Comparison

Daydream Doodler vs MetaBrush

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

Head to head
About

Daydream Doodler

Create cartoon-style art with unique drawing tools and fingertip-controlled stroke sizes. Supports Apple Pencil and offers a customizable color palette for easy adjustments while drawing.

Highlights
  • Cartoon-inspired drawing tools
  • Fingertip-controlled stroke size
  • Apple Pencil support
  • Customizable color palette
  • Live parameter adjustments
  • Multiple layers
  • Photo tracing mode (Pro)
Features
Read full description

Draw and create art with a distinct cartoon style! Featuring unique cartoon-inspired drawing tools as well as ordinary ones like Pen and Eraser. It also has Lighten and Darken tools, a tremendous help when you want to add some depth and life to your drawings. • FINGERTIP = STROKE SIZE • When you paint, the app measures how much of your finger is touching the screen and changes the stroke size accordingly. Apply just the corner of your fingertip for a thin line, or the whole fingerprint area for a broad stroke. A 2nd tool assigned to your finger will still use this feature, so don’t ignore it just because you have an Apple Pencil! • LEFT-HANDED? • Just swipe the toolbar over to the other side! • APPLE PENCIL • Full support for Apple Pencil and Apple Pencil 2. In addition, you can assign a second drawing tool, such as Eraser, to the finger. • EASY AND QUICK TO USE COLOR PALETTE • Changing the color is only a tap away. The colors in the palette can be rearranged, adjusted, added and removed. • PARAMETERS CAN BE CHANGED LIVE • Use any buttons or controls to change/adjust color, size, force, simultaneously while drawing. • UNIVERSAL PURCHASE • If you choose to buy the Pro upgrade, this one-time in-app purchase will unlock all Pro features in the app on all available platforms (iPad-iPhone-Mac)! • METAL • The engine is based on Metal, with 128-bit color and floating-point arithmetic. • SWIFT • The app was developed entirely using Swift (earlier versions used C++). • FULL SCREEN DRAWING • SEAMLESS PATTERN EDITING MODE • • DARK MODE • LANDSCAPE • PORTRAIT • WIDE COLOR • • MULTIPLE LAYERS • PHOTO TRACING MODE (Pro feature) •

About

MetaBrush

Transform your photos into artistic paintings with a variety of brush presets and advanced settings. This app offers layers support and the ability to import Photoshop brushes, allowing for detailed customization of your artwork.

Highlights
  • 30 brush presets
  • Layers support
  • Import Photoshop brushes (.abr)
  • Customizable stroke settings
  • Paint with images
Features
Read full description

With Metabrush you can easily turn your photos into paintings. The result images are very artistic, as you brush with different presets and settings. Visit the gallery at http://instagram.com/metabrush for many examples. Features: • 30 brush presets for artistically clone your original image. • Layers support • 500+ brushes bitmaps • Support for importing directly Photoshop brushes (.abr) • Include many settings for the strokes as dynamical size, rotation, shadow, and opacity. • You can assign colors to the strokes, but also paint with images (as if they were colors). Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula

Screenshots

Daydream Doodler4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Daydream Doodler at 4.6 against MetaBrush's 3.8. Daydream Doodler also leads on ratings volume (485 vs 22) and review sentiment (76% vs 65%). On price, update cadence, ads 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

Both are free to download. Daydream Doodler sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and MetaBrush sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Daydream Doodler holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Daydream Doodler has 485 ratings behind it against 22, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of Daydream Doodler's written reviews are positive against 65% of MetaBrush's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Daydream Doodler ships an update every 3 months, MetaBrush every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Daydream Doodler versus MetaBrush: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDaydream DoodlerMetaBrush
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (485 ratings) — better3.8 (22 ratings)
Positive reviews76.1% of reviews — better65.4% of reviews
Number of ratings485 — better22
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB253 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNorbytetalonsodev

Customer experience

Daydream Doodler

All ratings484 ratings
Positive91.9%
Neutral4.5%
Negative3.5%
Written reviews67 reviews
Positive76.1%
Neutral9.0%
Negative14.9%

MetaBrush

All ratings21 ratings
Positive71.4%
Neutral4.8%
Negative23.8%
Written reviews26 reviews
Positive65.4%
Neutral3.8%
Negative30.8%

Bugs and requests

Daydream Doodler

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Stylus/pencil stops responding after brief pause
  • Unwanted lines appear while coloring
  • Save dialog doesn't complete properly
  • App freezes or crashes
  • Unclear file format options for saving
Show 1 more
  • Difficulty accessing new drawing sheets

Requested features

10 requests
  • Smudge/blur tool for colors
  • Symmetry line and ruler tools
  • Fill color bucket tool
  • More color options
  • Ability to create new sheets/pages
Show 5 more
  • Better file sharing and export options
  • Pre-drawn templates to color in
  • More advanced drawing tools
  • Better documentation/tutorials for features
  • Improved app icon to better represent functionality

MetaBrush

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Daydream Doodler

One-time6
  • Tip Jar: Smallest Tip$1.00
  • Tip Jar: Small Tip$2.00
  • Pro Upgrade$4.00
Show 3 more
  • Tip Jar: Medium Tip$5.00
  • Tip Jar: Big Tip$10.00
  • Tip Jar: Biggest Tip$25.00
3 purchases

MetaBrush

Subscriptions2
  • Metabrush PRO3 Days trial$0.997 Days
  • Metabrush PRO3 Days trial$6.991 Year
One-time1
  • Metabrush PRO$9.99

Questions

Is Daydream Doodler free?
Daydream Doodler is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is MetaBrush free?
MetaBrush is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Daydream Doodler or MetaBrush?
Daydream Doodler is rated higher. Daydream Doodler averages 4.6 out of 5 from 485 ratings, while MetaBrush averages 3.8 from 22 ratings.
Do Daydream Doodler or MetaBrush have ads?
Neither Daydream Doodler nor MetaBrush shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Daydream Doodler or MetaBrush?
Daydream Doodler ships an update every 3 months, and MetaBrush every 2 months. Most recently, Daydream Doodler was updated on November 1, 2026 and MetaBrush on November 2, 2026.

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