# Brushes vs FocalPaint

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Brushes at none against FocalPaint's 3. Brushes also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.2) and ratings volume (179 vs 13). FocalPaint's advantage is review sentiment (79% vs 57%). On update cadence, ads, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Brushes costs $3.99 and FocalPaint $4.99 up front. FocalPaint sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Brushes asks for nothing beyond the download.

Brushes holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Brushes has 179 ratings behind it against 13, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 57% of Brushes's written reviews are positive against 79% of FocalPaint's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Brushes ships an update every 6 weeks, FocalPaint monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Brushes | FocalPaint |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **$3.99** | $4.99 |
| Rating | **[4.6 (179 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/brushes/id1168117279/reviews)** | [4.2 (13 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/focalpaint/id1532688085/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **179** | 13 |
| Positive reviews | 57.1% of reviews | **78.6% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | **#42** | — |
| Size | 13 MB | 557 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 18.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | +4 | 4+ |
| Developer | [Envoza](https://appshunter.io/developer/867470531) | [brien dieterle](https://appshunter.io/developer/1532688087) |

## What reviewers say

### Brushes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/brushes/id1168117279)

**Currently charting:** #42 Top Paid · Graphics & Design (US App Store)

This app offers a powerful digital painting and sketching experience with a modern interface and advanced features. Create detailed artwork with customizable brushes, layers, and color tools. Optimized for Apple Pencil and various devices.

**Highlights:** Customizable parameterized brushes, Advanced layer management, Apple Pencil support with pressure curve, Light and dark mode interface, Unlimited undo/redo, Cloud Drive import/export

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🎨 Great for detailed drawings
- ✨ Simple and intuitive interface
- 💨 Fast and fun to use
- 🖌️ Unique 'Brushes look'
- 💰 Excellent value for price

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Brush tip issues (square instead of fade)
- 💾 Auto-save malfunctions
- 🎛️ Poor brush size control (fine detail)
- ⚫ Difficulty getting a true black line
- 🔄 Not an improvement on original

**Reported bugs**

- Brush tips not staying (switching to square)
- Auto-save not working
- Cannot place images from gallery
- Brush size slider jumps
- Circular lines icon appears unexpectedly

**Requested features**

- More save color slots
- Full Chinese menu translation
- Instructions/manual
- Smudge tool
- Documentation


### FocalPaint

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/focalpaint/id1532688085)

This app offers a unique brush engine for realistic paint simulation, pigment mixing, and canvas textures. It allows for custom brush and layer creation using Metal GPU or Javascript code, with advanced features like spectral color models and Apple Pencil Pro support.

**Highlights:** Realistic paint and pigment mixing, Custom brush and layer creation, Transparent ink simulation, Apple Pencil Pro support, Spectral color model, Open source shader code library

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Generous Tip | $0.99 | one-time |
| Big Tip | $4.99 | one-time |
| Huge Tip | $9.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Brushes free?

Brushes costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is FocalPaint free?

FocalPaint costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Brushes or FocalPaint?

Brushes is rated higher. Brushes averages 4.6 out of 5 from 179 ratings, while FocalPaint averages 4.2 from 13 ratings.

### Do Brushes or FocalPaint have ads?

Neither Brushes nor FocalPaint shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Brushes or FocalPaint?

Brushes ships an update every 6 weeks, and FocalPaint monthly. Most recently, Brushes was updated on October 29, 2026 and FocalPaint on October 24, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*