Comparison

Zen Brush 3 vs Graintouch

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

Head to head
About

Zen Brush 3

This app allows users to create beautiful East Asian ink art, including calligraphy and painting. It simulates an ink brush with adjustable water and color features, offering a rich expressive range for both beginners and experienced artists. Easily share and edit your creations with various export options and background templates.

Highlights
  • Simulated 3D ink brush drawing
  • Adjustable water and color effects
  • Layer functionality for flexible editing
  • Import photos for tracing or backgrounds
  • Rich background and paper templates
  • Export to JPEG, PNG, and transparent PNG
Features
Read full description

Zen Brush 3 is a drawing app focused on the strong yet beautiful feel of the East Asian ink brush which can be used to perform calligraphy, ink painting and more. The drawing system that brings to life a feeling of silky fluent and delicate painting now allows an even wider range of expression thanks to the addition of "water" and "color". Providing a new simple and intuitive user interface, this app is designed to be optimal for performing Zen art. Simply start the app and you are immediately ready to draw. Anyone, anywhere, can create superb Zen art with this app’s uniquely rich expressiveness. You can also easily share and edit your calligraphy and images with other apps using the Export functionality. Skillfully use the rich background style templates to create and share atmospheric artwork. - The drawing system simulates a 3D model of an East Asian ink brush to enable varied and natural styles of brush handling. - The adjustable amount of water makes it possible to create expressions ranging from powerful edge effects to "nijimi" (bleeding) and "bokashi" (blurring) where colors mix. - You can also enjoy creating colored-ink paintings as well as watercolor paintings by making use of 30 selected traditional Japanese colors. - The layer functionality allows more flexible editing. - Import photos to add text to them or use them as background images for tracing. - Create fascinating artwork with a rich assortment of background style templates. - Traditional Japanese paper templates provide an authentic feel. Features: - 5 main tools (ink brush, color brush, water brush, eraser, blotting paper). - 10 levels of thickness. - 5 levels of water (not applicable to blotting paper). - 10 levels of ink tone (not applicable to water brush and blotting paper). - Color palette with 30 colors. - 89 background style templates. - Drying functionality (fast dry, instant dry, adjustable natural dry). - Layers functionality (import image / color adjustment / move / rotate / scale / reverse left and right / white transparency / gradation effect). - Guide display (character guides / partition guides / grid guides). - Movable toolbar (top / bottom / left / right). - Canvas zoom (zoom in and out with pinch gestures). - Undo / redo (5 levels). - Export functionality (formats: JPEG, PNG, transparent PNG (no background)). - Support for Apple Pencil (1st and 2nd generation). - Support for 3D Touch (where available: iPhone 6S - XS). - Drawing tool selection (finger and stylus / stylus only). - Adjustable brush pressure sensitivity (5 levels, with supported stylus only). - Adjustable tilt sensitivity (5 levels, with supported stylus only). - Gesture functionality (pinch zoom and drag, zoom toggle with 2-finger tap). - 3D brush display (enable / disable). - Pointer display (enable / disable). - 5 levels of canvas resolution with a maximum of 3072 x 4096 pixels (the higher resolutions do not work on devices with lower specs).

About

Graintouch

Create digital art with a unique printmaking aesthetic. This app simulates the look and feel of Risograph printing, allowing for layered colors, organic brush strokes, and textured effects. Export your work as clean vector stencils for print.

Highlights
  • Organic vector brush for layered colors
  • Realistic print simulation
  • Minimalist user interface
  • Curated color palette
  • Vector stencil export
Features
Read full description

Graintouch is a drawing app with the soul of print. Inspired by Risograph™ aesthetics, it lets you layer, blend, and create with the warmth of real ink—right on your screen. BOOL BRUSH A bold, organic vector brush that stacks colors like ink on paper. Blend, overlap, knockout and build rich textures with effortless strokes. PRINT SIMULATION See your artwork as if it just rolled off a risograph. Offset imperfections, layered tints, and the charm of real ink—without the mess. MINIMAL UI Nothing in your way, just pure drawing. A clean, focused space where tools feel like an extension of your hand. COLORFUL CONSTRAINTS A playful palette of 18 handpicked inks, straight from the riso universe. Instead of endless choice, you get meaningful constraints that spark creativity—just like mixing real inks on a print run. VECTOR STENCILS Every Layer becomes a crisp, resolution-independent stencil. Your drawings export as clean vector stencils, perfect for scaling, separating by color, and bringing straight to print—no loss, just pure shapes.

