Cosmic Brush vs Abstractor
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cosmic Brush
Unleash your creativity with a powerful digital art application. Explore unique painting tools, intuitive stroke size adjustments based on finger contact, and customizable parameters. Supports left-handed users and offers a universal Pro upgrade for expanded features across Apple devices.
- Unique painting tools (3D-Shaded, Halo, Plasma Chain)
- Dynamic stroke size based on finger contact
- Adjustable parameters during painting
- Left-handed toolbar option
- Universal Pro upgrade
- Multiple layers
- Photo tracing mode (Pro)
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Paint a beautiful piece of art or just doodle on a photo. Only your imagination sets the limits for what you can create! • INSPIRING PAINTING TOOLS • Be as creative as you want with inspiring out-of-this-world painting tools like 3D-Shaded Brush, Halo Brush, Plasma Chain Brush, and Translucent Brush. 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! • 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) •
Abstractor
This drawing app uses generative magic and dynamic flow brushes to create unique, animated artwork. Explore infinite possibilities with brushes that respond to your gestures, imported images, and algorithmic patterns.
- Generative flow brushes
- Image-driven velocity maps
- Algorithmic particle behavior
- Color shifting based on stroke
- Layer support
- Color source layers
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ABSTRACTOR: PAINT WITH GENERATIVE MAGIC Unleash your vision with Abstractor, a poetic drawing app for iPad and iPhone, crafted for artist explorers and playful creators. Paint with infinite possibilities, where every stroke pulses with generative magic. FLOW BRUSHES: THE HEART OF CREATION Dive into the soul of Abstractor with flow brushes, where particles swirl like living liquids, leaving hypnotic trails across your canvas. These dynamic tools respond to three unique velocity maps: • Stroke Paths: Your gestures carve flowing rivers, guiding particles along vibrant trails. • Image-Driven Flow: Import an image to shape a velocity field, infusing brushes with textured, directional energy. • Algorithmic Soul: Add generated noise or patterns to give particles a distinct character—turbulent storms or gentle ripples. Tune particle behaviors in real time, sculpting their essence like a visual composer. Blend these maps to create mesmerizing, emergent patterns that surprise and inspire, making every stroke a performance. Colors shift with stroke angle, pressure, or speed, weaving emotion into every line. Use familiar layers or bind tools to them for tailored magic. Paint over a color source layer, pulling hues from imported images to craft radiant distortions—flow brushes shine here, warping visuals into dreamlike abstractions. Abstractor is your canvas for boundless wonder. Download now and let your art flow eternal.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Abstractor at 5.0 against Cosmic Brush's 4.6. Abstractor also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 months). Cosmic Brush's advantage is ratings volume (132 vs 5) and review sentiment (88% vs 71%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Cosmic Brush sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Abstractor sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Abstractor holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cosmic Brush has 132 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 88% of Cosmic Brush's written reviews are positive against 71% of Abstractor's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Cosmic Brush ships an update every 2 months, Abstractor every 5 days. Both last shipped on October 20, 2026.
| Parameter | Cosmic Brush | Abstractor |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (132 ratings) | 5.0 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 87.5% of reviews — better | 71.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 132 — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 24 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Norbyte | superdiagonal |
Customer experience
Cosmic Brush
Abstractor
In-app purchases
Cosmic Brush
- Tip Jar: Smallest Tip$1.00
- Tip Jar: Small Tip$2.00
- Tip Jar: Medium Tip$5.00
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- Pro Upgrade$6.00
- Tip Jar: Big Tip$10.00
- Tip Jar: Biggest Tip$25.00
Abstractor
- All Access · 1 Month$0.991 Month
- Premium · 1 Year14 Days trial$9.991 Year
- All-Access$9.99







