Comparison

WowPaint vs MetaBrush

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

Head to head
About

WowPaint

Create seamless patterns for backgrounds, textures, and more with intuitive drawing tools. Adjust parameters live while painting and utilize fingertip-based stroke sizing. Supports Apple Pencil and multiple layers.

Highlights
  • Seamless pattern creation
  • Wrapped painting mode
  • Fingertip stroke size adjustment
  • Live parameter changes
  • Multiple layers
  • Photo tracing mode (Pro)
Features
Read full description

Pattern/texture designers: You’ll find the app’s unique feature set very useful when making repeatable images (patterns). Other artists: WowPaint is great for drawing and painting “normal” art as well! • CREATE SEAMLESS PATTERNS • Use the Seamless Pattern Options to aid you in creating seamless patterns that can be used as website or desktop backgrounds, in print, or for textures in 3d modeling. When you have switched on Wrap X/Y, any strokes you paint that go over the picture’s edge will continue on the opposite side. That means that there will be no hard edges where strokes are cut off (since they continue instead), which makes the picture a perfect candidate for being seamlessly repeated. A tremendous help when using the Wrapped Painting mode is the option of having the picture displayed as tiles next to each other. You’re free to paint anywhere on these tiles, and you will see the results in real time. You can also switch on Edge Indicators, to make it easier to see where the picture being repeated begins and ends. • FINGERTIP = STROKE SIZE • When you paint, the app measures how much of your finger is touching the screen and changes the stroke size accordingly. There’s a huge difference between using just the corner of your fingertip and pressing down the whole fingerprint area! 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! • PARAMETERS CAN BE CHANGED LIVE • Use any buttons or controls to change/adjust color, size, force, simultaneously while painting. • 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++). • APPLE PENCIL SUPPORT • FULL SCREEN PAINTING • • 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

WowPaint4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: WowPaint at 4.7 against MetaBrush's 3.7. WowPaint also leads on review sentiment (76% vs 65%) and ratings volume (119 vs 21). 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. WowPaint 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

WowPaint holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: WowPaint has 119 ratings behind it against 21, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of WowPaint's written reviews are positive against 65% of MetaBrush's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on August 20, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
WowPaint versus MetaBrush: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWowPaintMetaBrush
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (119 ratings) — better3.7 (21 ratings)
Positive reviews75.9% of reviews — better65.4% of reviews
Number of ratings119 — better21
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
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
Size22 MB253 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNorbytetalonsodev

Customer experience

WowPaint

All ratings119 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral2.5%
Negative3.4%
Written reviews29 reviews
Positive75.9%
Neutral10.3%
Negative13.8%

MetaBrush

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

In-app purchases

6 purchases

WowPaint

One-time6
  • Tip Jar: Smallest Tip$1.00
  • Tip Jar: Small Tip$2.00
  • Tip Jar: Medium Tip$5.00
Show 3 more
  • Pro Upgrade$7.00
  • 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 WowPaint free?
WowPaint 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, WowPaint or MetaBrush?
WowPaint is rated higher. WowPaint averages 4.7 out of 5 from 119 ratings, while MetaBrush averages 3.7 from 21 ratings.
Do WowPaint or MetaBrush have ads?
Neither WowPaint nor MetaBrush shows ads.
Which is updated more often, WowPaint or MetaBrush?
WowPaint ships an update every 2 months, and MetaBrush every 2 months. Most recently, WowPaint was updated on August 20, 2026 and MetaBrush on September 20, 2026.

Other comparisons