Comparison

Brush Buster LITE vs Zen Brush 2

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

Head to head
About

Brush Buster LITE

Easily enjoy Japanese calligraphy with this tool. Create original handwritten messages, practice penmanship, or learn Kanji characters. Save your creations and share them via email or social media.

Highlights
  • Create original handwritten messages
  • Learn Kanji characters
  • Practice penmanship
  • Save and replay handwriting
  • Choose typeface and writing orientation
  • Share creations via email and SNS
Features
Read full description

It is a tool to be able to enjoy the Japanese calligraphy easily. At this "LITE"(Free) version, the role model of "Kanji" characters are recoded 1,006. (This is the "Educational Kanji of Elementary school" and "Kanji Kentei Grade 5" at Japan) Registration typeface is "SHOWA KAISHO 2" and "RYUJIN SHOTAI". [1] Main usage * Quickly and easily make the original handwritten message. * Create your own typeface. * Learning of "Kanji" characters. * The penmanship. * Healing of "Heart Sutra" * As a role model of character. * Appreciate the calligraphy [2] Main function * You can select the size of the character, and vertical or horizontal writing. * You can choose the typeface(font) of example. * You can save the characters that you handwriting. * You can use as many times as handwriting that you saved once. * You can play a character that you saved. ( Movie of stroke order ) * You can save a message that you create, send mail, and SNS posts. [3] About typeface(font) of example "SHOWA KAISHO 2" * It is a standard type. * (C)"SHOWA KAISHO 2" SHOWA SHOTAI Co.,Ltd. * Registration number of 1,006 Kanji characters. (Educational Kanji of Elementary school) "RYUJIN SHOTAI" (DRAGON GOD) * This typeface(font) is image of violent dragon. * (C)"RYUJIN SHOTAI" SHOWA SHOTAI Co.,Ltd. * Registration number of 1,006 Kanji characters. (Educational Kanji of Elementary school) == Note == > "JIS 1st and 2nd level Kanji" 6,355 characters ( "Kanji Kentei Grade 1" ) > "Joyo Kanji" 2,136 characters ( "Kanji Kentei Grade 2" ) > "Educational Kanji of Elementary school" 1,006 characters ( "Kanji Kentei Grade 5" ) > When there is not in this typeface, it use the standard typeface. [4] Demo Movie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VqxMKX5e0w

About

Zen Brush 2

This app offers a drawing experience inspired by East Asian ink brush art. Its intuitive interface and new engine provide a fluid and expressive way to create unique artwork, with options to share and edit your creations.

Highlights
  • East Asian ink brush simulation
  • New expressive brush engine
  • Gallery for saving work
  • Red ink option
  • Ink dispersion effect
  • 92 background templates
  • Pressure sensitive stylus support
Features
Read full description

Zen Brush 2 is a drawing app focused on the strong yet beautiful feel of the East Asian ink brush. With a new drawing engine that brings to life a feeling of silky fluent painting and the delicacy of an ink brush, providing a simple and intuitive user interface imbued with the Zen spirit, this app is designed to be optimal for performing Zen art. Simply start the app and you are immediately ready to draw. Anyone can create superb Zen art anywhere and at any time with this app’s uniquely rich expressiveness. You can publish your work to Facebook and Twitter with the "Share" and "Open in" functions. You can also share or edit your images by opening them in other apps such as Instagram, WhatsApp, LINE, Photoshop Mix, etc. - The next step in the evolution of the Zen Brush app which achieved more than 1.5 million downloads on all platforms combined. - Includes a new brush engine providing an even stronger, beautiful expressiveness. - Includes a gallery feature that makes it possible to save your work in progress. - Includes red ink in addition to the black ink (*). - Ink dispersion effect enables a three-dimensional feeling of depth. * Actual colors vary depending on the template. Features: - 92 background style templates. - Simple brush size adjustment with slider. - Simple main tools: Ink brush, red brush, eraser brush. - 3 levels of ink dispersion. - 3 levels of ink tone. - Canvas zoom (zoom in and out with pinch gestures). - Guide lines (9 types). - Undo / redo (5 levels). - Save your work to the photo library. - Open in other apps (Formats: JPEG, PNG, transparent PNG (no background)). - Share artwork (Facebook, Twitter, etc.). - Simulated finger pressure. - Support for pressure sensitive styluses. * Apple Pencil / Wacom Bamboo Stylus / Adonit / Scriba / SonarPen - Support for iPad Pro. - Support for 3D Touch. - Adjustable brush pressure sensitivity (5 levels). - Adjustable tilt sensitivity (5 levels). * Requires a pen that supports tilt. - Supports multitasking (Slide Over / Split View). - Support for iMessage App.

