Today there are 97 different comic making apps. We spent 72 hours comparing the top 50 to find the seven best you can use to make spectacular comics.
What is the Best Comic Making App?
- Canva — best of the best
- Clip Studio Paint — best for experienced artists
- Sketchbook — best for beginners
- Pixton — best for students & teachers
- Comic Creator Studio — best for kids
- Manga Maker ComiPo! — best for manga
- Comic Draw — best for iPad
1. Canva
Our Verdict — Best Of The Best
Price: Starts at $12.99/month
Canva is a user-friendly design software with a sleek interface for making comics. We think it’s the best because of its intuitive drag-and-drop editor, comic strip templates, and vast collection of design elements.
The Best Part:
Beginner-friendly editor. Canva's intuitive editor and pre-made templates make it easy for anyone to design amazing comics in no time.
The Worst Part:
Occasional performance issues. Canva users report occasional slow loading times or lag while using the image editor.
Get it if you want an easy-to-use platform to create professional-looking comics without breaking a sweat.
I recommend you start with the free plan to test the waters, then upgrade to the Pro plan for $12.99/month.
(free plan)
Best For
Canva is best for anyone who wants a user-friendly platform to easily create comics without any technical obstacles.
Top Features
Comic strip templates. Craft killer comics using Canva's professionally designed comic strip templates, for a quicker kickstart.
Custom characters. Bring your comic's heroes and villains to life with Canva's huge gallery of customizable character illustrations.
Immersive backgrounds and colors. Transport your readers into a comic world they’ll never want to escape with Canva's wide range of backgrounds, colors, and scenes.
Engaging stickers and graphics. Keep your readers hooked with Canva’s cool design elements, like dynamic action lines and customizable speech bubbles.
Expressive typography. Make your comics pack an emotional punch with Canva's wide selection of fonts and text styles.
Pricing
Canva offers three pricing plans:
- Canva Free: Free forever, for hobbyists who want an easy-to-use software to design comics with over 250,000 free templates, 1+ million free photos and graphics, and 5 GB of cloud storage for your creations.
- Canva Pro: $12.99/month for hobbyists and professionals who want a user-friendly design software with unlimited access to premium templates, over 100 million premium stock media, and up to 1 TB of free cloud storage.
- Canva for Teams: $14.99/month for teams of all sizes who want everything in the Canva Pro plan, plus collaboration features such as design approval workflows, real-time comments, and task management features.
Annual plans provide a 16% discount.
Try Canva today with the free plan.
Our Verdict — Best For Experienced Artists
Price: Starts at $0.99/month
Clip Studio Paint is a comprehensive comic making software for experienced artists. We think it’s the best for experienced artists because of its intuitive drawing tools, robust export features, and customizable brushes.
The Best Part:
Streamlined stroke stabilization. Clip Studio Paint enables you to create a polished and professional appearance for your comics with its built-in stabilization and adjustable pen pressure features.
The Worst Part:
Steep learning curve. New users may find it hard to navigate through Clip Studio Paint’s features and tools.
Get it if you want a powerful software to enjoy a natural drawing experience and create professional-quality comics.
I recommend you start with the 30-day free trial, then upgrade to the Pro plan for a one-time purchase of $49.99.
(30-day free trial)
Best For
Clip Studio Paint is best for experienced artists who want a robust software for producing high-quality comics.
Top Features
Custom drawing tools. Create your signature style in no time with Clip Studio Paint’s custom brushes, pens, and pencils.
Advanced text features. Step up your comic dialogue game with Clip Studio Paint's souped-up text tools, rocking customizable typography, fonts, and speech bubbles.
Layer management. Keep your comic strips and scenes nice and tidy with Clip Studio Paint's super-helpful layer management feature.
3D character posing. Amp up the realism in your comic illustrations by posing your characters in lifelike 3D.
Panel creation. Create the perfect space to develop your story and get that narrative flowing with Clip Studio Paint’s versatile comic panel creation tools.
