Roughups vs ZBrush
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Roughups
Transform your wireframe sketches into interactive prototypes with this intuitive iPad app. Easily draw screens, add interactive components, and even create custom fonts. Share your designs through a secure web service.
- Intuitive wireframe drawing interface
- Add interactive components (text fields, toggles)
- Create custom fonts for wireframes
- Record walkthroughs of prototypes
- Share creations via secure web service
- Password protection for shared designs
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Roughups is far more than just another wireframe drawing tool. It lets you turn your ideas into reality with just your iPad and Apple Pencil. Features: - Beautifully simple user interface for drawing screens and connecting them together - Add in special components like text fields, toggle buttons and more - Even add in camera components to create more realistic wireframes - Draw your own custom fonts that people can use in your wireframes - Record walkthroughs of your wireframes - Share your creations with others via our web service (which supports password protection if you need it)
ZBrush
Create professional 3D models and digital sculptures on your iPad. This app offers advanced sculpting, painting, and modeling tools with desktop-quality performance, ideal for artists on the go. Seamlessly integrate with desktop workflows for a complete creative experience.
- Pressure-sensitive sculpting with Apple Pencil
- 200+ digital sculpting brushes
- Advanced 3D modeling tools
- Seamless desktop-iPad workflow
- High-resolution polygon support
- 3D painting without UV setup
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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).
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: ZBrush at 4.1 against Roughups's 3.0. ZBrush also leads on ratings volume (255 vs 2). Roughups's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs monthly) and review sentiment (100% vs 85%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Roughups sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month 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.
ZBrush holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ZBrush has 255 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of Roughups's written reviews are positive against 85% of ZBrush's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Roughups ships an update every 2 days, ZBrush monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Roughups | ZBrush |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (2 ratings) | 4.1 (255 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 85.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 255 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 days — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPad | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 14.1 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 1.1 GB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Prototyper Ltd | MAXON Computer GmbH |
Customer experience
Roughups
ZBrush
In-app purchases
Roughups
- Roughups Pro Monthly$3.991 Month
- Roughups Pro Annual$29.991 Year
ZBrush
- ZBrush Monthly$9.991 Month
- ZBrush Annual$89.991 Year
Questions
Is Roughups free?
Is ZBrush free?
Which has better reviews, Roughups or ZBrush?
Do Roughups or ZBrush have ads?
Which is updated more often, Roughups or ZBrush?
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