Comparison

Hive vs DotShake Brush Studio

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

Head to head
About

Hive

This app helps designers, creators, and innovators organize and manage all their creative assets in one place. It offers smart photo organization, an integrated video player, and multiple ways to save inspirations, streamlining your creative process. Effortlessly sort, categorize, and find your ideas with advanced filtering and search capabilities.

Highlights
  • Organize creative assets
  • Smart photo organizer
  • Integrated video player
  • Multiple save methods
  • Web capture
  • Multi-level folder system
  • Advanced search and filter
Features
Read full description

Hive is a private visual reference library for designers, illustrators, photographers, and creative teams. Save references the moment you find them—Share Sheet, clipboard, Safari, and links—then keep images, video, and files in one library you actually control. No feed. No tracking theater. Just a calm place to store and reopen what you need. Organize for real work • Folders, tags, filters, and search built for reference retrieval • Smart Folders to surface the set you need for a project • Mixed media in one place: images, video, links, and files Built for mobile creative workflows • Fast capture on iPhone and iPad • Browse and reuse references on the go • Works with an Eagle-compatible library workflow on mobile Privacy by default • Your library stays yours Hive is for people who already collect inspiration in Pinterest, moodboards, or Eagle on the desktop—and need a private, organized library on iOS. Download Hive and turn scattered references into a library you can find again. Privacy Policy: https://hive.ink/privacy-policy/ Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

DotShake Brush Studio

Features
Read full description

DotShake Brush Studio is where DotShake's brushes are made. Start from a brush that already exists, tune it until it feels right, and save it as your own. A CABINET OF BRUSHES, EACH SHOWING ITS OWN STROKE Every row draws a real stroke, so you never have to open a brush to find out what it looks like. The categories are on the row too: Line, Dab, Airbrush, Oil Paint, Palette Knife, Liquid, Optical Glass, Liquid Metal, Halftone, Particles, Noise, Volumetric, Dynamic Field — and a whole family of type that runs along the stroke. NOT JUST LINES Pencil, charcoal, marker, calligraphy, impasto, gouache and fan brush for the traditional hand. Then glass, liquid chrome, meteor and flame — and butterflies, moths, clouds and maple leaves that chase the stroke. TYPE THAT FOLLOWS THE STROKE Kinetic type, pop type, glass type, falling poems, and leader brushes that trail a small shape behind them. EVERY BRUSH IS EDITABLE • Size and opacity, with the preview updating as you go • Customise the pressure curve so the tip answers to your hand • Enough parameters that there is a search field for them • Preview in light or dark, and reset in one tap • Save as a copy — the original stays as it was IMPORT AND EXPORT Export the brushes you make, and import the ones other people made. Requires DotShake.

Screenshots

Hive4 screens
DotShake Brush Studio4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Hive at Free against DotShake Brush Studio's $0.99. DotShake Brush Studio's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3). On update cadence, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

Hive is free to download; DotShake Brush Studio costs $0.99 up front. Hive sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. DotShake Brush Studio asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Hive versus DotShake Brush Studio: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHiveDotShake Brush Studio
PriceFree — better$0.99
Rating4.9 (37 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews78.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings37 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 daysEvery 3 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size174 MB108 MB
Age rating17+4+
Developer易泓 刘Zhen Chen

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Hive

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Annually$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pro Lifetime$34.99
None

DotShake Brush Studio

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Hive free?
Hive is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is DotShake Brush Studio free?
DotShake Brush Studio costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Hive or DotShake Brush Studio have ads?
Neither Hive nor DotShake Brush Studio shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hive or DotShake Brush Studio?
Hive ships an update every 3 days, and DotShake Brush Studio every 3 days. Most recently, Hive was updated on October 17, 2026 and DotShake Brush Studio on October 15, 2026.

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