Alternatives to Simply Draw: Learn to Draw
By App Store Tracker Editorial · Updated — live App Store data verified
The short version
Simply Draw teaches drawing with guided step-by-step lessons and AI feedback on your work. Its reviewers love the tutorials but bristle at the steep paywall after the first drawing. If you want a free, kid-friendly way in, Easy Draw lets you keep practicing without an instant subscription wall. For a deep, proven library, Drawing Desk has 1000+ lessons and millions of users. The list ranks by embedding similarity and live App Store ratings.
The app you searched for
Simply Ltd
Step-by step drawing lessons
People search for Simply Draw alternatives mostly for one reason that shows up over and over in its reviews: the app hooks you with a free first drawing, then walls off everything else behind a subscription many call too expensive. Parents and kids especially want to keep practicing without paying $100 a year. The picks below all do the same core job: teach you to draw through step-by-step lessons, broken into simple strokes, across categories like animals, anime, nature, and people. Some add AR tracing that projects an image onto paper, real-time multiplayer drawing rooms, or Apple Pencil support. The trade-offs are price and depth: a few are huge, established apps with hundreds of thousands of reviews, others are newer and lighter. We ranked these by embedding similarity to Simply Draw's lesson-based approach, then weighed live App Store ratings and review counts so the trusted options surface first. Check the in-app purchase flags before downloading, since most still gate advanced lessons.
Why it's similar
Both teach drawing by breaking each picture into simple, follow-along steps across animals, cartoons, and food, aimed at relaxed beginners. The guided-lesson format and undo or erase tools mirror Simply Draw closely.
How it differs
Easy Draw adds a Draw Together mode for real-time shared sessions, and reviewers reach more content before hitting a paywall than Simply Draw's instant lock after one drawing. Its 4.22 rating is solid for a newer, lighter app.
Why it's similar
Both offer step-by-step drawing tutorials and animated lessons spanning animals, people, anime, and vehicles, so beginners can build skills one stroke at a time. The learn-by-following structure matches Simply Draw.
How it differs
This app folds in an AR tracing viewer that lets you trace your own photos, a feature Simply Draw lacks. It is free with optional purchases rather than gating nearly everything behind a single high-priced plan.
Why it's similar
Both are learn-to-draw apps that walk you through creating drawings and paintings step by step, aimed at turning beginners into confident artists. The core teaching goal is the same.
How it differs
This app is free with no listed in-app purchases, a sharp contrast to Simply Draw's pricey wall. The catch is it has zero ratings so far, so it is completely unproven next to Simply Draw's 600,000-plus reviews.
4Axis Technologies Pte Ltd
Why it's similar
Both make learning to draw feel game-like with guided on-screen lessons, voice and text instructions, and structured paths for every skill level. The lesson-driven approach lines up with Simply Draw.
How it differs
Drawing Desk is a massively established app with 218,000+ ratings, 1000+ lessons, and Apple Pencil support, far deeper than Simply Draw's library. It is paid with in-app purchases but offers far more content for the money reviewers complain about elsewhere.
Why it's similar
Both deliver guided drawing lessons for every skill level, covering portraits, nature, and personalized art, so you learn by following along step by step. The tutorial-first format matches Simply Draw.
How it differs
This app leans into video lessons and themed modules like Mother's Day gift drawings, a more occasion-focused angle. It is paid with in-app purchases and far smaller at 772 ratings than the seed's giant base.
Why it's similar
Both teach drawing through fresh weekly lessons and step-by-step sketching of animals, anime, and doodles for all skill levels. The structured learning loop echoes Simply Draw.
How it differs
Drawly's standout is multiplayer drawing rooms where you learn alongside friends and cheer each other on, something Simply Draw does not offer. It is paid with in-app purchases but has a strong 4.55 rating across 5,752 reviews.
Why it's similar
Both use fun, interactive step-by-step tutorials and daily exercises to grow drawing skills from your first pencil stroke. The beginner-friendly, simplicity-first approach matches Simply Draw.
How it differs
DrawUp carries the highest rating in this list at 4.76 across 5,943 reviews, suggesting users feel its value holds up. It is paid with in-app purchases, but its polish and daily-exercise structure stand out against Simply Draw's paywall complaints.
Why it's similar
Both act as a personal art coach with step-by-step tutorials covering animals, doodles, and mandalas, framed as a calming creative activity for all ages. The relaxing, guided feel matches Simply Draw.
How it differs
DrawMee targets families and all skill levels with a coaching tone, but it is smaller at 436 ratings and a 4.26 average. It is paid with in-app purchases rather than offering a generous free path.
PLAY AND LEARN EDUCATIONAL GAMES FOR KIDS
Why it's similar
Both help beginners draw any picture easily through guided assistance and a large categorized image library spanning animals, cars, and anime. The make-drawing-easy promise lines up with Simply Draw.
How it differs
This app's whole method is AR tracing: it projects an image onto paper so you trace it with a real pencil, rather than drawing on screen like Simply Draw. It is paid with in-app purchases and rated a lower 4.09.
Gorasiya Vishal Nanjibhai
Why it's similar
Both teach drawing step by step and frame it as a calming, fun way to learn, with a self-learning tutorial format. The beginner teaching goal matches Simply Draw.
How it differs
This app also covers tracing letters and drawing on paper, leaning toward younger learners and handwriting. It is free with in-app purchases and has a broad 4,475-rating base, offering more free entry than Simply Draw's hard paywall.
Every app in our database carries a dense vector embedding derived from its title, subtitle, full description, and category metadata. To find apps similar to Simply Draw: Learn to Draw, we compute cosine distance against every other app and surface the closest 60 candidates. The similarity score shown on each pick is 1 - distance/2 clamped to [0,1] — 100% means the embedding spaces are identical, 0% means orthogonal.
We then re-rank the candidate set using current App Store rating and review-count signals so a 4.8-star app with 100,000 reviews ranks above a 4.5-star app with 200 reviews even when their embedding distance is similar. Apps that haven't shipped an update in 12 months are filtered out before re-ranking.
The similarity cache is recomputed weekly. Live App Store data (rating, review count) is verified every 6 hours.
No paid placements. No affiliate links. No sponsored picks. Read our full methodology.
More popular iPhone apps with curated alternative lists, each ranked by embedding similarity, rating, and category fit.
