Comparison

ZBrush vs Reference Board

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

Head to head
About

ZBrush

Create professional 3D models and digital sculptures on your iPad. This app offers advanced sculpting, painting, and modeling tools with desktop-quality performance, ideal for artists on the go. Seamlessly integrate with desktop workflows for a complete creative experience.

Highlights
  • Pressure-sensitive sculpting with Apple Pencil
  • 200+ digital sculpting brushes
  • Advanced 3D modeling tools
  • Seamless desktop-iPad workflow
  • High-resolution polygon support
  • 3D painting without UV setup
Read full description

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).

About

Reference Board

This app offers an infinite canvas for visually organizing thoughts and inspiration. Users can drop in various media types, arrange them freely, and zoom in or out to explore connections. Instant search functionality helps locate specific items across all boards.

Highlights
  • Infinite canvas
  • Visual idea organization
  • Supports images, videos, quotes
  • Freeform arrangement
  • Instant search
  • Zoom in/out functionality
Features
Read full description

Reference Board is a private visual workspace for collecting inspiration, developing ideas, and keeping creative research close at hand on Mac, iPhone, and iPad. BUILD VISUAL BOARDS • Collect images, videos, links, text, colors, and PDFs in one place. • Arrange references freely on an infinite canvas or switch to an organized grid. • Move, resize, group, stack, crop, flip, and annotate without changing your original media. • Use the loupe to inspect fine details in images and videos. FIND WHAT YOU NEED • Search across boards and references. • Use on-device analysis, OCR, colors, metadata, and visual similarity to rediscover material quickly. • Keep notes and details attached to the work they describe. SYNC, COLLABORATE, AND SHARE • Keep your library in sync across Mac, iPhone, and iPad with iCloud. • Invite others to collaborate on shared boards. • Publish a separate public, view-only webpage when you want to present your work more widely. • Update or unpublish a published board whenever you like. WORK YOUR WAY • Import from Photos, Files, Safari, drag and drop, or the Share Sheet. • Export boards as images, PDFs, or Reference Board archives. • Use widgets, Shortcuts, the screen saver, and optional MCP automation to connect Reference Board to your workflow. ONE PURCHASE. NO SUBSCRIPTION. New customers receive Reference Pro with their App Store purchase, including unlimited private boards and items, Publish to Web, AI metadata and visual discovery, new collaborations, PDF export, and MCP automation. People who acquired Reference while it was free keep their existing Free plan with one private board and up to 20 items. They can unlock lifetime Reference Pro with a one-time in-app purchase. Reaching a Free limit never deletes or hides existing work. Original paid-app customers and people who already purchased lifetime Reference Pro keep permanent Pro access automatically.

Screenshots

Reference Board4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: ZBrush at Free against Reference Board's $5.99. ZBrush also leads on ratings volume (256 vs 6) and review sentiment (85% vs 70%). Reference Board's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.1) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). On 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

ZBrush is free to download; Reference Board costs $5.99 up front. ZBrush sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Reference Board asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Reference Board holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ZBrush has 256 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 85% of ZBrush's written reviews are positive against 70% of Reference Board's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ZBrush ships an update monthly, Reference Board every 4 days. Both last shipped on October 25, 2026.

Scorecard10 real differences · 1 level
ZBrush versus Reference Board: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterZBrushReference Board
PriceFree — better$5.99
Rating4.1 (256 ratings)4.7 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews85.0% of reviews — better70.0% of reviews
Number of ratings256 — better6
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#165 — better
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size1.1 GB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMAXON Computer GmbHJordan Ruchtie

Customer experience

ZBrush

All ratings254 ratings
Positive77.6%
Neutral4.3%
Negative18.1%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive85.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative15.0%

Reference Board

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive70.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative20.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

ZBrush

Subscriptions2
  • ZBrush Monthly$9.991 Month
  • ZBrush Annual$89.991 Year
None

Reference Board

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ZBrush free?
ZBrush is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Reference Board free?
Reference Board costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ZBrush or Reference Board?
Reference Board is rated higher. ZBrush averages 4.1 out of 5 from 256 ratings, while Reference Board averages 4.7 from 6 ratings.
Do ZBrush or Reference Board have ads?
Neither ZBrush nor Reference Board shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ZBrush or Reference Board?
ZBrush ships an update monthly, and Reference Board every 4 days. Most recently, ZBrush was updated on October 25, 2026 and Reference Board on October 25, 2026.

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