Comparison

Zen Brush 2 vs Deko Gallery 2

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Zen Brush 2

This app offers a drawing experience inspired by East Asian ink brush art. Its intuitive interface and new engine provide a fluid and expressive way to create unique artwork, with options to share and edit your creations.

Highlights
  • East Asian ink brush simulation
  • New expressive brush engine
  • Gallery for saving work
  • Red ink option
  • Ink dispersion effect
  • 92 background templates
  • Pressure sensitive stylus support
Features
Read full description

Zen Brush 2 is a drawing app focused on the strong yet beautiful feel of the East Asian ink brush. With a new drawing engine that brings to life a feeling of silky fluent painting and the delicacy of an ink brush, providing a simple and intuitive user interface imbued with the Zen spirit, this app is designed to be optimal for performing Zen art. Simply start the app and you are immediately ready to draw. Anyone can create superb Zen art anywhere and at any time with this app’s uniquely rich expressiveness. You can publish your work to Facebook and Twitter with the "Share" and "Open in" functions. You can also share or edit your images by opening them in other apps such as Instagram, WhatsApp, LINE, Photoshop Mix, etc. - The next step in the evolution of the Zen Brush app which achieved more than 1.5 million downloads on all platforms combined. - Includes a new brush engine providing an even stronger, beautiful expressiveness. - Includes a gallery feature that makes it possible to save your work in progress. - Includes red ink in addition to the black ink (*). - Ink dispersion effect enables a three-dimensional feeling of depth. * Actual colors vary depending on the template. Features: - 92 background style templates. - Simple brush size adjustment with slider. - Simple main tools: Ink brush, red brush, eraser brush. - 3 levels of ink dispersion. - 3 levels of ink tone. - Canvas zoom (zoom in and out with pinch gestures). - Guide lines (9 types). - Undo / redo (5 levels). - Save your work to the photo library. - Open in other apps (Formats: JPEG, PNG, transparent PNG (no background)). - Share artwork (Facebook, Twitter, etc.). - Simulated finger pressure. - Support for pressure sensitive styluses. * Apple Pencil / Wacom Bamboo Stylus / Adonit / Scriba / SonarPen - Support for iPad Pro. - Support for 3D Touch. - Adjustable brush pressure sensitivity (5 levels). - Adjustable tilt sensitivity (5 levels). * Requires a pen that supports tilt. - Supports multitasking (Slide Over / Split View). - Support for iMessage App.

About

Deko Gallery 2

Features
Read full description

Admire the masterpieces of the decorative arts through the ages, with these fantastic reproductions of the second series of “L'Ornement polychrome” (1885-1887) by illustrator Albert Racinet. These 120 plates include more than 2000 specimens of design from cultures all over the world, through Antiquity, Middle Ages, Renaissance, 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th century, and from various mediums such as painting, textile, metalwork, woodwork, architecture, jewellery, ceramic, mosaic... This imagery remains a perpetual source of delight and an inspiration for visual artists of our time.

Screenshots

Zen Brush 24 screens
Deko Gallery 24 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Deko Gallery 2 at every 10 days against Zen Brush 2's monthly. Deko Gallery 2 also leads on price ($0.99 vs $2.99). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Zen Brush 2 costs $2.99 and Deko Gallery 2 $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Zen Brush 2 ships an update monthly, Deko Gallery 2 every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Zen Brush 2 versus Deko Gallery 2: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterZen Brush 2Deko Gallery 2
Price$2.99$0.99 — better
Rating3.9 (130 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews67.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings130 — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.012.0
Further details — not scored
Size72 MB111 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPSOFTPatrick Godeau

Bugs and requests

Zen Brush 2

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • Background menu freezes
  • App crashes during export/save operations
  • Blank canvas loads despite recent saves
  • Unable to export artworks (ALAssetsLibraryErrorDomain error)
  • Brush stroke continues in straight line after stylus lift
Show 4 more
  • Performance issues on newer iPad Pro models
  • Inconsistent undo button behavior
  • File loading issues with previously saved images
  • Pressure sensitivity not working with certain styluses

Requested features

19 requests
  • Expanded color palette beyond black and red
  • iCloud synchronization across devices
  • Layer support for more complex artwork
  • Import background photos for tracing and reference
  • Custom guides and grid overlays
Show 14 more
  • Zoom functionality
  • Ability to adjust canvas/paper size
  • Move and scale drawing tools
  • Increased undo/redo history (25-30 steps)
  • Landscape mode support with adaptive layouts
  • Tutorials and user guidance documentation
  • Option to disable finger input when using stylus
  • Disappearing ink effect option
  • Pre-wet paper option for ink interaction
  • Numeric brush size adjustment
  • Save default brush size settings
  • Landscape orientation paper backgrounds
  • More brush variety and customization
  • EPS, SVG, and PDF export formats

Deko Gallery 2

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Zen Brush 2

No in-app purchases

None

Deko Gallery 2

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Zen Brush 2 free?
Zen Brush 2 costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Deko Gallery 2 free?
Deko Gallery 2 costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Zen Brush 2 or Deko Gallery 2 have ads?
Neither Zen Brush 2 nor Deko Gallery 2 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Zen Brush 2 or Deko Gallery 2?
Zen Brush 2 ships an update monthly, and Deko Gallery 2 every 10 days. Most recently, Zen Brush 2 was updated on November 11, 2026 and Deko Gallery 2 on November 3, 2026.

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