Screenshots

Brush Buster LITE4 screens
Zen Brush 24 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Brush Buster LITE at Free against Zen Brush 2's $2.99. Brush Buster LITE also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 67%) and iOS requirement (6.0 vs 12.0). Zen Brush 2's advantage is rating (3.9 vs 2.0) and ratings volume (130 vs 1). On update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Brush Buster LITE is free to download; Zen Brush 2 costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Zen Brush 2 holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Zen Brush 2 has 130 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of Brush Buster LITE's written reviews are positive against 67% of Zen Brush 2's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Brush Buster LITE versus Zen Brush 2: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBrush Buster LITEZen Brush 2
PriceFree — better$2.99
Rating2.0 (1 ratings)3.9 (130 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better67.1% of reviews
Number of ratings1130 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS6.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size56 MB72 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHIROAKI TSUKASHIMAPSOFT

Customer experience

Brush Buster LITE

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Zen Brush 2

All ratings129 ratings
Positive67.4%
Neutral14.7%
Negative17.8%
Written reviews289 reviews
Positive67.1%
Neutral11.8%
Negative21.1%

Bugs and requests

Brush Buster LITE

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Zen Brush 2

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • Background menu freezes
  • App crashes during export/save operations
  • Blank canvas loads despite recent saves
  • Unable to export artworks (ALAssetsLibraryErrorDomain error)
  • Brush stroke continues in straight line after stylus lift
Show 4 more
  • Performance issues on newer iPad Pro models
  • Inconsistent undo button behavior
  • File loading issues with previously saved images
  • Pressure sensitivity not working with certain styluses

Requested features

19 requests
  • Expanded color palette beyond black and red
  • iCloud synchronization across devices
  • Layer support for more complex artwork
  • Import background photos for tracing and reference
  • Custom guides and grid overlays
Show 14 more
  • Zoom functionality
  • Ability to adjust canvas/paper size
  • Move and scale drawing tools
  • Increased undo/redo history (25-30 steps)
  • Landscape mode support with adaptive layouts
  • Tutorials and user guidance documentation
  • Option to disable finger input when using stylus
  • Disappearing ink effect option
  • Pre-wet paper option for ink interaction
  • Numeric brush size adjustment
  • Save default brush size settings
  • Landscape orientation paper backgrounds
  • More brush variety and customization
  • EPS, SVG, and PDF export formats

In-app purchases

None

Brush Buster LITE

No in-app purchases

None

Zen Brush 2

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Brush Buster LITE free?
Brush Buster LITE is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Zen Brush 2 free?
Zen Brush 2 costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Brush Buster LITE or Zen Brush 2?
Zen Brush 2 is rated higher. Brush Buster LITE averages 2.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Zen Brush 2 averages 3.9 from 130 ratings.
Do Brush Buster LITE or Zen Brush 2 have ads?
Neither Brush Buster LITE nor Zen Brush 2 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Brush Buster LITE or Zen Brush 2?
Brush Buster LITE ships an update monthly, and Zen Brush 2 monthly. Most recently, Brush Buster LITE was updated on November 1, 2026 and Zen Brush 2 on November 11, 2026.

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