ZBrush vs Isopxl
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ZBrush
Create detailed 3D models and digital sculptures on your iPad. This app offers industry-leading sculpting tools, advanced detailing, and seamless integration with desktop versions for professionals and hobbyists alike.
- Digital sculpting and 3D painting
- 200+ pressure-sensitive brushes
- Sculptris Pro & Dynamic Tessellation
- Live Boolean modeling
- 3D Layers for non-destructive editing
- Seamless desktop interoperability
- Direct export for 3D printing
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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).
Isopxl
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Turn low-poly 3d models into pixel sprites, right on your iPhone and iPad. Isopxl lets you build characters, props, and buildings, paint pixels directly on their surfaces, and export them from multiple directions. Make assets for isometric worlds, top-down adventures, and side-scrolling games, or export a textured 3D model for use in other tools. BUILD YOUR MODEL Start with a cube, wedge, cylinder, cone, UV sphere, or icosphere. Move, rotate, scale, extrude, and subdivide to shape your creation. Edit individual faces, points, or whole parts. Use axis controls for precise adjustments, duplicate parts, and experiment with undo and redo. PAINT PIXELS ON EVERY SURFACE Paint directly on your model, or open an individual face on a flat canvas for detailed pixel work. Use pencil, line, circle, fill, eraser, and color picker tools. Keep surface pixels a consistent size across your model. Choose a built-in palette, create your own colors, or import palettes from the Lospec website. ONE MODEL, MULTIPLE SPRITE VIEWS Choose Isometric, Top-down, or Side-view. Preview 4, 8, or 16 directions, then export one view or several as separate transparent PNG files. Fit each sprite inside a 16×16, 32×32, 64×64, or 128×128 image, or use a fixed number of pixels per tile to keep characters, props, and buildings at the same scale. ADD SHADING AND OUTLINES Keep painted colors flat or add shading to bring out your model’s shape. Use dithering for patterned pixel shading and a crisp outline to define the silhouette. Preview your sprites before exporting, then save them or share them with another app or device. EXPORT SPRITES AND 3D MODELS Export transparent PNG sprites for your artwork and games. Export OBJ models with material and texture files for use in Blender and other compatible 3D tools. Save and share editable .isopxl projects to continue working on them later. Scale up your PNG exports to share crisp pixel art on social media. Save and share editable .isopxl projects to move your work between Isopxl on Mac, iPad, and iPhone. KEEP YOUR WORK TOGETHER Organize your creations in a project library with automatic saving and visual previews. FREE TO CREATE All modeling and painting tools are free. Includes three PNG export batches, each supporting multiple views from your selected set of 4, 8, or 16 directions. A one-time purchase unlocks unlimited PNG exports and OBJ export. No subscription.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Isopxl at every 3 days against ZBrush's monthly. Isopxl also leads on device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. ZBrush sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Isopxl sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
ZBrush ships an update monthly, Isopxl every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ZBrush | Isopxl |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (265 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 52.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 265 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1.1 GB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | MAXON Computer GmbH | SHAYNE YOSHIHIRO KASAI |
In-app purchases
ZBrush
- ZBrush Monthly$9.991 Month
- ZBrush Annual$89.991 Year
Isopxl
- Isopxl Full Unlock$9.99









