Comparison

HEAVYPAINT Classic vs ZBrush

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

Head to head
About

HEAVYPAINT Classic

A streamlined painting application focused on pure colors and shapes. It offers essential tools for artists, including improved smudge and blur, layers, masking, and erasing. Ideal for quick sketches, studies, and plein air work.

Highlights
  • Improved Smudge tool
  • Improved Blur tool
  • Layers
  • Masking
  • Clipping
  • Erase tool
Features
Read full description

HEAVYPAINT ClassicA simple yet secretly powerful painting app! Focus on pure colors and shapes with a streamlined interface. Ideal for plein air painting, color notes, sketches and studies. + Improved Smudge + Improved Blur + Layers + Masking + Erase + Clipping 30 day trial with full functionality.

About

ZBrush

Create detailed 3D models and digital sculptures on your iPad. This app offers industry-leading sculpting tools, advanced detailing, and seamless integration with desktop versions for professionals and hobbyists alike.

Highlights
  • Digital sculpting and 3D painting
  • 200+ pressure-sensitive brushes
  • Sculptris Pro & Dynamic Tessellation
  • Live Boolean modeling
  • 3D Layers for non-destructive editing
  • Seamless desktop interoperability
  • Direct export for 3D printing
Read full description

ZBrush for iPad. Create stunning 3D models, digital sculptures, concept art, and detailed characters with ZBrush for iPad—the award-winning, industry-leading digital sculpting app trusted by professional artists across film, AAA games, collectibles, toy design, jewelry, illustration, and 3D design. ZBrush for iPad brings unrivaled desktop-grade digital sculpting and 3D painting power into an intuitive, touch-first mobile environment optimized for Apple Pencil. Take complete creative freedom on the go with high-poly mesh density, proprietary digital clay brushes, procedural detailing, and seamless cross-platform interoperability. Subscribers to Maxon One or ZBrush desktop can download the iPad app and sign in to activate full access instantly. A comprehensive free tier is also available to start sculpting immediately. NEW FOR IPAD • Spotlight Integration: Seamlessly load reference images directly onto the canvas, apply projection painting and texture mapping across complex mesh surfaces, and extract custom 3D geometry from 2D source imagery. • 3D Layers: Store high-resolution sculpting details, PolyPaint color channels, and masking non-destructively. Effortlessly toggle layer visibility, blend sculpt deformations, and refine feature intensity with precise slider controls. CORE SCULPTING & MODELING FEATURES • 200+ Sculpting Brushes: Pressure-sensitive digital brushes engineered for Apple Pencil and Apple Pencil Pro, supporting squeeze, roll, hover, double-tap gestures, and haptic feedback. • Sculptris Pro & Dynamic Tessellation: Add local mesh detail on the fly without manual topology management. • DynaMesh Digital Clay: Re-topologize mesh density evenly during early concept exploration. • ZRemesher: Industry-standard automatic retopology for clean, optimized edge flow. • Live Boolean: Non-destructive real-time union, subtraction, and intersection modeling. • PolyPaint: High-resolution 3D painting directly on vertex geometry without preliminary UV unwrapping. • Advanced Detailing: VDM Brushes, Surface Noise, Retopo Brush, Subdivision Modeling, NanoMesh, and ArrayMesh. DESKTOP INTEROPERABILITY & EXPORT • One-Click GoZ: Seamless transfer of ZTool and ZProject files between iPad and desktop ZBrush. • 3D Print Hub: Direct export for additive manufacturing and 3D printing workflows. HIGH-PERFORMANCE HARDWARE OPTIMIZATION Handles up to 90+ million polygons per mesh on M4 iPad hardware. Optimized for multi-touch gestures, custom hotkey bars, rapid undo/redo touch shortcuts, and real-world photogrammetry base mesh imports for high-end digital asset creation. TARGET CREATIVE USE CASES 1. Game Developers: Hero character modeling, creature design, and environment asset creation. 2. Collectibles & Toy Designers: High-detail prototyping and precise 3D print preparation. 3. Film & VFX Artists: Production-grade concept sculpting and digital asset creation. 4. Industrial & Jewelry Designers: Precision organic detailing for consumer products, apparel, and hardware. 5. 2D Illustrators & Concept Artists: Fast 3D block-outs and visual design expansion. LANGUAGE SUPPORT English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Spanish, German, French, and Portuguese (BR).