Pricing
Clip Studio Paint offers two pricing plans:
- Clip Studio Paint Pro: $0.99/month for experienced artists who want a powerful software to draw comics using custom drawing tools, character drawing features, and professional comic templates.
- Clip Studio Paint EX: $2.49/month for professional artists who want everything in the Pro version, plus pro features such as batch management of pages, 3D print comic book previews, and team collaboration features.
Annual plans provide a 17% discount.
Try Clip Studio Paint today with a free 30-day trial.
3. Sketchbook
Our Verdict — Best For Beginners
Price: $19.99
Sketchbook is a user-friendly drawing tool for aspiring comic artists. We think it’s the best for beginners because of its intuitive user interface, pen and stylus support, and ruler tools for precision.
The Best Part:
Intuitive user interface. Sketchbook’s interface allows you to easily create professional-looking comics, without being overwhelmed by complex tools and features.
The Worst Part:
No vector support. Sketchbook doesn't support vector graphics, which might be a bummer for comic artists who need those clean, scalable lines.
Get it if you want an intuitive, user-friendly drawing app to create comics that genuinely reflect your artistic vision.
I recommend you get Sketchbook Pro for $19.99.
(free plan)
Best For
Sketchbook is best for aspiring comic artists who want a seamless, distraction-free drawing software with professional-grade features that are easy to use.
Top Features
Comic text features. Create engaging dialogue for your comics via Sketchbook’s text tools, with a wide range of customizable fonts, sizes, and styles.
Pen and stylus support. Get ready to draw your comics freehand, with Sketchbook's smooth support for your fave pen and stylus devices.
Ruler and ellipse tools. Create accurate and professionally drawn shapes with ease, with Sketchbook’s robust ruler and ellipse tools.
Drawing stabilization. Smooth out shaky lines in your comics to get that polished look with Sketchbook’s stroke stabilizer.
Customizable shortcuts. Set up your own keyboard shortcuts for all of the Sketchbook features you use the most, and you'll be zipping through your comic art like a champ!
Pricing
Sketchbook offers two pricing plans:
- Sketchbook: Free forever, for aspiring comic artists who want a user-friendly mobile app to create professional-quality comics on their Android or iOS devices.
- Sketchbook Pro: $19.99 one-time payment, for aspiring comic artists who want a full-featured, user-friendly software for drawing comics on their PC or Mac.
Try Sketchbook today with the free plan.
Our Top Three Picks
Here’s a quick summary of our top three picks:
- Canva — best of the best
- Clip Studio Paint — best for experienced artists
- Sketchbook — best for beginners
Here’s a quick comparison of our top seven picks:
Tool | Entry Offer | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
Canva | Free plan | Starts at $12.99/mo |
Clip Studio Paint | 30-day free trial | Starts at $0.99/mo |
Sketchbook | Free plan | $19.99 |
Pixton | 7-day free trial | Starts at $9.99/mo |
Comic Creator Studio | None | $39.99 |
Manga Maker ComiPo! | 14-day money-back guarantee | Starts at $49.99 |
Comic Draw | 30-day free trial | $9.99 |
Here are the top 50 comic making apps we considered in this review:
- Canva
- Clip Studio Paint
- Sketchbook
- Pixton
- Comic Creator Studio
- Manga Maker ComiPo!
- Comic Draw
- Inkwork
- Comica
- Comics Head
- Book Creator
- Comic Life
- Comic Strip It!