Screenshots

Zen Brush 34 screens
Graintouch4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Zen Brush 3 at 4.4 against Graintouch's 3.7. Zen Brush 3 also leads on price ($4.99 vs $9.99). On review sentiment, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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 3 costs $4.99 and Graintouch $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Zen Brush 3 holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 58 and 24 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 60% of Zen Brush 3's written reviews are positive against 57% of Graintouch's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
Zen Brush 3 versus Graintouch: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterZen Brush 3Graintouch
Price$4.99 — better$9.99
Rating4.4 (58 ratings) — better3.7 (24 ratings)
Positive reviews59.8% of reviews — better56.5% of reviews
Number of ratings58 — better24
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#90 — better#98
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.013.0
Further details — not scored
Size226 MB81 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPSOFTIORAMA AB

Customer experience

Zen Brush 3

All ratings55 ratings
Positive81.8%
Neutral5.5%
Negative12.7%
Written reviews117 reviews
Positive59.8%
Neutral12.0%
Negative28.2%

Graintouch

All ratings24 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral8.3%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews23 reviews
Positive56.5%
Neutral8.7%
Negative34.8%

Bugs and requests

Zen Brush 3

Reported bugs

14 issues
  • App crashes when setting maximum resolution
  • Crashes when adding layers or importing images
  • Crashes during high-resolution JPEG export
  • iPad Pro M2 overheating and battery drain
  • Apple Pencil input not recognized
Show 9 more
  • Finger pressure detection not working
  • Brush lag and motion prediction issues
  • Dithering too large at default resolution
  • Support link returns blank screen
  • Cannot delete saved works
  • Import from Zen Brush 2 not functional
  • iMessage function removed without explanation
  • App closed unexpectedly with PSOFT MOBILE message
  • Pressure sensitivity inconsistent across devices

Requested features

23 requests
  • Canvas rotation with two-finger gestures
  • Increased undo/redo levels (more than 5)
  • Grid or guide line display for practice
  • Custom color wheel/palette picker
  • Instant erase without animations
Show 18 more
  • Larger grid options for quadrant practice
  • Brush size slider with fine-grained control
  • Drawing correction/smoothing adjustment
  • Layer blending modes (multiply, etc.)
  • High DPI and vector export options
  • Sketch import for tracing/reference
  • Text tool with adjustable sizing
  • Cross-device cloud synchronization
  • Trial/demo period before purchase
  • Subscription model with regular updates instead of new app versions
  • Larger UI elements and palette buttons
  • Tutorial or guided introduction
  • Gold and silver color options
  • Batch character/kanji saving and arrangement
  • Community sharing feature or official gallery
  • Customizable drawing correction levels
  • Disable finger optimizations for stylus users
  • Motion prediction control for faster strokes

Graintouch

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Zen Brush 3

No in-app purchases

None

Graintouch

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Zen Brush 3 free?
Zen Brush 3 costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Graintouch free?
Graintouch costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Zen Brush 3 or Graintouch?
Zen Brush 3 is rated higher. Zen Brush 3 averages 4.4 out of 5 from 58 ratings, while Graintouch averages 3.7 from 24 ratings.
Do Zen Brush 3 or Graintouch have ads?
Neither Zen Brush 3 nor Graintouch shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Zen Brush 3 or Graintouch?
Zen Brush 3 ships an update every 3 months, and Graintouch every 3 months. Most recently, Zen Brush 3 was updated on October 29, 2026 and Graintouch on October 30, 2026.
Which is more popular, Zen Brush 3 or Graintouch?
Zen Brush 3 currently peaks at #90 in the App Store charts, and Graintouch at #98. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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