offers various pen tools, including customizable options like G-Pen.

    Supported

    Procreate offers customizable brushes that simulate various pen styles, including technical, calligraphy, and inking pens.

Qualities

  • Value and Pricing Transparency
    No data
    +0.33
    Rather positive sentiment
  • Ease of Use
    No data
    +1
    Strongly positive sentiment

Clip Studio Paint and Procreate Pricing

No data

User sentiment

Strongly positive
+1

See full Pricing page

No data

User sentiment

Rather positive
+0.33
We couldn't find a pricing page for Procreate.

Clip Studio Paint and Procreate review insights

233 reviews analysed from and

Users love

  • Highly customizable artboard and workspace.
  • Realistic drawing experience with excellent pen sensitivity and brush customization.
  • Extensive material library, including free assets and community-created brushes.
  • Efficient workflow features like vector layers and perspective tools.
  • One-time purchase option available (though limited to v2.0).
  • Intuitive and user-friendly interface, praised for ease of use.
  • Extensive brush library and customization options.
  • One-time purchase, affordable pricing.
  • Smooth drawing experience with Apple Pencil.
  • Excellent for sketching, drawing, painting, and illustration, versatile for various art styles.

Users dislike

  • Lag issues reported, especially after version 2.0 update.
  • One-time purchase limited to version 2.0; updates require subscription.
  • Limited SVG export options; vector editing capabilities restricted.
  • Clunky home screen UI with limited customization.
  • 3D models difficult to manipulate for some users.
  • Limited layer availability, especially for larger canvases.
  • Only available for iPad, limiting accessibility and requiring specific hardware.
  • Lack of vector graphics support.
  • Text editing capabilities could be improved.
  • Occasional bugs and crashes, especially with larger files.

Clip Studio Paint and Procreate Ratings

  • G2
    4.5/5
    (52)
  • G2
    5.0/5
    (65)
  • Capterra
    4.8/5
    (116)

Company health

Employee growth

6% decrease in the last year
49% increase in the last year

Web traffic

No data
4% increase in the last quarter

Financing

No data
No data

How important is vector graphic editing functionality?

Vector graphic editing functionality appears to be a notable consideration, though not the primary focus of either tool. Clip Studio Paint offers some vector capabilities, like vector layers and lines with a hand-drawn feel, which users appreciate for workflow efficiency, but its editing and export options are considered limited. Procreate, on the other hand, lacks vector graphics support entirely, and this is cited as a specific dislike by users. Therefore, while both products excel in raster-based art, the availability and quality of vector editing are important factors for users who require scalable graphics or specific vector-based workflows.

Which product offers a better drawing experience on a tablet?

Based on user feedback, Procreate generally offers a superior drawing experience specifically on a tablet, particularly the iPad for which it is exclusively designed. Users frequently praise its intuitive interface, smooth performance with the Apple Pencil, and extensive brush library optimized for touch interaction. While Clip Studio Paint is also highly capable, available on more tablet platforms, and noted for its realistic drawing feel, some users report lag issues and find its interface less optimized for tablets compared to Procreate's dedicated iPad experience.

What are the advantages of Clip Studio Paint?

Clip Studio Paint provides a comprehensive suite of tools specifically tailored for illustration, comics, manga, and animation, including features like vector layers with a hand-drawn feel, customizable 3D model references with AI posing, special rulers, and sophisticated fill tools. Users highlight its realistic drawing experience, extensive material library, and highly customizable workspace. A significant advantage is its cross-platform availability, running on Windows, macOS, iPad, iPhone, Android, and Chromebook, offering broader accessibility compared to iPad-only alternatives. It also offers a one-time purchase option for specific versions.

What are the disadvantages of Clip Studio Paint?

Some users report lag issues with Clip Studio Paint, particularly following the version 2.0 update. While a one-time purchase option exists, it is limited to version 2.0, requiring a subscription for subsequent updates. The software also has limitations regarding SVG export and vector editing capabilities. Additionally, users have mentioned the home screen UI can be clunky with limited customization, and some find the 3D models difficult to manipulate.

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Page co-authored by
MK
Michal Kaczor
CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

TT
Tymon Terlikiewicz
CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.

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