Comparison

Brushes XP vs Linkboard

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

Head to head
About

Brushes XP

This freehand drawing app offers powerful tools for artists, including custom brushes, layers, and image import/export. It can record your entire drawing process as a movie file, making it ideal for sharing your creative journey. As a successor to a legendary project, it includes enhanced features for a smoother artistic workflow.

Highlights
  • Freehand drawing
  • Custom brushes
  • Layer support
  • Image import/export
  • Drawing process recording
  • Copy/paste layers with transparency
Features
Read full description

"Brushes XP" is a powerful and easy-to-use freehand drawing application which can save the process of your drawing as a movie file. "Brushes XP" features painting with colors and custom brushes, using layers, images import and export, and it can save the replay of your drawing process as a movie file (see the demo movie). "Brushes XP" is a direct successor of the legendary "Brushes 3" project. "Brushes XP" offers features which are missing in original "Brushes 3": it can record the replay of drawing process as a movie, it allows to copy/paste layers with transparency and has other enhancements. Screenshots are demonstrating artwork of artist Maria Grazzia (Kq) Calderón.

About

Linkboard

Organize bookmarks into folders, archive old links, and save content from other apps. Subscribe to news feeds and read articles directly within the app. Collaborate with others on shared collections and sync across devices.

Highlights
  • Custom bookmark folders and subfolders
  • Archive unused bookmarks
  • Drag and drop bookmark saving
  • Save bookmarks from other apps
  • Tag filtering for bookmarks
  • Subscribe to RSS feeds
  • Collaborate on shared bookmark collections
Read full description

Linkboard keeps every bookmark, article, and RSS feed you save in one organized place: searchable, taggable, and in sync across all your devices. • Organize links into folders and subfolders, and archive the ones you want to keep without cluttering your view • Add bookmarks in a second with drag and drop on every device, or save straight from Safari, Chrome, and any other app • Find anything fast with tags, favorites, and an "unread" status for links you haven't gotten to yet • Search your entire library straight from your home screen: every bookmark and feed article is indexed in Spotlight • Subscribe to RSS feeds from your favorite blogs and news sites, and read full articles in a clean, distraction-free Reader Mode • Follow podcasts and YouTube channels alongside your feeds, with a built-in player and lock screen controls • Get an AI summary or a live translation of any article in one tap, plus recommendations based on what you've read and liked • Share a collection and collaborate on it with teammates or friends • Switch over in minutes with one-tap import from Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Opera, or Brave • Stay synced everywhere with iCloud, and enjoy a beautiful dark mode day or night Linkboard is designed, built, and supported by a single independent developer who reads every piece of feedback personally, and your suggestions genuinely shape what gets built next. Available for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac. Download Linkboard and bring your bookmarks and news feeds into one place today.

Screenshots

Brushes XP4 screens
Linkboard4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Linkboard at Free against Brushes XP's $4.99. Linkboard also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.8) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 13 months). Brushes XP's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (12.1 vs 18.0). On ads and device support 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

Linkboard is free to download; Brushes XP costs $4.99 up front. Linkboard sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Brushes XP asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Linkboard holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 12 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 60% of Brushes XP's written reviews are positive against 73% of Linkboard's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Brushes XP ships an update every 13 months, Linkboard fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Brushes XP versus Linkboard: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBrushes XPLinkboard
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating3.8 (4 ratings)4.7 (12 ratings) — better
Positive reviews60.0% of reviews72.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings412 — better
Update frequencyEvery 13 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFreemium — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS12.1 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB28 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperNikolay DenislamovFrancesco Leoni

Customer experience

Brushes XP

All ratings4 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral8.0%
Negative32.0%

Linkboard

All ratings12 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral16.7%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive72.7%
Neutral18.2%
Negative9.1%

In-app purchases

None

Brushes XP

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Linkboard

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Yearly3 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$39.99

Questions

Is Brushes XP free?
Brushes XP costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Linkboard free?
Linkboard is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Brushes XP or Linkboard?
Linkboard is rated higher. Brushes XP averages 3.8 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Linkboard averages 4.7 from 12 ratings.
Do Brushes XP or Linkboard have ads?
Neither Brushes XP nor Linkboard shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Brushes XP or Linkboard?
Brushes XP ships an update every 13 months, and Linkboard fortnightly. Most recently, Brushes XP was updated on October 21, 2026 and Linkboard on October 24, 2026.

Other comparisons