Octane X vs ZBrush
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Octane X
This powerful GPU rendering application brings professional-grade 3D rendering capabilities to iPad Pro. It offers a full suite of features for visual effects, motion graphics, gaming, and design, with an interface optimized for touch and Apple Pencil, while also supporting advanced external peripherals.
- Unbiased, spectrally-correct GPU rendering
- Optimized touch and Apple Pencil interface
- Support for external keyboards, trackpads, and monitors
- Node-based material, shader, and scene graph editor
- AI Denoiser for production-ready results
- ACES, OCIO, and deep pixel EXR rendering
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Octane X, the world’s first and fastest unbiased, spectrally-correct GPU production renderer, is now available for the first time on iPad Pro (M series models only) - empowering artist workflows across visual effects, motion graphics, gaming, design, concept art and architectural visualization Octane X for iPad Pro supports all features of Octane X macOS standalone desktop application through a new interface designed from the ground up for easy scene navigation and editing using touch and Apple Pencil on iPad Pro. Power users can enable an advanced UX with support for keyboards, trackpads, external monitors, bluetooth mice and stage manager to get full parity with the Octane X standalone desktop application on macOS. Octane X accelerates modern creative workflows with ACES, OCIO and deep pixel EXR rendering, a powerful node-based material, shader and scene graph editor, and the industry’s most advanced production ready AI Denoiser. The Octane X standalone features and user guide is available here: https://docs.otoy.com/StandaloneH_STA/StandaloneManual.htm Octane X for iPad Pro only supports iPad Pro devices with the M series chipset, running iPadOS 26 and later.
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.
- 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
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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 in-app purchases: Octane X at none against ZBrush's 2. ZBrush's advantage is rating (4.1 vs 3.7) and ratings volume (268 vs 31). On price, review sentiment, 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
Both are free to download. ZBrush sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Octane X asks for nothing beyond the download.
ZBrush holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ZBrush has 268 ratings behind it against 31, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 51% and 52% positive.
Octane X ships an update every 2 months, ZBrush monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Octane X | ZBrush |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.7 (31 ratings) | 4.1 (268 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 51.2% of reviews | 52.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 31 | 268 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPad, Mac — better | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1.1 GB | 1.1 GB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | OTOY inc. | MAXON Computer GmbH |
Customer experience
Octane X
ZBrush
Bugs and requests
Octane X
Reported bugs
8 issues- 🐛 Gray screen on iPadOS 27
- 🐛 Incompatible with iPadOS 17
- 🐛 No Render GPU error on M1 Macs with Sonoma
- 🐛 Grey screen and doesn't load
- 🐛 Not working since iPadOS 17
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- 🐛 Stuck at rendering after iPadOS 17 update
- 🐛 Rendering not working since iPad OS 17
- 🐛 Crashes when viewing all items under nodes
Requested features
6 requests- Tutorials for specific materials (hair, glass, water)
- Support for Nomad Sculpt OBJ/GLB import
- UI improvements for Apple Pencil users
- Polygon-based modeling and animation tools
- Add Maya and Houdini support
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- Add support for importing obj/glb from Nomad Sculpt
ZBrush
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Octane X
No in-app purchases
ZBrush
- ZBrush Monthly$9.991 Month
- ZBrush Annual$89.991 Year









