Free Guide to Procreate Pricing and Plans

Understanding Procreate: What It Is and Who Uses It

Procreate is a digital drawing and painting application designed for iPad users. Created by Savage Interactive, it has become one of the most popular creative tools for artists, illustrators, designers, and hobbyists worldwide. The software provides a canvas where users can create digital art using various brushes, layers, and color tools that mimic traditional art materials.

The application works exclusively on iPad devices running iPadOS 16.4 or later. This limitation means that users interested in Procreate need to own an iPad to use the software. The application does not have versions for iPhone, Android tablets, Windows, or Mac computers. This exclusivity has made Procreate particularly popular among iPad owners who want professional-grade digital art capabilities.

Professional digital artists use Procreate for creating illustrations, concept art, comic book panels, character designs, and animation frames. Many game developers and film studios employ artists who work with Procreate as part of their creative workflow. However, the tool also serves hobbyists, students, and casual users who want to explore digital art without expensive software subscriptions or complex professional tools.

The user base includes individuals from various creative fields: graphic designers creating logos and marketing materials, photographers using digital painting techniques for retouching, educators teaching digital art, and entertainment professionals in animation and gaming. Each user segment may have different needs regarding features and functionality, which influences how they view Procreate's pricing structure.

Takeaway: Before considering Procreate, ensure you own an iPad that meets the system requirements and that digital drawing aligns with your creative goals or professional needs.

The One-Time Purchase Model: How Procreate Pricing Works

Procreate operates on a one-time purchase model rather than a subscription service. This pricing approach differs significantly from many competing software applications, which rely on monthly or annual subscription fees. When you purchase Procreate, you pay once and then own the application indefinitely. You do not need to pay recurring fees to continue using the software.

As of 2024, Procreate is priced at $12.99 USD on the iPad App Store. This price point represents a single purchase that grants permanent access to the application. The pricing may vary slightly depending on your geographic location due to currency conversion and regional App Store pricing policies. Users in different countries may see different price equivalents in their local currency.

The one-time purchase includes all core features and tools within the application at the time of purchase. Users do not pay extra fees to unlock basic functionality like layers, brushes, color adjustment tools, or canvas features. This contrasts with some competing applications that offer basic features for free but charge for advanced capabilities.

Updates to Procreate are provided to existing users at no additional cost. When Savage Interactive releases new versions with enhanced features, bug fixes, or new tools, current users receive these updates automatically. This update policy means that owners of Procreate benefit from ongoing development without paying upgrade fees. The company has historically released major updates periodically, adding significant new features to the application.

The low price point compared to professional desktop software makes Procreate accessible to students and individuals exploring digital art as a hobby. Professional artists often view the cost as negligible compared to desktop alternatives that cost hundreds of dollars annually.

Takeaway: Procreate's $12.99 one-time purchase price offers ongoing access and free updates, making it a cost-effective option compared to subscription-based creative software.

What's Included in the Standard Procreate Purchase

When you purchase Procreate for $12.99, you receive access to a comprehensive set of tools and features. The application includes a vast library of brushes ranging from realistic pencils and paints to textured and custom designs. Users can customize existing brushes or create entirely new brush sets to suit their artistic style and project requirements.

The layering system in Procreate allows artists to work non-destructively by separating different elements of their artwork onto different layers. This standard feature enables complex compositions and makes editing specific parts of artwork without affecting other elements. Layer groups organize multiple layers into hierarchies, and adjustment layers apply color and tone changes across entire compositions.

Color tools included in the standard purchase feature multiple selection methods, including the eyedropper tool for sampling colors from the canvas, color wheels and sliders for manual color selection, and harmony tools that suggest complementary colors based on color theory. The application supports RGB and CMYK color spaces, important for users preparing work for different output formats.

Selection tools allow artists to isolate specific areas of their work for editing. These include rectangular and elliptical selections, free-form lasso selections, and content-aware selection methods. Transform tools enable resizing, rotating, skewing, and distorting selected content or entire layers, essential for composition adjustments and perspective corrections.

Text capabilities permit adding and formatting text directly within the application, useful for creating titles, labels, or comic book speech bubbles. The text layer remains editable, allowing font changes or text modifications at any point during the creative process. While not as extensive as dedicated typography software, text features meet the needs of most digital artists.

Animation Assist features enable frame-by-frame animation creation. Artists can create animation frames on successive layers and preview playback to check timing and movement. While not a full animation software suite, Animation Assist provides basic capabilities for creating animated GIFs or video sequences. This feature is particularly valued by students and hobbyists exploring animation.

Takeaway: The standard Procreate purchase includes professional-grade drawing tools, layer systems, color management, and basic animation capabilities without additional costs.

Procreate Dreams: The Subscription Option for Animation

Procreate Dreams is a separate subscription service that expands the application's animation capabilities. While the standard Procreate purchase includes basic Animation Assist features, Procreate Dreams offers comprehensive animation tools for creating more complex animated projects. This subscription represents the only recurring cost associated with Procreate, as the main application remains a one-time purchase.

Procreate Dreams costs $9.99 USD per month or $79.99 USD per year. This pricing structure allows users to choose between month-to-month flexibility or annual savings. Users who commit to a yearly subscription save approximately $40 compared to paying monthly rates. The subscription can be managed through the iPad's App Store subscription settings, allowing cancellation at any time.

The subscription includes professional animation features such as onion skinning (viewing previous and subsequent frames as transparent overlays), frame management tools for organizing and adjusting multiple animation frames, and enhanced playback options with speed controls. These features are essential for professional animators creating detailed frame-by-frame animation projects.

Procreate Dreams also provides access to animation libraries with pre-built effects and transitions. These assets accelerate animation production by providing ready-made elements that artists can incorporate into their projects. Additional audio tools allow importing and synchronizing sound with animation, important for creating complete animated videos with accompanying music or dialogue.

The subscription service targets professional animators, animation students, and serious hobbyists who create animation projects regularly. Casual users who experiment with animation occasionally may find the basic Animation Assist features sufficient and choose not to subscribe. This tiered approach allows users to start with core functionality and upgrade if animation becomes a primary focus of their work.

The monthly subscription option provides flexibility for users who want to test animation features before committing to an annual plan. Some users subscribe for specific projects and cancel afterward, while others maintain continuous subscriptions for ongoing animation work.

Takeaway: Procreate Dreams subscription ($9.99/month or $79.99/year) offers professional animation tools for users prioritizing animation over static illustration.

Comparing Procreate to Competing Digital Art Applications

Several alternative applications exist for digital art creation on iPad, each with different pricing models and feature sets. Adobe Fresco, offered by Adobe, operates on a subscription model starting at $9.99 monthly for the free version with limited features, or higher tiers for full access. Unlike Procreate's one-time purchase, Fresco requires ongoing payments to maintain full functionality. Adobe's pricing structure also involves potential costs for additional Creative Cloud applications if users want desktop integration.

Affinity Designer, created by Serif, uses a similar one-time purchase model to Procreate at $21.99 USD. This application