Comparison

FocalPaint vs Oilbook

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

Head to head
About

FocalPaint

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
Read full description

FocalPaint's unique brush engine simulates thick paint and real pigment mixing with accurate physics models. Features: - Realistic color blending behaves like real paint! - Real canvas texture and paint thickness - Transparent Ink simulation - Open Source GPU shader code library for reference and customization - Write your own custom brush with Metal GPU or Javascript code - Write your own custom layer modes with Metal GPU code - Apple Pencil Pro support with hover - 16 channel "spectral" color model (256 bits per pixel) - Wide color gamut (P3) Please note: Apple A12 GPU or newer is required Terms of Use: https://www.focalpaint.com/p/terms-of-use.html Privacy Policy: https://www.focalpaint.com/p/privacy.html Special Thanks to: Scott Allen Burns Troy James Sobotka & Friends colour-science.org python library MyPaint painting software team Anna Timm (@anti-art)

About

Oilbook

This app offers a realistic oil painting simulation by focusing on fluid dynamics for authentic paint flow and diffusion. It provides extensive brush customization and color selection tools for a dynamic artistic experience.

Highlights
  • Fluid mechanics-based paint simulation
  • Customizable brush parameters
  • Color wheel and eyedropper tool
  • Multiple undo/redo support
  • Save and share artwork
  • Apple Pencil pressure sensitivity
Features
Read full description

I've always wanted to develop an oil painting app. After trying existing solutions on the market, I found that they only mimic the texture of oil paintings, which I believe is not perfect. Pigments are essentially a liquid, so my goal is to authentically recreate the dynamic process of paint flow and diffusion based on fluid mechanics and other physical principles. This vision led to Oilbook — a truly unique software. The default brush can adjust the number of bristles and the size of the brush. The fluidity of the pigments can also be adjusted. Other brushes can adjust texture, size, point distance, hardness, direction, opacity and other parameters. Reducing 'Bristle Count' can sometimes improve the effect. For some brushes, it is better to adjust the hardness. For example, please try to adjust the hardness of some brushes to 0. Supports multiple undo/redo. Supports switching between portrait and landscape modes. A large number of oil painting texture color presets with adjustable intensity can be applied to your work. You can select colors using the color wheel, or use the eyedropper tool to extract the color of a point on the canvas. You can use the eraser, clear the canvas, switch full-screen mode. The current project progress can be saved, and the archive can also be deleted. You can save your work to photo album or share it. In Apple Pencil mode, the stroke thickness will change in real time with the pressure. There is a user guide in the settings page. In the pro version you will: - Get all brushes and color presets, and they are constantly being updated. - Remove watermark. - Choose the canvas size. - Move the canvas to inspect and paint details. - Turn on pressure support for Apple Pencil, for all other brushes. - You can choose to use Apple MetalFX technology to enlarge the size of your work by 4 times. MetalFX is a technology developed by Apple for enhancing game graphics quality. Pro version is a one-time purchase. If you encounter any problems in use, please write to duansu3518290@163.com

Screenshots

FocalPaint1 screens
Oilbook4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Oilbook at Free against FocalPaint's $4.99. FocalPaint's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (79% vs 60%). On rating, ratings volume, update cadence and in-app purchases 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

Oilbook is free to download; FocalPaint costs $4.99 up front. FocalPaint sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Oilbook sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. 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 — 4.2 for FocalPaint against 4.2 for Oilbook. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 13 and 5 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 79% of FocalPaint's written reviews are positive against 60% of Oilbook's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

FocalPaint ships an update monthly, Oilbook every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
FocalPaint versus Oilbook: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFocalPaintOilbook
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating4.2 (13 ratings) — better4.2 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews78.6% of reviews — better60.0% of reviews
Number of ratings13 — better5
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.617.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size557 MB40 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerbrien dieterle晶雷 端

Customer experience

FocalPaint

All ratings13 ratings
Positive84.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative15.4%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive78.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative21.4%

Oilbook

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative20.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

FocalPaint

One-time3
  • Generous Tip$0.99
  • Big Tip$4.99
  • Huge Tip$9.99
1 purchases

Oilbook

One-time1
  • Oilbook Pro$4.99

Questions

Is FocalPaint free?
FocalPaint costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Oilbook free?
Oilbook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, FocalPaint or Oilbook?
FocalPaint is rated higher. FocalPaint averages 4.2 out of 5 from 13 ratings, while Oilbook averages 4.2 from 5 ratings.
Do FocalPaint or Oilbook have ads?
Oilbook shows ads; FocalPaint does not.
Which is updated more often, FocalPaint or Oilbook?
FocalPaint ships an update monthly, and Oilbook every 3 weeks. Most recently, FocalPaint was updated on October 24, 2026 and Oilbook on October 25, 2026.

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