- Adobe Express
- Strip Designer
- ComicBook
- Animoto
- Comic Life 3
- Comic Art
- Comics and Cartoon Maker
- TweenCraft
- Comic and Meme Creator
- Avatoon
- ToonMe
- ToonArt
- Comic Caption Meme Maker Lite
- Superhero Comic Book Maker
- Make Beliefs Comix
- Halftone 2
- Anitales
- Comic Page Creator
- TextingStory Chat Story Maker
- Rage Comic Maker
- My Story Book Creator for Kids
- WebComics
- Libby
- Draw and Tell HD
- Comic Draw By Plasq
- Animation & Drawing by Do Ink
- Paper by WeTransfer
- StoryboardThat
- Explee
- Bitmoji
- My Story Book Maker
- MediBang Paint
- ArtFlow
- Comic Puppets Lite
- ToonDoo
- MangaName
- Draw Glow Comics
What is the best app to make a comic strip?
The best app to make a comic strip, which offers a range of creative tools and features, is Canva. Canva provides users with an extensive collection of design elements, including comic character illustrations, premade backgrounds, and picturesque environments. The simple tool allows you to create digital comics, import images, and even add special features such as sound effects to enhance the comic creation process. It is an excellent choice for users who want to create comics from scratch or use built-in templates for a more streamlined process. Additionally, Canva offers seamless integration with social media platforms, making it easy to share your comic book-style stories with a wider audience.
Which app can I use to create a comic?
To create a comic using an app, consider using Autodesk Sketchbook. It is a user-friendly drawing tool with an intuitive interface, pen and stylus support, and ruler tools for precision. Sketchbook is perfect for aspiring comic artists who want a seamless, distraction-free drawing software with professional-grade features that are easy to use.
Can I make a comic with my phone?
When it comes to making a comic on your phone, Autodesk Sketchbook is a popular choice. This app offers a range of illustration tools and features that cater to both beginners and experienced artists. You can create beautiful images, cartoon images, and even turn photos into ink drawings using the app's extensive toolkit. With inbuilt chat bubbles, special effects, and graphic effects, Autodesk Sketchbook makes the comic creation process more accessible and enjoyable.
How can I create my own comic?
Creating your own comic is possible using a variety of comic creator apps, such as Canva, Clip Studio Paint, and Autodesk Sketchbook. These apps offer a range of built-in templates and features, including pre-made characters, single-page creators, and special features like sound effects. You can also import images, create picturesque backgrounds, and design beautiful images to make your comic come to life.
Can you make comics digitally?
Yes, you can make comics digitally using apps like Canva, Clip Studio Paint Pro, and Autodesk Sketchbook. These apps offer various illustration tools, pre-made characters, and backgrounds that help you create digital comics with ease.
Which iPad is best for making comics?
The best iPad for making comics is the iPad Pro, as it provides the most powerful performance, largest display, and Apple Pencil support, which is essential for precision drawing and sketching. The iPad Pro comes in two sizes: 11-inch and 12.9-inch. Both models feature a Liquid Retina display, which ensures vibrant colors and sharp details for your comic illustrations. The high-performance Apple M1 chip ensures a smooth experience while using resource-intensive apps like Comic Draw or Clip Studio Paint Pro.
With the iPad Pro, you can take full advantage of creative tools, inbuilt chat bubbles, special effects, graphic effects, and import options for images. Additionally, the Apple Pencil support ensures a natural and responsive drawing experience, which is crucial for comic artists.
However, if the iPad Pro is out of your budget, the iPad Air is another excellent option. It also supports the Apple Pencil and has a powerful A14 Bionic chip, ensuring a smooth experience while creating comics. While the screen size is slightly smaller at 10.9 inches, it still provides ample space for drawing and designing your comics.
Whichever iPad model you choose, make sure it supports the creative apps you plan to use, such as Comic Draw, Clip Studio Paint Pro, or other comic maker apps. This will allow you to create engaging, high-quality digital comics that can be easily shared on social media platforms or with fellow comic enthusiasts.
The Bottom Line
To recap, here are the best comic making apps to try this year:
- Canva — best of the best
- Clip Studio Paint — best for experienced artists
- Sketchbook — best for beginners
- Pixton — best for students & teachers
- Comic Creator Studio — best for kids
- Manga Maker ComiPo! — best for manga
- Comic Draw — best for iPad
