Comparison

Zen Painting vs Inkwork

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

Head to head
About

Zen Painting

Transform your photos and videos into traditional Japanese ink paintings like Sumi-e, Suibokuga, and Ukiyo-e. Easily apply artistic effects and adjust parameters to create unique visual styles. Save your creations or enhance them further with optional add-ons.

Highlights
  • Sumi-e ink painting effects
  • Suibokuga ink wash painting effects
  • Nihonga/Ukiyo-e Japanese painting effects
  • Color ink options (add-on)
  • Image and video editing
  • Adjustable image parameters
  • Save to camera roll
Features
Read full description

"Zen Painting" is Art Photo or Video Editor apps that allows you to create "Sumi-e (India Ink Painting)", "Suibokuga (Ink Wash Painting)" and "Nihonga / Ukiyo-e (Japanese-Style Painting)" Effects Image or Movie from camera, photographs ,illustrations and videos easily. ■Main function of App 1. Create "Sumi-e (India Ink Painting)" effects image or movie by editing photo or video and save it. 2. Change Ink Color. *Add-on is required in order to save the image or movie that used color ink. 3. Create "Suibokuga (Ink Wash Painting)" effects image or movie by editing photo or video and save it. *Add-on is required in order to save. 4. Create "Nihonga / Ukiyo-e (Japanese-Style Painting)" effects image or movie by editing photo or video and save it. *Add-on is required in order to save. ■How to Edit 1. Select image or video you want to edit from "Camera" Button. 2. When Image or Video was displayed, edit them to the desired image or video by "Image Adjustment Parameters". 3. You can create "Suibokuga" image or movie by selecting "Suibokuga" Button. And you can create "Ukiyo-e" images or movie by selecting "Ukiyo-e" Button. *If you want to save "Suibokuga" or "Ukiyo-e", you need to purchase Add-on. 4. When you touch "Save" Button, current image or video will be saved in "Photos(Camera Roll)". ■About "Sumi-e / Suibokuga" and "Nihonga / Ukiyo-e" "Sumi-e / Suibokuga" and "Nihonga / Ukiyo-e" are Japanese traditional painting. You can create easily "Sumi-e/Suibokuga" that represent all colors of nature by bleeding and shades of ink and "Nihonga / Ukiyo-e" that drawn by unshaded pale color and solid contour Style Image from photo or illustration. You might have seen Hanging Scroll of "Sumi-e (India Ink Painting)" or "Suibokuga (Ink Wash Painting)", if you have visited Japanese Temple or Shrine. They were drawn by only india ink. Once upon a time people said "India ink has five colors" and they drew all colors of nature by bleeding and shades of india ink. Also, they have expressed the teachings of Buddhism and Zen by "Sumi-e" or "Suibokuga". In addition, you might have seen colored hanging scroll. They called "Nihonga (Japanese-Style Painting)". Many of them were drawn by "Rock Paint". The painting of the customs of the era is called "Ukiyo-e". Soft style by unshaded pale color and solid contour is charm of "Nihonga". If you interested in "Sumi-e", "Suibokuga" and "Nihonga / Ukiyo-e" by reading this description, please try to use "Zen Painting". You will be able to create the "Sumi-e", "Suibokuga" and "Nihonga / Ukiyo-e" style image from photo stored on your smart phones or tablets! *If you want to save "Suibokuga" Image or "Nihonga / Ukiyo-e" Image, you need to purchase Add-on. If you enjoyed by this App, I'm glad. ■About In-app Advertising Banner Advertising is displayed in Home Screen. Full Screen Advertising will be displayed, after you have saved the picture. You can hide these Advertising by purchasing "Additional Function Add-on". Zen Painting - Japanese Style Painting, Ukiyo-e Image and Ink Painting(Suibokuga・Sumie) Effects Free Photo Editor Apps to create india ink effect art picture from your Camera or Album -

About

Inkwork

Transform your photos into unique ink drawings with a wide array of style variations and color options. Easily share your creations on social media or order high-quality prints to be delivered to your door.

Highlights
  • Transform photos into ink drawings
  • Over 90 style variations
  • Customizable ink and paper colors
  • Fine-tune style details
  • Instant transformations
  • Share to social media
  • Order physical prints
Features
Read full description

Discover your photo's inner art with Inkwork. Inkwork instantly transforms your photos into unique and expressive ink drawings. Choose from over 90 style variations, select an ink and paper color, then share your art on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and more. Want to hang your new art on the wall? We've teamed up with CanvasPop to provide the highest quality prints available, all backed by a 100% “Love It” guarantee. You’ll have your art on your doorstep and ready to hang in no time. Features: • Instantly transform your photos into art with over 90 ink style variations • Choose from dozens of ink and paper colors, or create your own • Fine-tune styles to make them more detailed or abstract • Take snaps and watch them transform instantly • Load photos from your Camera Roll and other albums • Share your art on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and more • Have your art printed and shipped right to your doorstep Subscribe or purchase Inkwork to unlock all features. For more information, visit us at www.codeorgana.com, or follow us on Twitter and Instagram @codeorgana. Find out more about CanvasPop prints and their 100% "Love it" lifetime guarantee at www.canvaspop.com. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula

Screenshots

Zen Painting4 screens
Inkwork4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Inkwork at 77% against Zen Painting's 0%. Inkwork also leads on rating (4.8 vs 1.0) and ads (none vs shown). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

Both are free to download. Zen Painting sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Inkwork sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Inkwork holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Inkwork has 3.2K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of Zen Painting's written reviews are positive against 77% of Inkwork's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Zen Painting ships an update every 5 months, Inkwork every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Zen Painting versus Inkwork: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterZen PaintingInkwork
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.0 (1 ratings)4.8 (3.2K ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews77.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings13.2K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB81 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTAIKI HIRATACode Organa

Customer experience

Zen Painting

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral22.2%
Negative77.8%

Inkwork

All ratings3,208 ratings
Positive95.8%
Neutral2.4%
Negative1.8%
Written reviews250 reviews
Positive77.2%
Neutral6.0%
Negative16.8%

Bugs and requests

Zen Painting

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Inkwork

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes on certain devices/iOS versions
  • Inability to save or export images properly
  • Compatibility issues with large photo libraries

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add opacity/layer controls
  • Expand range of artistic styles
  • Improve export options (SVG, higher res)
  • Implement a trial or freemium model

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Zen Painting

One-time1
  • Additional Functions$0.99
9 purchases

Inkwork

Subscriptions4
  • Inkwork2 variants$4.997 Days
  • Inkwork2 variants$9.991 Month
  • Inkwork3 Days trial2 variants$29.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Inkwork3 Days trial2 variants$59.991 Year
One-time5
  • Unlock Full Version$5.99
  • Unlock Full Version$6.99
  • Unlock Full Version$11.99
Show 2 more
  • Unlock Full Version$13.99
  • Inkwork2 variants$79.99

Questions

Is Zen Painting free?
Zen Painting is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Inkwork free?
Inkwork is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Zen Painting or Inkwork?
Inkwork is rated higher. Zen Painting averages 1.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Inkwork averages 4.8 from 3.2K ratings.
Do Zen Painting or Inkwork have ads?
Zen Painting shows ads; Inkwork does not.
Which is updated more often, Zen Painting or Inkwork?
Zen Painting ships an update every 5 months, and Inkwork every 5 weeks. Most recently, Zen Painting was updated on October 24, 2026 and Inkwork on October 29, 2026.

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