Screenshots

HEAVYPAINT Classic4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: HEAVYPAINT Classic at every 5 days against ZBrush's monthly. HEAVYPAINT Classic also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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

Both are free to download. HEAVYPAINT Classic sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and ZBrush sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.1 for HEAVYPAINT Classic against 4.1 for ZBrush. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 179 and 271 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 54% of HEAVYPAINT Classic's written reviews are positive against 52% of ZBrush's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HEAVYPAINT Classic ships an update every 5 days, ZBrush monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
HEAVYPAINT Classic versus ZBrush: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHEAVYPAINT ClassicZBrush
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (179 ratings) — better4.1 (271 ratings)
Positive reviews54.5% of reviews — better52.0% of reviews
Number of ratings179271 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size51 MB1.1 GB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHEAVYPOLY, Inc.MAXON Computer GmbH

Customer experience

HEAVYPAINT Classic

All ratings179 ratings
Positive77.7%
Neutral3.4%
Negative19.0%
Written reviews101 reviews
Positive54.5%
Neutral13.9%
Negative31.7%

ZBrush

All ratings262 ratings
Positive77.1%
Neutral4.2%
Negative18.7%
Written reviews98 reviews
Positive52.0%
Neutral13.3%
Negative34.7%

Bugs and requests

HEAVYPAINT Classic

Reported bugs

18 issues
  • App crashes frequently, causing work loss
  • Auto-save feature unreliable despite crashes
  • Canvas flips upside down randomly
  • Transform tool deletes paintings
  • Undo button requires multiple taps
Show 13 more
  • Zoom functionality buggy and destabilizes canvas
  • Canvas resize not working
  • Image corruption with layer duplication
  • Eye dropper functionality haphazard
  • Fill tool doesn't work with selected colors
  • Pressure setting eliminates mark-making
  • Brush size settings change across all tools
  • Some brush textures cannot be changed
  • Random blobs appear on export
  • App crashes when switching between drawings
  • Trial period not clearing for paid users
  • Incompatibility with SE2 and older devices
  • Speaker popping on undo action

Requested features

15 requests
  • Gesture controls (2-finger undo, 3-finger redo)
  • Pressure sensitivity for brush size
  • Lasso tool for moving selections
  • Redo button functionality
  • Canvas zoom capability
Show 10 more
  • Resizable/collapsible UI elements
  • Ability to move canvas with single finger
  • Line work capabilities
  • Better brush texture preset selection
  • Canvas size input field
  • Eraser tool
  • Moveable UI panels
  • Tutorial or onboarding guide
  • Better save/export documentation
  • Pressure control for size on all tools

ZBrush

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

HEAVYPAINT Classic

One-time2
  • Seurat Texture Brushes$4.99
  • HEAVYPAINT Pro$9.99
2 purchases

ZBrush

Subscriptions2
  • ZBrush Monthly$9.991 Month
  • ZBrush Annual$89.991 Year

Questions

Is HEAVYPAINT Classic free?
HEAVYPAINT Classic is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ZBrush free?
ZBrush is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, HEAVYPAINT Classic or ZBrush?
HEAVYPAINT Classic is rated higher. HEAVYPAINT Classic averages 4.1 out of 5 from 179 ratings, while ZBrush averages 4.1 from 271 ratings.
Do HEAVYPAINT Classic or ZBrush have ads?
Neither HEAVYPAINT Classic nor ZBrush shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HEAVYPAINT Classic or ZBrush?
HEAVYPAINT Classic ships an update every 5 days, and ZBrush monthly. Most recently, HEAVYPAINT Classic was updated on November 3, 2026 and ZBrush on November 12, 2026.

Other comparisons